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This year I’ve written the Complete Guide to Redeeming American Airlines miles. It is spread across 14 parts. The first five parts talk generally about the rules and partners of American Airlines awards, and the last nine parts explain the partners, routes, and award space situation when redeeming American Airlines miles to a specific region.
“Redeeming American Airlines Miles” Series Index
- Part 1 — 5 Ways to Stretch American Airlines Miles on Economy Redemptions
- Part 2 — 6 Ultra-Luxurious First Classes to Book with American Airlines Miles
- Part 3 — Where to Search Award Space for All Partners
- Part 4 — Award Rules and How Many Miles You Need
- Part 5 — Taxes, Fees, and Fuel Surcharges
- Part 6 — Redeeming for Domestic Awards
- Part 7 — Redeeming for Hawaii
- Part 8 — Redeeming for East and Southeast Asia
- Part 9 — Redeeming for Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Maldives
- Part 10 — Redeeming for Australia and New Zealand
- Part 11 — Redeeming for South or Central America
- Part 12 — Redeeming for Europe
- Part 13 — Redeeming for Africa
- Part 14 — Redeeming for Fiji, Tahiti, and French Polynesia
Main Takeaways
If I could sum up the 14 parts in just a few ideas, I’d say:
- Right now American Airlines awards are very cheap compared to United and Delta awards. United and Delta increased award prices in 2014, but American was too busy merging with US Airways. That merger is nearly finished, so expect an American Airlines devaluation soon.
- American Airlines awards are particularly cheap in Business and First Class, and there are several partners with very luxurious premium cabins like Etihad, Malaysia, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines. Try to book those soon. American Airlines is releasing almost no Business and First Class space on its own flights, so you really need to use partners.
- Or go the other direction and book economy awards during off peak dates to Europe, South America, Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean for huge discounts. Most of the off peak windows cover more than half the year, so there are great dates included.
- Broadly speaking, American Airlines miles are better for East Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Latin America, Australia (economy only), and South Pacific Islands. American Airlines miles are worse for Europe, Australia (premium cabins), and Africa.
- American Airlines miles have unique routing rules that you must understand.
For a limited time, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® offers 75,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $7,500 in the first three months. That means you’ll have 82,500 American Airlines miles after meeting the spending requirement. That’s enough miles for two roundtrips to Europe, three roundtrips to the Caribbean, or one way in Cathay Pacific First Class.
Included in the $450 annual fee, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® offers Admirals Club lounge membership, meaning you can access over 90 American Airlines Clubs in airports around the world whenever you’re flying–even if you’re not flying on American. Plus you can bring in any two guests for free OR your spouse and all children under 18 for free on each visit.
If you found this guide to redeeming the most valuable miles in the world to be useful and want to apply for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®, please use my link. The commission is what allowed me to dedicate the time to writing this series.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.
Where would you go if you are an adventurous Mom, with a 9 year old boy, and 500,000 American miles? Our passports are ready to roll.
No idea honestly. Maybe a safari in Africa if you can find space on Qatar Airways flights. What 9 yo wouldn’t want to see lions? My 8 yo niece liked riding elephants in Thailand.
Safari’s involve a LOT of sitting in a vehicle.. you wake up VERY early and get in the vehicle for most of the day.
My son, at 9 years old, would not have enjoyed that for very long. Does he like water? Biking? Photography? I think I’d go for a more hands on adventure… Kayaking, rafting, hiking, geocaching, bicycling, snorkeling, etc. Alaska, Hawaii, Equador, Belize and Mexico all come to mind. Maybe not for the biking, though!
We have done Ecuador, just this year, and loved it! The Galapagos were wonderful, as was Quito and the surrounding towns.
We did Alaska a few years back.
Definitely want to go to Belize for more snorkeling – he loved learning to snorkel in the Galapagos over Spring Break.
Hawaii sounds intriguing. Not sure how to split up my time on which islands, though. Thoughts?
Find a guidebook at the library to see what appeals to you. The four major ones are very different, and the two minor ones you can get to are even more different. Then spend 2-5 days per island.
[…] Steven emailed to compliment my comprehensive series on redeeming American Airlines miles and to ask me to create a similar series for foreign programs that are transfer partners […]
[…] American Airlines miles are equally good for luxury First Class and super-cheap economy redemptions. […]