Whether you're a diehard flyer American Airlines or swear you'll never fly the Dallas-based carrier, its AAdvantage mileage program is incredibly valuable. Their impressive array of partner airlines makes AA miles among the best for fueling your future travels, allowing you to book flights with Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, and many more … for far fewer miles than most other airlines charge!
From bougie business class flights to the Middle East for just 70,000 miles one-way to economy class redemptions to the Caribbean for 16,000 miles roundtrip (or sometimes less!), having a big stash of AAdvantage miles is the definition of a high-quality problem. And right now, you can earn 100,000 of them with a single sign-up bonus!
With the current limited-time offer, you can earn 100,000 credit card points that can be transferred directly to American Airlines (or a dozen-plus other airline and hotel programs) after spending $6,000 in the first three months. Which card exactly? We can’t say here thanks to some silly bank rules, but click here and you'll get the full scoop.
Just remember: Credit cards are serious business. You should never apply for a new card if you can't afford to pay off every dime you charge to it each and every month. No matter how big the bonus is – or how valuable the miles are – it's not worth going into debt for.
But if you can spend responsibly, this card and its big bonus could unlock some truly unforgettable trips. Here are a few of our favorites.
Related reading: The 11 Best Deals We've Found Using American AAdvantage Miles
- 35K AAdvantage Miles to Europe
- Book Japan Airlines Business or First Class
- Get to the Caribbean or Mexico for Less
- Book Qatar Airways Qsuites
- Domestic Flights from 6K Miles Each Way
- Fly the Etihad Apartments with AA Miles
- Premium Economy to Australia for 35K Miles
- Lie-Flat Biz Class to Hawaii for 55K
35K AAdvantage Miles to Europe
Delta might be the king of deeply discounted award deals with their frequent Delta SkyMiles flash sales. But American offers one of the most consistent low cost options for getting to Europe.
Take this flight from Charlotte (CLT) to Madrid (MAD), for example. For just 35,000 AAdvantage miles and $51 in taxes and fees, you can fly roundtrip to Europe – on the nonstop to boot.
But the beauty of AAdvantage miles is that you won't just find these rock-bottom prices from AA's major hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), and Miami (MIA). Even smaller, regional airports like Sioux Falls, South Dakota (FSD), get in on the action.
Take a look for yourself …
And unlike Delta, these cheap award tickets still book into main cabin economy, so you'll still be able to pick a seat and cancel for a full refund if your plans change.
From the big hubs to tiny towns, we find flight deals from more than 200 cities in the U.S. and Canada!
Book Japan Airlines Business or First Class
Looking to fly to Japan … in style? When you’re flying 10-plus hours to Asia, it’s worth some extra miles to fly in comfort.
Japan Airlines has one of the world’s best business class seats out there, and they're called SkySuites. In the right seat, it’s both spacious and insanely private. Some of the best food you’ll find in the sky doesn’t hurt either. After our sterling review of Japan Airlines Business Class, we’re convinced it’s one of the best ways to use your AA miles, no matter the plane.
And if you're really lucky, you might even get to ride in one of JAL's new business class suites. So far, you'll only find this new seat on the airline's Airbus A350-1000 aircraft flying between New York City (JFK) or Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Tokyo-Haneda (HND).
The best part? This incredible flight – which normally costs $5,000 or more – could be yours for just 60,000 AAdvantage miles each way. With a minimum of 106,000 miles in your account after completing the spending bonus mentioned above, you've got nearly enough for a roundtrip flight (as long as you can find the award availability).
Want to fly first class to Tokyo? Japan Airlines' First Class can be booked for only 80,000 AAdvantage miles each way – and we think it's worth it. Check out our full review of a flight from Tokyo to Chicago.
Read more: The Best Ways to Use American AAdvantage Miles
Get to the Caribbean or Mexico for Less
How does a trip to the beach for 17,000 miles roundtrip (or less) sound?
With AAdvantage miles, it's easy to get to Mexico or an island in the Caribbean for cheap. Thanks to low rates and plenty of flights, there's no better way to book a trip south of the border than with AAdvantage miles.
You'll often find even cheaper roundtrips for just 15,000 miles total to other destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico, flying from cities big and small. Just keep an eye on the connection times, as the cheapest itineraries often require longer travel days.
Book Qatar Airways Qsuites
Qatar Qsuites are the best business class in the world, bar none. With great meals, service, and a ton of space and privacy thanks to a door at your suite, the 15-plus hour flights to Doha (DOH) feel more like just five hours. And you can book it for just 70,000 AAdvantage miles each way.
It's one of our favorite ways to use AA miles, period. That's why we're always looking for availability to book Qsuites with AA miles, letting our Thrifty Traveler Premium members know with an instant alert. In fact, we've sent more than a dozen alerts to book Qsuites in the last year alone!
Unfortunately, actually booking Qsuites with AAdvantage miles has gotten borderline impossible lately: The airline has been incredibly stingy with releasing the award availability to actually book these suites. In many cases, your best bet is booking 11-plus months in advance using miles from Qatar or British Airways instead.
But in the off chance you can make it work with a deal like the one above, we'd argue that American Airlines miles are the single best way to book Qsuites. Here's why:
- You can fly nonstop from a dozen U.S. cities to Doha for 70,000 miles
- Or you can start from your hometown airport with AA service and make it to Doha with one stop for the same price
- But you can also connect onward almost anywhere in the Middle East, India, or even the Maldives for … you guessed it, 70,000 AAdvantage miles
But there's one Qsuites deal that's arguably even better for just a few thousand AA miles more…
You can fly Qsuites from the U.S. to Doha or the Middle East for 70,000 miles … or you can tack on another 10-hour flight to the tip of South Africa for just 5,000 more American miles.
Flying in a Qatar Airways Qsuite for just 75,000 AAdvantage miles all the way from the States to Johannesburg (JNB), Cape Town (CPT), or anywhere in Africa is tough to beat, especially on the long journey to South Africa that clocks in at roughly 24 hours of flight time. It's not just one of the best ways to use American AAdvantage miles – it's one of the best deals in the world of points and miles, period.
Read our full review of the Qsuites experience from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Doha (DOH)!
Domestic Flights from 6K Miles Each Way
Over the last few years, American Airlines started selling domestic flights for as low as 6,000 miles each way – down from the previous norm of 7,500 miles or even 12,500 miles. With 100,000 AAdvantage miles to your name, you could book 16 of these one-way fares … or eight roundtrips.
It can be a bit tricky to find these ultra-low prices – and will likely require some trial and error – but no matter if you're flying from an AA hub like Phoenix (PHX) or Miami (MIA), or even smaller airports like Omaha, Nebraska (OMA), these low fares are out there and can save you a boatload of cash or miles.
After years of inching toward it, American finally swapped out its ironclad award chart and embraced dynamic pricing, meaning award rates to book these AA flights with miles are constantly changing. While you could easily view that as a bad thing, there's an upshot: These discounted rates are becoming even more common if you time it right.
Fly the Etihad Apartments with AA Miles
First class seats don't get much better or more spacious than this. And AA miles could put you in them.
Welcome to the Etihad Apartment, one of the best first class suites in the sky. Heck, it's got a separate bed and chair … not to mention an onboard lounge and showers at 38,000 feet.
So go figure it's also one of the hardest to actually book. Not only do you need to find the award availability to book these vaunted suites with your miles, but you also need to make sure your flight is aboard Etihad's signature Airbus A380s.
But knocking it off your bucket list doesn't get much cheaper than this.
That's right: 62,500 AAdvantage miles for eight hours of one of the coolest experiences in commercial aviation. Back when we sent this alert to Thrifty Traveler Premium members, there was wide-open availability for two passengers.
It's one of our all-time best Nerd Alerts – the deals for the points and miles-obsessed travelers like the team here at Thrifty Traveler.
Get the next “nerd alert” like this one with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
If Australia isn't already on your bucket list, it should be. And if getting there in comfort is a priority, this is the deal for you: Fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) for 35,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles each way in premium economy.
While it's getting easier to find lie-flat seats to the Land Down Under, premium economy provides the perfect balance of extra comfort and a more modest price tag. And at 35,000 miles each way, the price doesn't get much better than this.
If you're on a budget, you could save some miles and fly in economy for just 25,000 miles each way instead. At that price, you'd have enough for two roundtrips with the current 100,000-point sign-up bonus.
Lie-Flat Biz Class to Hawaii for 55K
Last, but not least, here's a deal we can all appreciate: Lie-flat seats to the Hawaiian islands.
There are plenty of great ways to book flights to Hawaii using points and miles, but scoring a bed in the sky using your points and miles is a tall, tall task. It hinges on finding award availability to book with miles, and that can feel impossible. But not always …
Earlier this year, we sent Thrifty Traveler Premium members an alert for wide-open award space for two flying American Airlines business class to Honolulu (HNL) this winter and into the spring, including spring break!
This Hawaii deal is long gone now – get the next alert in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
Flying like that for 55,000 miles to paradise? Yes, please. While you'd only get those cushy business class pods on the nonstop flights from Phoenix (PHX) to Honolulu (HNL) with this latest alert, that's not always the case. In the past, we found other deals that could get you from almost any airport in the U.S. to Hawaii in lie-flat seats with one quick connection – still for just 55,000 AAdvantage miles total!
Bottom Line
From luxury flights to the Middle East to quick Caribbean getaways, AAdvantage miles stretch farther than most. With the current, limited-time offer to earn 100,000 transferable points, there's never been a better time to (quickly) earn a whole bunch of them than now.
