American Airlines CEO Robert Isom Apologetically asks customers for their contributions and corrections to bring about improvements and more development…

American Airlines is one of the world’s largest and most recognizable airlines. A member of the Oneworld alliance, the airline has numerous partners (20-plus airlines, 1,200 retail, 10 car rental companies, and more), making it easy to earn miles to later redeem for award travel. The airline overhauled its massive loyalty program in 2023 and continues to make positive changes in 2024, augmenting how members earn miles and incorporating dynamic award pricing.

From the difference between Loyalty Points and AAdvantage miles to exactly how to earn and redeem them, our guide takes a deep dive into everything you need to know about the AAdvantage program. American Airlines and AAdvantage Background
Today, American Airlines serves more than 350 destinations worldwide in over 60 countries. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, AA has hubs conveniently spread throughout the U.S., including:

The American Airlines loyalty program is called the AAdvantage Program. AAdvantage dates back to 1981 and is the oldest airline loyalty program still in existence. It’s free to join, so start by signing up. Even if you only plan to fly American once or twice this year, it’s still worth taking five minutes to open an AAdvantage account because you’ll instantly unlock a suite of members-only benefits like same-day standby, the ability to cancel non-refundable basic economy tickets for a partial refund and more.

How To Earn AAdvantage Miles
You can earn AAdvantage miles by flying on American or with Oneworld airlines and other participating airlines and using other partners like shops, restaurants, hotels, credit cards, and car rentals.

Sign Up for the AAdvantage Program
Enrolling in the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program is simple. First, you’ll need to head over to aa.com and select the option “Join” in the top right. You’ll be asked for some basic information like your name, birth date, and address. Make sure this information is the same as it is on your government-issued ID to avoid problems on future flights.

Fly American Airlines and Earn Miles Based on Ticket Price
The amount of AAdvantage miles you’ll earn is based on the price of your ticket (the base price plus carrier-imposed fees, not including government taxes and fees).

AAdvantage members with no status earn a base rate of 5 AAdvantage miles per dollar on their ticket. One exception is basic economy tickets which only earn a base rate of 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent.

New for 2024, you’ll also be able to earn miles when you pay cash for upgrades – although AA hasn’t specified when this change will go live other than “coming soon.”

Fly Oneworld and Other Partner Airlines and Earn Miles Based on Distance Flown
American AAdvantage members can also earn AAdvantage miles when flying on Oneworld airline alliance members and with American’s other partner airlines.

The number of miles you earn on these partner airlines depends on the flight distance and fare class, typically denoted by a chart.

For example—the following chart represents what an AAdvantage member will earn when flying an Alaska Airlines flight. The number of miles earned is calculated as a percentage of the distance between the origin and destination, where the percentage used is based on the fare class. Certain cabin classes may earn a cabin bonus on top of that.

Ultimately, your elite status will determine how many AAdvantage miles you earn. For example, a flight for a Basic member (no elite status) who purchases a ticket in Main Cabin (any of the fare codes in economy except basic economy) for $141 could expect to earn 705 AAdvantage miles.

Note that while there was once a cap of earning 75,000 miles per ticket, there’s no longer a limit. Elite members also earn bonus miles when flying select partner airlines.

How To Earn Elite Status With American Airlines
How To Earn Elite Status
Members must earn a set number of Loyalty Points each year to qualify for and/or maintain elite status.

AA’s qualification year begins March 1 through the end of February each year. Then, members can enjoy their status through the end of March of the following year.

AAdvantage members can also enjoy benefits when hitting mileage milestones. Known as Loyalty Point Rewards, each time you reach a new level, you’ll get awarded. Benefits include perks like priority boarding, elite status with car rental agencies, bonus miles, upgrades, and more. Reward levels start at 15,000 Loyalty Points and top out at the 5,000,000 Loyalty Point mark. Each of the 11 Loyalty Point Rewards levels, apart from the status tiers, presents the opportunity to gain more valuable benefits.

Once you reach 175,000 Loyalty Points, you unlock Loyalty Point Reward choices, which allow you to select additional benefits such as bonus miles, AA trip credit, systemwide upgrades, Admirals Club day passes, and beyond.