American Airlines Award Chart

American Airlines Award Chart

 

You'll need to know how to maximize your AAdvantage points when you cash in your miles for award flights. This is everything you need about American Airlines' award chart in order to make the most of your hard-earned miles.

 

American Airlines: A review

 

Before we get into the details of each American Airlines_ award chart, there is a caveat. The U.S. airline trend over the past few decades has been to completely eliminate award charts, so it's not certain how long these charts will still be valid.

American Airlines currently offers award travel in several categories depending on your flexibility and the perks you desire (e.g., free cancellation). Below are some details about the awards available in economy.

 

There are 4 types of American Airlines Awards

 

 

• MileSAAver award

 

 

MileSAAver Awards are the cheapest American awards. Because they are the cheapest, availability for these MileSAAver tickets is limited. For flights less than 500 miles, you can book a flight within the United States and Canada for as low as 7,500 miles.

MileSAAver off Peak award offers relatively low-mileage flights for those who travel during low seasons to certain regions such as Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

 

2. Awards from AAnytime

 

Although AAnytime awards can be more costly than MileSAAver, they are always available. These awards are available starting at 20,000 miles per way, but the number of miles required to fly a given flight will depend on when and where it is.

The award price will vary depending on the destination and time of your flight. Many flights in this category will require more than 20,000 miles. AAnytime Awards has two pricing levels, with Level 1 being the cheapest. The award level you choose is determined by your destination and dates. A flight search will reveal which award level you have chosen.

 

3.Web Special Awards

 

Web Special awards are not published, but you can search for award travel by entering your departure and destination airports. These awards are more expensive than MileSAAver, but are becoming less common.

These award tickets are not subject to change. If you want to make a change to your flight, you’ll need to cancel your ticket or reinstate your miles. Good news: American cancellation and change policies do not require you to pay a penalty for miles reinstatement.

 

4. Upgrade Awards

 

American Airlines and American Eagle flights allow you to use miles to upgrade one service class. This can be done using both cash and miles. The cost of upgrading your cabin can vary depending on where you are flying and which class of ticket it is. Upgrades from full-fare tickets don't require cash. Only miles.

 

American Airlines chart tips

 

• American Airlines award travel prices will be displayed in one-way segments when you book award travel. Book award travel and you will be subject to taxes and fees. They start at $5.60 per one-way flight.
• If the first/business flight you book in the U.S./Canada is on an aircraft with lie flat seats, expect to pay more. These flights will cost you 7,500 miles more for MileSAAver and 20,000 more for AAnytime awards. Before you book, we recommend that you verify the aircraft you will be flying on.

 

One world award charts and partner airlines

 

American Airlines is a One world member and has independent partnerships and agreements with other airlines. AAdvantage miles are available to be used on American Airlines and 22 other airlines.

Prices for flights in miles vary between the One world and American award charts. The partner chart includes flights to Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. American does not fly to these areas, so it is nice to know you can still use your miles from AAdvantage to get there.

 

How to navigate the AA award charts (to find an approximate price).

 

American has maintained its regional-based award charts alive. You'll only need to pay attention to the following:

• Your airline choice
• Pricing tier and class of service
• Your destination

Which airline will you fly?

 

American Airlines has two award lists, as you can see above. The first one is for American Airlines flights; the second is for partner and one world airlines flights.

American Airlines has many one world partner airlines:

• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian Airlines
• S7 Airlines
• Sri Lankan Airlines

The One world alliance does not include other partner airlines like:

• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
• Cape Air
• China Southern Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Fiji Airways
• GOL Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Interject Airlines
• Seaborne Airlines

You can redeem miles with any partner airline, which allows you to have a lot more flexibility.

 

Are you flying first, business, or coach?

 

American Airlines flight options include coach, business, and first class. Each class of service has its own award price.

As I say, avoid AAnytime airfares. These are the most expensive fares, but you can book multiple MileSAAver flight for less than an AAnytime ticket. It may be the only option if you have last-minute travel plans and your dates cannot be changed.

American Airlines has a detailed explanation of its fare buckets.

Partner airlines don't have to worry about pricing tiers as everything is priced exactly the same. Only you can decide if you want to fly first, business, or coach.

 

Where are you going?

 

Knowing which part of the globe you are visiting is the final step in determining how far your trip will travel. This information is available on the charts above. A coach flight from the U.S.A to Europe will cost approximately 30,000 American Airlines Miles on the MileSAAver fare.

If you are curious about how American Airlines defines a particular region, this link will help: Specific Region Definitions Examples of common examples:

• Caribbean - Includes Bermuda and The Bahamas
• South America Region1: Colombia (Brazil), Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
• South America Region2: Argentina (excluding Manaus), Chile and Paraguay.
• Asia Region 1 Japan and Korea
• Asia Region 2 Brunei. China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysian, Philippines, Singapore. Taiwan. Thailand.

 

American's Award Chart: Final Thoughts

 

American Airlines' award chart can be changed or removed at any moment. However, the current American Airlines chart has its strengths. It is flexible and allows you to get a MileSAAver award. You'll have to cash out more miles if you want to book with confidence that your miles will be used.