American Airlines are offering up to 85,000 bonus miles + 10% off when buying AAdvantage miles until 31 August—this equates to around 1.84 US cents per mile at the best-value tier.
These offers run almost monthly (see Offer history for details of past points value).
Buying AAdvantage miles makes the most sense when topping up your balance for a specific Business or First Class redemption on American Airlines, a oneworld partner like Qantas or Qatar Airways, or Alaska Airlines.
The current AAdvantage purchase miles promotion
- Bonus: 3,500 to 85,000 miles (tiered)
- Discount: 10%
- Valid until: 31 August (US Central Time)
- Best value redemptions: domestic Qantas Business Class, Fiji Airways Business to Fiji, Cathay Pacific/Japan Airlines First within/to/from Asia, and Qatar Business Class to Europe
- Book awards online: for AA, Qantas and British Airways (and some others—full list)
- Book awards over the phone: for other partners, you can only book over the phone and are charged a $75 USD booking fee
- Link: buy AAdvantage miles
This promotion yields the cheapest per mile price of ~1.84 USD cents per mile when buying exactly 150,000 miles (235,000 miles total including the bonus) for $4,316.19 USD.
Note: AAdvantage miles expire after 18 months of inactivity in your account, so make sure to keep your account active by earning/redeeming miles regularly.
Why purchase AAdvantage miles?
- For oneworld partner redemptions: American Airlines is a member of the oneworld alliance, so you can redeem AAdvantage miles across any oneworld airline, including Qantas, Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Qatar Airways, as well as for Alaska Airlines
- Very helpful award hold policy: with AA, it is possible to hold award bookings for up to five days (if booking more than two weeks from departure) or 24 hours (if booking closer), allowing you to pencil in plans and then confirm the ticket once you’ve bought or transferred the miles into your account. This policy makes it really easy to make risk-free redemption holds while you re-confirm total costs of making your booking and buying the points
- More generous point promotions than Qantas and Velocity: AAdvantage offers the option of purchasing miles outright at a fixed value, unlike Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity, where points purchases are both expensive and limited in the amount you can buy
The best value AAdvantage redemptions for Australian and NZ travellers
Here are some of the better-priced and more readily-available awards for travellers from Australia and NZ:
| Example Redemption | AAdvantage Miles required | Cost (USD) with latest promotion at highest bonus tier (150,000 miles)* |
|---|---|---|
| *All redemption prices are in USD, one-way, and do not include booking fees, taxes and other charges | ||
| Any Business Class domestic Australia flight with Qantas | 20000 | $368 |
| Australia to/from New Zealand in Business Class with Qantas or LATAM | 25000 | $460 |
| Australia or New Zealand to Fiji on Fiji Airways Business Class | 30000 | $552 |
| Australia / New Zealand Business Class to Asia Zone 1 (Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam) | 40000 | $736 |
| Australia / New Zealand Business Class to Asia Zone 2 (Japan and Korea) | 40000 | $736 |
| Australia / New Zealand First Class to Asia Zone 1 | 60000 | $1104 |
| Australia / New Zealand Business Class to Europe on oneworld airlines (excludes Etihad) | 85000 | $1564 |
Factors to consider when purchasing AAdvantage miles
Just like any miles purchase deal, you’ll need to take into consideration the following factors:
- The cost of the miles required for your intended route
- The $75 USD phone booking fee for some partners
- The USD:AUD exchange rate
- The taxes that come along with the booking, which are most easily confirmed by American over the phone
- The time taken to research award availability and make the booking
- AAdvantage accounts less than 30 days old are not permitted to buy or gift miles, so register for an account now so you can take advantage of future promotions
- AAdvantage usually lets you purchase or gift 100,000-150,000 miles (not including the bonus miles on offer) per year per account receiving the miles, so ensure you are buying into a deal when you have a redemption in mind OR you think it’s a really good one
- Be sure to get to the checkout page to see the full cost of your purchase including all USD fees and taxes
Offer history
The simplest way to track historical AAdvantage offers is with the US-cents-per-mile cost for the best offer tier for that period:
| Date | Cost Per Mile (USD cents) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| November 2018 | 1.92 | |
| September 2018 | 2.08 | |
| August 2018 | 1.84 | |
| June-August 2018 | 1.72 | Lowest |
| May 2018 | 2.08 | |
| March 2018 | 1.81 | |
| February 2018 | 2.02 | |
| January 2018 | 2.13 | |
| December 2017 | 1.77 | |
| November 2017 | 1.91 | |
| October 2017 | 2.10 | |
| September 2017 | 2.02 | |
| August 2017 | 1.83 | |
| July 2017 | 1.72 | Lowest |
| June 2017 | 1.72 | Lowest |
| May 2017 | 1.77 | |
| March 2017 | 1.80 | |
| February 2017 | 2.24 | Highest |
| January 2017 | 2.13 | |
| December 2016 | 1.77 | |
| November 2016 | 1.90 | |
| September 2016 | 2.02 | |
| August 2016 | 2.00 | |
| June 2016 | 1.72 | Lowest |
| May 2016 | 1.89 | |
| March 2016 | 1.81 | |
| February 2016 | 2.02 | |
| January 2016 | 2.13 | |
| December 2015 | 1.81 | |
| November 2015 | 1.98 | |
| October 2015 | 2.10 | |
| August 2015 | 2.09 | |
| July 2015 | 2.00 | |
| May-June 2015 | 2.06 | |
| May 2015 | 2.09 | |
| April 2015 | 2.00 | |
| February 2015 | 2.07 | |
| January 2015 | 2.14 | |
| Average | 1.95 |
Why purchasing AAdvantage miles is easier than earning them
The most common way to acquire AAdvantage miles for Australian and NZ travellers outside of flights would be to either:
- purchase them (the purpose of this guide)
- earn them through hotel stays, car rental or the AAdvantage online shopping mall for purchases from US retailers
Starwood Preferred Guest is also a points transfer partner, and they also run promotions for discount or bonus points a couple of times per year, which may also be worth taking advantage of.
Purchasing miles directly from American Airlines is usually the most cost-effective method if you have a specific flight you are targeting.
With most of these promotions I am usually quite risk-averse, and would only recommend purchasing miles for topping up an account or buying the full chunk of miles if you have a specific redemption in mind, but not to purchase speculatively. Your preferences may differ though!
Making your booking
Bookings using your miles can be made online if looking to fly American, British Airways, Qantas or a few other airline partners.
If not, they’ll have to be made over the phone with the (usually excellent) call centre for the region, which happens to be in Fiji.
From Australia, you can contact them on (02) 9101 1948, selecting option 2 for award travel.
Be sure to check the taxes and fees that will be incurred with your booking as well. I find the easiest way to do this is simply to research availability online on the Qantas website and call AAdvantage to price up the booking.
Summing up
The appeal of AAdvantage has declined since their devaluation in March 2016, but Australia and New Zealand still do have some well-priced redemption opportunities available to use for cheaper premium cabin flights by buying miles and immediately redeeming them.
AAdvantage’s generous award hold policy makes the process much less risky, allowing you to hold an award, buy the miles and then call back to get it ticketed once they are added to your account.
Buying miles to redeem for flights in this way is still time-consuming, requiring you to research availability to death before you can book.
Whilst there aren’t many valuable deals for Economy travellers here, if you are keen for a Business or First Class bargain, you can still pick one up when buying AAdvantage miles.
You can purchase AAdvantage miles here.
Are you new to the purchasing points game?
If you’re new to the world of buying points/miles, we’ve written a full intro guide.
You can also access more comprehensive guides for buying points in each individual frequent flyer program below.
Hi,
I would like to know if I can transfer AA points to SPG? Since I want to transfer SPG points to Japan Airlines FF, but I can’t seem to see the option on AA website. Also, has anyone flown from Melbourne – Chicago using Japan Airline Business class? I am quite interested in this airline for this route.
Thanks a lot,
Uyen Le
You cannot transfer AA points to SPG (or any other program) but you can use your AA points for Japan Airlines flights—they just don’t show on the AA website. So search for award space on Qantas or British Airways and then call AA to book.
@ Tammi,
Unfortunately Qantas don’t fly to Vietnam so this is why you can’t book it online through AA. You can however call them on 0291011948 and connect onto Malaysian or Cathay Pacific from one of the Qantas hubs in SEA ie: BKK, SIN or HKG, of course this is subject to Availability of award seats.
To find partner award not visible on AA’s website I suggest using Qantas to search for seats or British Airways (you will need to set in a free account) search google for “AA award search British Airways” for more information.
@Croupier, thanks! I naively thought because I could use QF points for classic award flying Jetstar I could leverage that on aa.com but obviously it doesn’t work that way.
So if I wanted to book from Sydney to Vietnam i’d have to call? It doesn’t seem to be available on aa.com even though I imagine it’d be with Qantas
In addition to Croupier’s reply to you, you may find this guide helpful.
@Matt, a slightly off topic question – does buying miles qualify for minimum spending? I signed up for a US Citi thank you premier cc (cuz i can) and need to meet $4k minimum spending, thinking of buying these aa miles for some upcoming trips but a little worried I might miss out on the bonus in case it doesn’t qualify. Thanks!
Yes, buying miles does count as an eligible purchase to meet a minimum spend requirement.
Hi ,
AAdvantage current has Up to 115,000 bonus miles currently (22/03/2018), i’ve had a look at flights from MEL to CDG, however, through Asia, and the Middle East and unfortunately no luck in July-Aug.
Have looked up Qantas, Emirates, even Advantage with no luck and have been on the phone, has anyone recently had any luck
sorry I meant Etihad
Hi Keith- Have been following your entries for some time- great work!!
I have quite a broad question for you;
Am looking at a one way business flight from MEL- LAX in May and just wanting to work out what the best service is (regardless of stops or not) and secondly whether there are any good deals or hacks that you expect might appear again over the next few months that would be worth jumping on?
Have a nice tally of Qantas points, however feel there business service has dropped of late.
Keen to get your thoughts
Cheers Ed
The Qantas partners with the best reputations for service flying to LAX I would say would be Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines via Asia and if you have more time, Emirates and Qatar Airways the long way around. Have a read of this guide for more ideas.
“Best value redemptions: domestic Qantas Business Class, Fiji Airways Business to Fiji, Cathay Pacific/Japan Airlines First in or from Asia, and Qatar and Etihad Business to Europe”
I dont think its correct to say ETIHAD Business to Europe is good value for Australians
SYD-LON is 85,000 points – yes good. But if flying Etihad, you need to break in AUH, so its 80,000SYD-AUH then another 42,500 = 122,500 to London.
My last AA purchase in July (The best deal to date) cost me AU$5580 after taxes, commission & conversion etc for 250,00o points (150k purchase +100k bonus). So thats AU2.23c/mile.
That makes Etihad return to London AU$5469 which is close to a discounted cash purchase….
Whereas other if not Etihad, AA redeems SYD-LON Rtn at 170,000 points so this would be AU3794 to me. OK’ish….
We are looking at flying to US next week return 2 adults 2 kids. We are qantas members . If my husband becomes a AAdvantage member and I buy him gift points to purchase the familys tickets can he use the points straight away or does he have to wait the 30 days to use them because he is a new member. The terms just say member under 30 days cant or buy or gift miles it does not talk about if you receive gifted mile and use as new member.
How many times a year do AAdvantage have these mile sales on. I noticed the current sale ends on the 31st of August. I joined the website on the 3rd of August and with their 30 day join up policy this means I will miss the sale by a few days.
Hello – great website. I am new to this. Just wanted to check my understanding and get any additional pointers if that’s okay.
Trying to get from MEL to NYC (Business) in November. I’m reluctant to buy any Miles without being confident I can actually get my flight. So when I had a look at the AA offer, and punched in flights for Nov they didn’t return much (Economy only on the way and nothing available for 1 week either side of my return leg). I rang the Sydney number as suggested and the lady had the same result but did suggest I try again in a few days.
What’s the best way to do this – I’m not too fused whether the discount is 40% or 50% etc but just want to secure a Business class (or better) better at a reasonably specific time.
I’d pay someone to help organise this for me!
Yes, as you definitely should be. There is no best way to do this, other than to keep looking and see if you can find reward flights for the dates you want to travel – using Qantas.com to look for classic award availability may be easier and should still line up with what AA has on offer – and then if you find them, book using points checking the taxes first.
We have a whole series on the basics of buying points / miles here which may help.
Are there actually any airlines that fly First out of Australia to Asia zones now for use of points? JAL don’t, Cathay don’t,… Qantas don’t? Perhaps just Thai?
Now we have Thai, Singapore Airlines, some of the Chinese airlines (China Eastern and Southern both have F I think) and Emirates (Sydney to Bangkok).
Thanks. But I meant with respect to using AAdvantage. So I guess that is just Thai?
Thai and American aren’t partners, so there are no AA partners now for which you can redeem miles for First Class from Australia to Asia – unless Qantas make good on their promise of using the A380’s freed up from the Melbourne – Dubai cuts from December to operate into Asia at times of peak demand. Then they would likely have First.
Perth To Auckland in business represents amazing value @ 25k miles!!!!
Hi,
When you say you check availability on Qantas’s website then ring AA, do you search for reward flights or normal payed flights? Also to get the seat held, do you do that through Qantas or AA?
On the last AA miles offer I bought 100,000 miles and got 72,000 bonus. Enough with my remaining balance from surveys etc. to book 2 x Etihad Apartment SYD to Abu Dhabi. Saved over $20,000 !! AA miles are definitely he way to go when they have bonus offers on.
Hi
Can I buy these miles and use them to upgrade from economy to business on on a qantas flight SYD>LON?
Thanks
No, you can’t use AAdvantage miles for upgrades from paid fares on Qantas, only for outright redemptions.
Is it possible to book an award flight but have stop overs in the cities where you have to go via anyway? What’s the best way to go abouts this?
Whatever you do, don’t attempt to pay for AAdvantage miles with a debit card. When I did they placed the pending transaction on my card, but didn’t honour the mileage purchase. Leaving one with no miles, and thousands of dollars tied up in a pending transaction. Many frustrating phone calls and emails have ensued to get it released. The alternative is a long wait for it to be released automatically.
Just looking for clarification on the intra-Australia routing. If I wanted to fly MQL-BME I’d have to at least go via MEL and PER. Does this count as one 20k business redemption if the stopovers are less than 24h
Yes, that’s correct.
Hi Keith, I’ve just tried to book cathay business class from Perth to LA via AA rewards. I was told that 110,000 points is required one way per person instead of 80,000. I’m just a bit confused because AA website did say it’s 80,000 points one way for business class from South Pacific region to US 48 states. AA staff said it’s because there’re two trips – Perth to HK and HK to LA, but all Cathay flights transit via HongKong and it doesn’t make sense to put 80k points required rather than 110k. Did I miss something or did AA staff made a mistake?
Thank you,
Tim
Unfortunately they are correct. Hong Kong is not an allowed transit point for a simple region A to region B award to/from South Pacific and USA. It is allowed for Europe though, so it’s confusing.
I booked my BNE-VIE return in Mar 2017 with Etihad during their 50% off sale at the end of July.
At the same sale period, return economy to Europe was under $1k!
Hi Keith
I am currently researching and planning for a (1st) family holiday overseas to Hawaii. The AA scheme looks attractive. I jumped on AA site and wanted to check out Business Class for dates in June 2017 but says not available. Should I take this as gospel? The business class comes up until the month of March 2017 then after that nothing. Can I buy miles from this site and use them to book QANTAS flights to Hawaii? Appreciate your time.
Qantas Business Class awards to Hawaii are very rare. So while AA in theory looks like a decent deal, it can be very tricky to find those flights, and yes, AA should show Qantas availability on their site. Qantas Points are actually a better currency for award travel to Hawaii as you can redeem with Jetstar as well… but that’s another topic.
Is it just me, or are others seeing less and less value in purchasing miles/points for premium class redemptions.
First of all, award seat availability is getting more and more limited. It’s hard to find for us commoners not in the industry, unless we’re extremely flexible and/or are extremely passionate (ie. follows FlyerTalk threads and/or subscribes to ExpertFlyer…)
When return business class tickets from Oz to Europe can be had for ~$5000 when on sale, compared to US$3434 + taxes (in the table above), I know which I would rather. I lock down my dates of travel, wait for sales and have the flight I want, and collect points + status credits. No working around dates with reward availability, routing availability…
Just my 2c worth. But do tell me if my reasoning is flawed.
Where are you finding return business flights from Australia to Europe for around $5k?
You’ll need to look at the cost in Miles from the American Airlines award charts linked in the guide above, between the two regions – so South Pacific to Europe. You can piece together an itinerary that passes through Asia or the Middle East as long as you don’t stopover for more than 24 hours between the two flights.
You won’t find availability for all American partners on the AA website – Qantas are on there, but Cathay are not, for example. So you can research availability by using Qantas.com, or the British Airways website if you become a member there. Cathay and Qatar both show up on the BA website, for example.
Have a read of the beginners guide to buying miles for more.
.
And no, Qantas Points can’t be transferred to any other currency,
Hi,
I was just wondering. With my AA account am I able to purchase a ticket for someone else in their name using my points (they do not have an AA account) or does it need to be in my name?
Thank-you,
Zac
Yes, you can purchase a ticket for another traveller from your account.
Thanks Keith. I’ve just read through some of the other comments and am now a bit worried about these ghost seats. I haven’t purchased the points yet luckily. I phoned AA to see what was available and she didn’t seem that helpful and I had to kind of tell her what to look for as in specific airlines etc. Can you recommend a decent and reliable online award point booking service? Has anyone had much experience with them? There are lots of websites out there.
Cheers,
Zac
Hi Kieth
I have booked a number of partner awards with and AA – in every case it has waived the phone booking fee for Partner Awards that can’t be booked online such as Etihad. Their agents are generally very well trained and helpful (another big plus) and in every case they have waived the fee without me even having to ask.
Keith – to your knowledge, are there any credit cards available in Australia, or available to Australians which can allocate points earned to AA?
Thanks if you can help
Diners Rewards is the only directly linked program to AA. Amex Membership Rewards is linked via Starwood Preferred Guest acting as an intermediary transfer.
Appreciate that. Have only just found your site, find it most helpful. Thanks again and regards Frank
I also ran into the phantom availability problem, only after the money changed hands for the points purchase of course. It really does seem to amount to fraudulent advertising as flights are shown as available until you actually try to finalize the booking. After spending 1.5 hrs on the phone to AA I was not able to find a single flight within their calendar that had availability for two people from Australia to Europe.
Keith, the phantom availability mentioned by Sophie has been there for months!
I have contacted American direct, via social media and via other blogs and NOTHING has been done by the web team.
Availability looks fantastic on the website, but 95% is false.
If you ring they will find the odd BA flight with heavy surcharges, as Sophie mentioned.
I asked them is it incompetence or fraud?
One last update. Terry, it’s definitely worth calling their customer relations and insisting a bit. The first 2 reps I spoke said there were no flights. Their supervisor took over and found me flights after about an hour on the phone. When the return priced at 75000 miles I questioned it and they just came back to me with an alternative flight on QF which means I not only save 15000 miles per pax but also $300 as we are not flying BA anymore. Will definitely be calling them before buying anymore miles but happy with the outcome! This is about 50% off on 2 business class fares to Europe.
Hi Keith,
I checked the AA website which showed good availability to London so went ahead and bought the miles for a First class redemption. Every time I go and book the flights showing as available, the site tells me the flights I’m selecting are not available anymore. Still trying to get my money back. How are you supposed to know that their site in showing ghost seats?
Anyone has had the same problem?
Argh, how annoying. What airline was showing the seats?
Some suggestions…
Have you tried calling back and seeing if a different agent can book them? Also worth calling a different call centre as well, i.e. call the US via Skype or similar if you were calling the Australian number before (or vice versa).
Can you find business availability instead?
If you need help with looking for alternative options if the above doesn’t work, shoot me a message via the Help function at the bottom corner of your browser/device window.
You’ll know this now, but for others I’d always worth calling to make sure the seats are definitely bookable before buying.
Thanks Keith. After speaking to 2 agents, their supervisor ended up being more helpful. Spent an hour on the phone but he’s found me two business class return seats. Not quite first but at this stage I’m quite relieved. Just one thing to keep in mind is that the taxes are quite high. $800/pax for business flights with Qantas and BA. Definitely learnt my lesson. Will be calling them before buying any miles next time! They definitely wouldn’t entertain the idea of a refund.
Sophie, check reply below.
You are not alone.
I have contacted them multiple times and it’s still the same!
Hi Keith,
I’m new to purchasing miles so apologies if the question is rather stupid, I’m looking to take advantage of the AAdvantage point bonus when buying miles and would like to book a return flight from HKG to LAX. However I would prefer to fly AA’s oneworld partner Cathay instead, could anyone please tell me how I would redeem this flight online? As Cathay does not show up as an option when booking on AA’s website.
Thanks!
Totally doable – instead of booking online, you’ll just need to call the AAdvantage call centre closest to you to make the booking. There are phone details on the AA website.
One other question that’s just occurred to me: is it possible to use AA miles to book premium economy seats where they’re available on partner airlines? If so, do they tend to be easier to find?
No, AA can’t be used for Premium Economy redemptions. Annoying!
Shame! Thanks for the info.
Does anyone know if you can buy points with a child’s AA account? I’ve just joined up me, my wife and my five year old to the program in the hope of taking advantage of a future points deal (qualify too late for this one) and all three of us will need to buy points if we are all to fly biz.
Another question: how soon can one reasonably expect to find business class seats? I ask because I’m currently waiting to hear if I’m to be posted to the U.S. for work. If I am, my employer will be giving me cash for business class flights for all three of us at full price – but I book myself and can keep the difference. As you can imagine, my wife and I are keen to save as much as possible!
If I get the posting, I’ll most likely have two to three months warning of a move. So, if there’s an offer to buy points, is it realistic to think we can buy the necessary points and get three business class trips to the states at such short notice?
Thanks. And love the blog and your new email course – very eye opening!
Yep, you can buy points with any AA account that’s >12 days old.
2-3 months booking ahead is tricky. You’ll probably find this is the toughest time to book award seats. But – you if you can wait until last minute, you might be able to find some availability. It’s a tricky conundrum though given your situation. I’d probably suggest that if you know you can use the points for other trips back home it won’t be too risky to buy them – worst case scenario you can try and redeem them for a trip in a year’s time if you want to come back to visit family/friends, if you can’t find availability. It wouldn’t be ideal though, of course.
I’d also suggest draughting in an award point booking service to help you find seats for your trip either way to give you the best shot at using them.
Or – just enjoy the fact that your employer will pay for your travel and get the exact dates, routing and airline you’re after – and minimise the stress. You’ll have enough going on as it is moving overseas, monitoring flight options you might just want to park and give a miss. Your call!
Hi Keith,
Thanks for your reply – I really appreciate you taking the time out to answer my question. I had thought about buying the points and keeping them if they can’t be used – but they’re not cheap and if I can’t use them for this purpose, then I’m out of pocket at a time I least can afford to be. I thought I might hit the call centre as soon as I have a decision on the job and see what they can organise and/or call in the experts before I buy the points and see where that gets me. If that fails… oh well, then I go to plan B and pay full fare – it’s not a bad situation to be in! You’re definitely right that I’ll have enough to worry about without adding the stress of monitoring flights constantly.
Thanks again.
Hi,
I’m new to this so I just wonder a couple things.
1.Do I book my ticket with my AA miles through the AA website (we are traveling from Australia-Europe)?
2.How long are the points valid?
Sorry for the delayed reply – yes, you book with American Airlines miles through the AA website, even if it’s a partner redemption (if they offer it online).
Milage expiry – none, but you need to have some activity in your account once per year, from memory.
Keith, thanks for putting up this website – definitely a big help for people who want to try business class in the most inexpensive way possible!
Just a quick question – how can I book CX biz award flights with AA miles? I tried using AA website but was only shown AA biz award flights..
Thanks!
Good question. You can’t book CX flights on the AA website, you’ll need to give them a call. You can research availability online through BA.com by signing up for the Executive Club, and also through Qantas.com but results sometimes don’t match with AA. Then call AA to book.
Loving the posts and getting an insight into the ff world. I’ve been researching this but with differing opinions. I want to fly Syd-Bangkok with aa Advantage miles, flying Etihad on a QF branded codeshare flight. Will AA let you use the points?
Awesome, thanks.
Ah, I assume you mean Emirates Syd-Bkk? No, American won’t let you use points on Emirates even if it is a Qantas codeshare.
Thank you for clarifying – yes it would be the QANTAS flights operated by Emirates
Hey all does anyone have any experience using Air Fiji with this promotion. I wish to travel from SYD to Nadi in august and a search of availability showed no results on that route. Am I missing an option I need to search for.
Thanks
Govale
I have booked with Fiji Airways using AAdvantage miles in the past. I assume you are looking to travel in Business – how many seats are you looking for and where are you looking?
Hi Keith, thanks for the update; I really like the way you’ve costed the last several promotions as I was wondering what the price difference was, with a promotion seemingly happening one after the other. I guess the other issue for us is the falling Aussie dollar.
Not a problem, glad it helps. The price differentials now seem pretty slim and they seem to be playing with promotions to see which mechanics drive most incremental sales around the same price – bonuses and at different levels, discounts etc.
The main thing is not to buy outside of a promotion and to have a use in mind for the miles as you can only buy limited amounts!
Great! Thanks for the clarification.
Cheers.
Hi Keith,
Forgive the newby question but when it comes to redeeming AAdvantage miles, do you actually get to choose which partner airline you get to fly with? Ie. You aren’t just spotted in on whatever codes are it’s running in that region.
Thanks also for all the info you provide on this site. It really is a great resource.
Not a problem!
You certainly do choose what airline you want to fly – if they have points seat availability, you can book it. Nothing to do with American codeshares.
Hey Keith,
I didnt even realise Alaska Airlines had their own points special recently. They seem to have the best deal at the moment as they have AA/QF/EY/BA/CX partnerships.
If someone purchases points on AA can they transfer that to their Alaska Airlines account ?
I checked out Etihad awards booking and I almost got a heart attack when I read how many miles are required for a return trip to Europe from Melb. From memory it came to about 700K miles. If these award flights are available on Etihad then I can double check that AA’s customer centre in Sydney right ? In theory it should come to 120K miles with AA through Etihad.
Your tip on another post about Nexus was fantastic.
thanks
Yep, the Alaska deal is pretty good.
AA and Alaska programs can’t be linked, you buy points in one of those programs and you have to redeem them there. They share some partner airlines though, that’s about the extent of the linkage in terms of redemptions.
Etihad redemptions with AA are not at the 700k mark – I am guessing you saw the high level Etihad Guest pricing on their website? You do need to be aware that with Etihad redemptions with AA from AU to Europe for example AA will make you pay for AU-Abu Dhabi and Abu-Dhabi Europe as two separate awards which costs a bit more. If they are available with Etihad at the LOW level (so not the 700k mark) then they should be available through AA. So it will be more than 120k unfortunately.
And yes, you can double check using their Australian phone number and get them to help with research.
Hi Keith
Thanks for your great posts.
Just with checking availability on Qantas.com, there seems to be very little available for first class award travel, actually for all classes of travel to the U.S. Is this usually the case for travel to the U.S.? I’m looking at tickets for Syd to DFW (San Antonio actually) in Sept 2015.
Am I better off ringing AA australian call centre and find what’s available or logging onto AAdvantage and checking there?
Thanks
Unfortunately Qantas makes very little First Class points seat availability open to frequent flyer redemptions – it’s known as one of the hardest to get out there, especially using AA miles because AA can only access Qantas seats at 330 days out, whereas Qantas and BA points can be used on Qantas First Class at 355 days.
There are some tricks to get around this such as booking using BA or Qantas points, waiting, cancelling, then rebooking on AA at 330 days prior to travel, but it’s not easy for a number of reasons. Otherwise you just have to keep looking and hoping someone else cancels their ticket and it comes back into inventory and is available to book again.
Thanks Keith
Given it is less than 330 days out before I want to travel and take advantage of these bonus miles, should I check through AA? Or availability is the same as what’s on Qantas?
Hi Keith, just wanted to say thanks for writing such comprehensive articles! Through AA, I’ve just booked a one-way first class flight with Qantas Melb > London for AU$2044 plus US$67 taxes. Amazing! I’m moving to London, so this is a great way to get a higher luggage allowance, and it lets me travel in style. I’ve also got the same on hold in March for my partner.
Thanks again!
Thanks for the thanks Laura!
I have a question about the taxes and fees. I’m looking at flying from Amsterdam to Perth Business class with Emirates, if I use AAdvantage miles do I merely pay the taxes and fees (EUR 40.47) or do I also pay the carrier imposed charges (EUR 370)?
Emirates aren’t an AAdvantage partner – do you mean Etihad?
Certain carriers incur different charges, and I’m not sure on Etihad and AA. Just give them a call to confirm.
My bad, I think I typed Emirates instead of Etihad due to force of habit!
Thanks for the tip, I’ll ring and ask.
Could my wife and I buy the max miles and she transfer hers to me so we could do the one booking?.
Transfers are expensive, so not worth it if you weren’t aware of that – there’s a bonus on transfers but the max allowance is across bought and transferred miles. So… simplest to make two bookings and link later.
So I guess if we can only find one seat in F I’ll have to take it!.
Then the conversation begins… you or the wife in First…
best we not go there Keith.
had the opportunity to go J or F next month out of HKG the good woman said no lets sit together as we always do in business class!.
Great catch. I’ll clarify that in the guide tomorrow!