American Airlines is one of the largest and best-known airlines globally, and its loyalty program, American AAdvantage, allows you to earn and redeem American Airlines miles for flights, upgrades, and other travel.
Even though we generally recommend transferring credit card points to airlines to get the best value, that’s not an option in this case — unfortunately, you can’t transfer American Express points directly to American Airlines. But that doesn’t mean you can’t book AA flights with Amex points! You’ll just need to take a different approach, such as transferring points to British Airways Avios or Qantas Frequent Flyer.
Here’s everything you need to know about using Amex points to book a flight on American Airlines.
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Booking American Airlines flights using points with Amex Travel
Although you can’t transfer Amex points to American Airlines and book directly, you can use the Amex Travel site to redeem points for AA flights.
Input your departure and arrival airports, select round-trip, one-way, or multi-city, and input your dates.
The next page will show your results. To see only American Airlines results, select “American Airlines” on the left-hand side of the screen.
You’ll then select your preferred flight.
At checkout, you can use some or all of the points in your Membership Rewards account for your American Airlines flight.
After you’ve applied your Amex points, you’ll select “Book Flight.” It’s pretty simple.
However, booking American Airlines flights using points through Amex Travel won’t always be the best value. That’s because Amex Travel has different rewards and redemption rates than you’ll see if you’re using American Airlines AAdvantage miles directly.
When you use Amex Membership Rewards points through Amex Travel, they are typically redeemed at a fixed value. For instance, if you want to redeem points for flights, Amex usually values them at around 1 cent per point. This means 5,000 points are worth about $50 in travel.
In contrast, like many airlines, American offers dynamic pricing that matches the potential value of frequent-flier miles, resulting in significantly better value for points during promotions or when booking certain routes.
Booking American Airlines flights using Amex points with partners
While using the Amex Travel portal is the easiest way to book American Airlines flights with Amex points, airline partnerships are the key to maximizing your redemption.
To use your Amex points to book award tickets on American without using the Amex portal, you’ll first have to shift your points to an Amex transfer partner. Points can be transferred to partner airlines at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000-point increments (except for Marriott Bonvoy), though Amex does occasionally offer a bonus for transferring points to certain partners, so keep an eye out for that.
Booking domestic flights on American Airlines with Amex points
The best way to book domestic American Airlines flights with Amex points is with British Airways Avios. That’s because British Airways uses a distance-based award chart — i.e., the amount of Avios required is tied to the distance of the flight — so the shorter your trip, the fewer Avios required.
When booking with Avios, flights on either coast (such as New York to Washington or Los Angeles to San Francisco) are the best domestic American Airlines flights to book with Amex points. For instance, a flight between New York to Washington, D.C. will cost just 8,250 Avios — very cheap, considering that distance-based award chart.
Step-by-step, it looks like this:
- Transfer your American Express points to British Airways Avios (you’ll need to create an account with British Airways if you don’t already have one)
- Search on the British Airways website for the AA flight you want
- Book it using points on the British Airways website
Booking international American Airlines flights with Amex points
Booking international American Airlines flights with Amex is similar to booking domestic flights. You can use loyalty programs for partner airlines, like Etihad, Qantas, Iberia, and more, to book flights to international destinations with Amex points.
Similar to the example above, you’ll need to transfer your Amex points to the relevant partner program (setting up an account if you don’t already have one), find the flight you want, and then book with miles on that site.
Of course, knowing which partner airline to find the best flights on can be overwhelming. That’s where point.me can come in. We’ll search across airlines and loyalty programs and show you a range of options so you can pick the best one for your points.
Using oneworld partners to find the best-value American Airlines flights
Although we only recommend it as a last-ditch effort, American Airlines’ Oneworl partners, such as British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Qantas, Asia Miles, and Etihad, can help you find the best-value AA–operated flights. To do this, however, you’ll need to transfer Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy and then transfer to American Airlines, which will lose you considerable points in the process.
To be clear, it’s not a great option! But if you must, here’s how to do it.
We’ll use British Airways Avios as an example. On the Amex site, you’ll navigate to “Rewards and Benefits,” then select “Membership Rewards” and click on “Transfer Points.”
You’ll then pick your preferred loyalty program — in this case, British Airways Executive Club.
Next, choose the number of Amex points to transfer to British Airways to book a flight on American Airlines. Note that you need a minimum of 1,000 Amex points to transfer.
After you’ve reviewed your transfer, your Amex points will be transferred to British Airways. Then you’ll visit that airline’s website.
After inputting your travel information, you’ll be taken to a page with flight options.
Select your flight and class (if available), and then you’ll see the total price in British Airways Avios.
You can employ the same search tools when searching for American Airlines flights on oneworld partners. oneworld airlines sometimes offer lower redemption rates — or “sweet spots” — for flights on specific routes or distances.
Cross-country domestic flights are perhaps the best example of this. If you were to book a flight from Miami to Los Angeles solely with AAdvantage miles, it might cost 30,000 miles. But if you were to book with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, you may find award rates for just 25,000 miles.
The best American Airlines flights to book with Amex points
The best American Airlines flights to book with Amex points are business-class and first-class flights, such as Flagship First Class and Flagship Business Class. Both cabin classes offer lie-flat seats, onboard dining, and American Airlines lounge access.
The worst American Airlines flights to book with Amex points
There’s no worst American Airlines flights to book with Amex points, per se — it all depends on your personal travel preferences. Generally, you’ll want to book flights that are nonstop, if possible, and avoid multi-stop itineraries.
Frequently asked questions about booking AA flights with Amex points
Can I use Amex points for American Airlines fights?
You cannot transfer Amex points directly to American Airlines. However, you can use Amex Travel to search for American Airlines flights and book directly there. You can also transfer Amex points to Amex Travel partner airlines British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Qantas, and then book AA flights via those partners.
What other airlines can I transfer Amex points to?
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to more than 17 different airlines, including British Airways, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic.
Can I partially pay for an American Airlines flight with Amex points?
Yes, you can use American Express Membership Rewards points to partially pay for any flight, including American Airlines, through American Express Travel’s airline partnerships.
Simply log in to your Amex account and search for flights through the Amex Travel portal, then select Use points + American Express card at checkout. You’ll initially be charged the full amount, but Amex will add a statement credit for the portion paid with points within 48 hours.
Which Amex credit cards earn Membership Rewards points?
American Express credit cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards points on eligible purchases include the Green, Gold, and Platinum Cards, as well as the Business Gold Card and Business Platinum Card.
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