Last Updated on March 27, 2024 by Rick Spiegel
The AAdvantage is the frequent flyer program of American Airlines that offers various rewards for the members for traveling with American Airlines. One of the perks that every frequent flyer gets is they can earn and redeem miles in various ways However, one of the most annoying experiences any AAdvantage Mileage Program member can face is when they accidentally let their miles expire. So, if you are looking for how to keep AAdvantage miles from expiring, then your search is over. There are plenty of ways through which you can keep your AAdvantage miles safe.
But before moving further, let’s quickly see some important points regarding AAdvantage miles:
- The AAdvantage program members can join the Frequent Flyer program for free. Also, they can earn rewards as well.
- As an AAdvantage Program member, they can earn miles if they travel on American, Oneworld, and other participating airlines as well.
- Moreover, they can use all their earned miles for:
- Upgrades
- Other retail products
- Flights to nearly 1,100 destinations worldwide
- Vacations, car rentals and hotels
- However, if the member does not make any activity in their Mileage account within 24 months, then their AAdvantage miles will expire.
- American Airlines makes it easy for its members to earn and track their progress towards AAdvantage status under the loyalty program.
10 Tips to Prevent AAdvantage Miles from Expiring
If you are an AAdvantage program member, then you can earn miles while traveling with Oneworld and other participating airlines. You can redeem these miles in different ways including upgrades, Vacations, Car rentals, hotels, etc. However, there is a possibility that sometimes the members might not be able to redeem all their miles before they expire.
To resolve the issue, American Airlines offers several ways to the AAdvantage program members that can prevent miles from expiring. Here are the cheapest ways to keep AA miles from expiring.
1. Take a Cheap Flight on American Airlines
One of the most common ways to redeem the AAdvantage miles before they expire is to take a cheap flight to your favorite destination. You can reserve an inexpensive flight on American Airlines or any partner airline that you can credit to your AAdvantage account.
Traveling with American Airlines will reset the duration of your existing miles and extend the lifespan of AAdvantage miles by 24 months. So, if you are traveling with AA or Oneworld partners the expiry date of your miles will change.
2. Convert Hotel Points to American Airlines Miles
If you have a stash of hotel points, then you can convert them into American Airlines AAdvantage Miles. This can be a good option for topping off your account for an award flight but also helps in extending the expiration date of your American Airlines miles for the upcoming 24 months. Moreover, this is especially helpful if you have points with a hotel that are also expiring soon.
You can convert the hotel points to American Airlines miles from programs such as Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG. The minimum number of points that you can convert and the number of miles you’ll earn varies by different hotel chains. So, always ensure that you make the best deal.
3. Earn Dining Rewards by Ordering Meals from American Airlines Partner Restaurants
If you are an AAdvantage member, then you can earn bonus miles on charges at thousands of participating restaurants around the country with the American Airlines Dining program. There are more than 10,000 dining partners, so you can find the best restaurant near you. Many of the dining partners offer meals starting from $10, so you can order a quick meal and prevent your miles from expiring at the same time.
In addition, all you have to do is register with your frequent flyer numbers and add a debit or credit card to your account. After that, when you dine out or order food from a participating restaurant, you’ll automatically earn bonus miles.
4. Get Cars on Rental with American Airlines Partnership Brands
Another option that can help you prevent your AAdvantage miles from getting wasted is to use your AAdvantage for a car rental partnership. American Airlines has forged a partnership with Avis, National, Dollar, Hertz, Alamo, Thrifty, and Payless. So, this will help you or other frequent flyers to earn bonus miles and enjoy discounts or car rentals.
Therefore, even if you are not traveling on American Airlines flights, you can still leverage your AAdvantage account to earn and use miles on a road trip with your family and friends.
5. Book Hotels and Cruises via the American Airlines Vacation Package
American Airlines also offers the facility to book a hotel or cruise through the airline’s Vacation Package. So, if you are a frequent flyer traveling with American Airlines, then you can make your hotel stays in partner hotels and cruises via the Vacation Package. The perk to making a reservation via this package is that this will help to save AAdvantage Miles from getting lapsed.
6. Shop Online Via AAdvantage eShopping
Like most airlines, American Airlines also has an online shopping portal, called AAdvantage eShopping. You can maximize your miles by using the shopping portal of American Airlines. There are more than 1,200 retailers, through which frequent flyers can start eShopping. Also, if the members shop via this shopping portal, then this helps them to extend the miles expiry period.
7. Earn Bonus Miles by Donating to a charity
American Airlines has a partnership with Stand Up to Cancer. So, the Frequent Flyers can earn bonus miles if they donate their miles to a charity. The members can earn 10x American Airlines miles per dollar if they donate $25+. Donating money is a wonderful way to keep the miles safe without expiring.
8. Redeem accumulated miles for a future flight of your choice.
If you want to prevent your miles from expiring, then you must book a trip before the miles expiration date. Moreover, you can spend your AAdvantage miles to reserve a future award trip as well. The goal of purchasing a future trip flight in advance is to reset the AA miles expiration date.
When you reserve an award flight ticket, the AAdvantage miles get debited instantly from your miles account with American Airlines, even if you have reserved the flight ticket for the next year.
9. Get an American Airlines Credit card
One of the easiest ways to keep the AAdvantage miles from expiring is to open and get a credit card from American Airlines. Your American Airlines miles will not lapse if you maintain the credit card account. However, if you close your credit card account, then your AAdvantage miles will be at risk of going void. Also, you can earn or redeem your miles within four months of closure or 24 months of the last qualifying activity date.
10. Gift or Transfer American Airlines Miles
You can gift or transfer your American Airlines AAdvantage miles to save them from getting lapse. However, to gift or transfer your miles you are required to pay a specific amount to American Airlines. So, this is another way to prevent your miles from expiring as any activity in your mileage account will reset the expiry date of your AAdvantage miles.
So, if you transfer or gift your miles to a family member or any friend will ensure that your miles balance remains active for another 24 months.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I stop my American Airlines miles from expiring?
There are various ways through which you can stop your American Airlines miles from expiring. To save your miles from expiration, you must use your miles to purchase a cheap flight, shop through the eShopping portal of AA, open an American Airlines credit card, grab your favorite meal from the partnered restaurant of the airline, and much more.
Do American loyalty points expire?
Yes, American Airlines loyalty points do expire. As per American Airlines policy, if you don’t use or redeem your AAdvantage miles within 24 months, they will expire. Therefore, if you don’t want to waste your miles, then you can donate a small number of miles to others. However, donating miles will not help you in getting much value for your AAdvantage miles.
Can I transfer American Airlines miles for free?
No, you can transfer your American Airlines AAdvantage miles for free. American Airlines charges a certain amount for transferring your miles to your family and friends. To transfer your miles you are required to pay $15 per 1,000 miles.
Can I use AA miles to pay for part of a ticket?
No, you can not use AA miles to pay for a part of your flight ticket. American Airlines does not allow passengers to pay the flight ticket fee with the miles and credit card combination. You have to pay the full amount of your travel ticket with any one method. These methods can be a credit card, AAdvantage miles, or any other accepted form of payment.
What is the difference between AA miles and loyalty points?
American Airlines provides AAdvantage miles to its AAdvantage members when they travel on American Airlines flights or spend with a co-branded credit card or with the selected AAdvantage partner. Generally, on American Airlines 1 base mile is equivalent to 1 Loyalty point. So, if the AAdvantage member earns 500 base miles, then it means they have earned 500 loyalty points.
How to get American Airlines loyalty points without flying?
You can get American Airlines loyalty points in several ways even without flying. The different ways to earn loyalty points are booking hotels and cruises that have partnerships with AA, booking partnered rental cars, shopping through the eShopping portals, and much more.
What can American Airlines miles be used for?
AAdvantage miles members can earn or redeem their miles in various ways. They can use their miles to upgrade their cabin class, for flight reservations, rental cars, vacations, and hotel stays as well.
How many miles do you need to get a free flight?
If you want to book an American Airlines flight for free, then you can use your AAdvantage miles for this. However, the number of miles you are required to book the economy or any other class is different. So, you’ll need around 10,000 to 30,000 AAdvantage miles to book an Economy class flight ticket. Whereas, for reserving a first-class travel ticket, you must have 50,000 to 1,15,000 AAdvantage miles.
Can I cash out my American Airlines miles?
No, you can not cash out your AAdvantage miles on American Airlines. However, there are multiple ways to use your miles like donating them to a charity or paying through miles for your hotel bookings.
Can I purchase meals from restaurants using AAdvantage Miles?
There are plenty of ways through which you can redeem your AAdvantage. One of them is grabbing your favorite meal with the help of miles. American Airlines has partnerships with multiple restaurants. So, if you have sufficient miles in your account, then you can get your favorite meal from the partnered restaurants.
