The 8 Best Award Sweet Spots of American Airlines

Award Sweet Spots Series:

• Award Sweet Spots: American Airlines
• Award Sweet Spots: United Airlines
• Award Sweet Spots: Alaska Airlines
• Award Sweet Spots: Delta Airlines
• Award Sweet Spots: Air France/KLM
• Award Sweet Spots: Avianca
• Award Sweet Spots: Air Canada Aeroplan
• Award Sweet Spots: Etihad Airways

American Airlines AAdvantage:

Welcome to my new article series which will highlight some of the best uses of specific types of airline miles in all cabin classes. Different mileage programs have different sweet spots and each program has different areas in which they are more valuable. In this first installment, I will be exploring the best sweet spots of American Airlines’ AAdvantage program, which on average is the most valuable points currency of American, Delta, and United, especially given that American is the only one that still has a fixed award chart.

There are three main types of award programs for redemptions: award programs that have a fixed award chart between different regions (which is on average the best for redemptions), a distance based award chart, which charges based on cabin class and distance (like British Airways), and a dynamic award pricing, which means that the airline can charge whatever they want for awards (like United and Delta). What a fixed award means is that for (most) routes, there is a fixed award price that you will be charged, which makes for some good sweet spots.

American Airlines is in the Oneworld Alliance, so you can redeem American Airlines miles on practically any Oneworld airline. You can redeem AA miles on Oneworld partners (some of which are among the best airlines in the world), including Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Qantas, and others; you can also redeem AA miles on other partner airlines such as Etihad Airways, Air Tahiti Nui, or China Southern Airlines. My main criterion for sweet spots is the amount of money spent for the amount of miles flown. Before I get into the article, below is a little infographic I made (I’ll make similar ones for each post) about AA’s award sweet spots.

1. Business/First Class From Asia To The Middle East

• Award Pricing: 40,000 (valued ≈ $560) miles in Business, 50,000 (valued ≈ $700) in First
• Routes: Anywhere in Asia (includes Japan, China, Indonesia, etc.) to the Middle East (includes Egypt, Jordan, Gulf Region)
• The Best of the Best: Etihad A380 First Class Seoul Incheon to Middle East (one of the world’s best first class products) for 50K, Qatar A380 First Class Guangzhou – Middle East for 50K, Qatar Qsuite Business Tokyo to Middle East for 40K, Malaysia First from Tokyo connecting to Etihad/Royal Jordanian business in Kuala Lumpur to the Middle East for 50K, Etihad Business Tokyo to Middle East for 40K

Often (if not most) times the best award redemptions from a frequent flyer program involves not flying the airline at all. Airlines often have very low- priced awards for partner airlines, especially within regions in which the airline doesn’t even fly. This is very true for American Airlines, and is something that I’ll explore within the first two sweet spots. American Airlines has extremely low prices between Asia and the Middle East. Specifically, they charge only 40,000 miles in business and 50,000 miles in first from Asia (includes anything from Indonesia to Japan to China to India) to the Middle East region (which also includes Egypt). This is a fantastic sweet spot as you can cover almost 6,000 miles (more than most transatlantic flights) in business for only 40,000 miles on world class airlines, which really is an amazing deal.

Using this sweet spot is one of the easiest ways to travel on top notch airlines such as Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, both of which are partners of American Airlines. In fact, you can even fly Etihad’s famed First Class Apartments on the A380 from Seoul to the Middle East for only 50K miles (although there is very limited award availability), which is possibly the single best use of American Airlines miles. Additionally, you can use this sweet spot to fly the Qatar Airways’ fantastic QSuite, possibly the world’s best business class, from destinations such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Singapore to the Middle East. You can also use this sweet spot to fly on Malaysia Airlines’ A350 first class (aka Business Suites) from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur before connecting on the Etihad or Royal Jordanian 787 business class to the Middle East for only 50K miles. This sweet spot is also something good for flying the Japan Airlines business class to multiple destinations in Asia, including Delhi, before connecting on the Etihad or Qatar business class to connect on to the Middle East for only 40K miles, which also makes for a great deal.

2. Business/First Class From Australia To The East Asia

• Award Pricing: 40,000 (valued ≈ $560) miles in Business, 50,000 (valued ≈ $700) in First to most of Asia, 60,000 miles in First to Korea/Japan
• Routes: Anywhere in Asia (includes Japan, China, Indonesia, etc.) to Australia/New Zealand
• The Best of the Best: Qantas A330/787/A380 First Class from Sydney to Tokyo/Seoul for 40K, Qantas A380 First Class Sydney to Hong Kong, connecting to Cathay Pacific/Cathay Dragon First Class to China for 50K, Malaysia Airlines Business Class Sydney to Kuala Lumpur to Northern Asia for 40K, Sri Lankan A330 business class Melbourne to Colombo to Tokyo

Another one of the very best uses of American Airlines AAdvantage miles is flying from Northern Asia to Australia, which costs only 40,000 miles in business class or 50,000 miles in first class (just in case you were wondering, you can also basically fly anywhere within Asia on American Airlines miles in business class for less than 40,000 miles). Unfortunately, you can’t fly for 40K miles in business class from Australia to the Middle East or India, but this redemption does work for flights from Australia to Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, etc. This redemption can be incredibly valuable, allowing you to fly over 6,500 miles in business class (again more than most transatlantic flights) from Auckland to Asia for a very small amount of miles.

For example, you can use this redemption to fly from Australia to Northern Asia on Qantas’ fantastic A330 business class (which uses the Thompson Vantage XL model), which can also be useful for Americans looking to combine a trip to Australia with a trip to Asia. Additionally, you can use this sweet spot to fly Qantas’ A380 first class from Sydney to Hong Kong (availability from the US to Australia is very hard to find) for only 50K miles, which is an incredible redemption on its own, but becomes even better when you can combine it for no extra miles with Cathay Dragon’s A330 first class to cities in China such as Beijing. Additionally, you can also use this sweet spot to fly Malaysia Airlines’ A330 or A350 business or first class from Australia to Northern Asia or to fly on JAL’s A330 or 787 business class.

3. Intra-US Economy Class Flights

• Award Pricing: From 5,000 Miles (≈ $70)
• Routes: Super saver/web special economy class flights within the US
• The Best of the Best: Transcontinental flights

While the first two sweet spots involved flying business class in other continents, economy class tickets within the United States can also be a great deal. While American Airlines uses an award chart for most of its flights, especially international ones, they do have dynamic award pricing for many domestic flights, which actually works in your favor sometimes. American Airlines prices domestic flights in economy class pretty reasonably (most times), with one-way flights within the continental US starting at 5,000 one-way, or 10,000 roundtrip, which is worth $70 one way or $140 roundtrip, which is a pretty good deal on some routes. For example, take this flight from Washington to Los Angeles, which only costs 5K miles one-way and would cost 10K miles round-trip, which is a fantastic deal, especially when booking tickets for multiple people.

What’s even better is that usually you won’t have to pay any taxes and fees (besides the $5.60 TSA fee). While American Airlines economy class isn’t anything special, it certainly beats Spirit’s or Frontier’s economy class. There are tons of routes, both on shorter distances within the US, and also on some other longer transcontinental flights, which only cost 5,000 (or a bit more) miles one-way in economy class. The only downside to this is that American really only posts award availability starting this low in the off-season. Although it’s certainly not impossible to find award availability starting this low the high seasons, it’s just that American Airlines posts much more “super saver” award availability in the less popular travel months such as February and October. Unfortunately, first class tickets are usually a bit more expensive and start at 25,000 miles one-way (worth $350), which isn’t always a good deal, considering that American Airlines often prices their tickets that low.

4. Business/First Class to Asia

• Award Pricing: 60,000-70,000 (Business, worth $840 to $980), 80,000-110,000 (worth $1,120 to $1,540)
• Routes: North America to East/Southeast Asia
• The Best of the Best: East Coast to Japan/Korea and South Asia

American Airlines has pretty reasonable award pricing in premium cabins from North America to Asia. In case you were wondering, it costs 35K miles to fly from the US to Japan and Korea and 37,500 miles to fly to Southeast Asia and China from the US, which isn’t as good as a deal. It only costs 60K miles to fly from the North America to Japan and South Korea in business class and 80,000 miles in first class, with surcharges usually below $50, which is a great deal. What’s even better is that American Airlines has a good amount of award availability with their partner Japan Airlines in both business and first class to Japan, which makes for a good deal because generally speaking, they have a better in-flight service and have better seats on most routes. While it is a bit more rare, American Airlines does have some award availability on their own metal to Tokyo, mostly on their Los Angeles flights, when at the saver level, costing 60,000 miles, which is less than 3,000 miles more than business class flights to Europe cost.

American Airlines also has some pretty reasonable prices in business class from North America to China and Southeast Asia. It costs 70,000 miles in business class to fly from North America to Southeast Asia and China (it’s a better deal for flying to Southeast Asia than China) and 110,000 miles in first class, which isn’t a great deal (in first class) although isn’t completely unreasonable either. Usually, on flights to Southeast Asia, American Airlines will usually route you on Japan Airlines via Tokyo or Cathay Pacific (now also bookable online!) via Hong Kong, which is pretty useful and practical from a US-centric point of view use of miles. To maximize this redemption, you could fly from the east coast of the United States to somewhere in Southeast Asia such as Denpasar or Singapore for only 70,000 miles.

5. Economy/Business Class to Europe

• Award Pricing: From 22,500 ($315) in economy class and 57,500 ($805) miles in business class
• Routes: North America to Europe
• The Best of the Best: Flights on American or Iberia without the UK fuel surcharges

American also has good award pricing, especially in economy class, from the United States to Europe. For example, economy class fares to Europe start at only 22,500 miles each way, which is a great use of miles. It also only costs 57,500 miles in business class each way. By far, the airline with the most award availability on transatlantic flights (especially in premium cabins) is British Airways. However, while transatlantic tickets generally start at 22,500 miles in economy class during the off season, during the summer and during holiday season, tickets in economy class generally start at a higher yet still reasonable 30,000 miles per way. Fortunately, even during the summer, there is a surprisingly good amount of award availability on most routes to Europe in business class. In case you were wondering, premium economy saver awards start at 40,000 miles one-way while first class awards start at 85,000 miles one-way, although both are rarer than business or economy awards.

However, there is a quite significant caveat to award tickets in Europe. Flights departing (and all British Airways flights) the United Kingdom charge high fuel surcharges. Since most routings in both economy class and business class to Europe (especially smaller cities with no direct service to the Untied States) connect in London on British Airways, you often will end up paying significant surcharges which drastically decreases the value of your miles. Just how drastic are these fuel surcharges? We’re talking over $100 (sometimes into the $200s) for economy class, usually from $200 to $300 for premium economy, and over $500 (oftentimes into the $600s) for business class. While the 57,500 miles for business class may be worth only $805, with surcharges reaching above $500, you might end up paying over $1,400 in value for a one-way business class ticket only on a transatlantic flight, which isn’t exactly a good redemption.

Overall, if you are going to use miles to fly from the US to Europe, try and make sure that you don’t have to connect through London and pay the enormous surcharges and try to get on American Airlines or Iberia (although award availability is rarer) metal and connect through other destinations in Europe. Unfortunately, while the most common award redemptions using American Airlines miles to Europe are on British Airways flights, it definitely isn’t rare to find American Airlines award availability to Europe on routes such as Charlotte to Frankfurt or Philadelphia to Paris which don’t charge the high fees.

6. Business Class to Southern Africa

• Award Pricing: From 75,000 ($1,050) in Business
• Routes: North America to Africa
• The Best of the Best: Flights on Etihad or Qatar to South Africa

American Airlines has some reasonable award routings on their partners from North America to Africa, which is a market that usually has pretty high award prices on many other programs. It costs only 75,000 miles to fly from North America to Southern Africa, which can be a great deal, especially if you fly Etihad or Qatar. Unfortunately, most award routings to South(ern) Africa are via London on British Airways which, as discussed above, passes on incredibly high ($500 +) fuel surcharges which you also will have to pay going to South Africa. In case you were wondering economy class awards to Africa cost 40,000 miles and first class awards cost 120,000 miles.

What makes this a good deal is when there is award availability in business class on Etihad or Qatar Airways, two of the world’s best airlines in business class. What’s even better is that both of them don’t have high surcharges (< $100), so it’s a much better deal than flying British Airways with miles as you will both get a better in-flight experience and you won’t have to pay high fuel surcharges. Unfortunately, it is harder to find Etihad and Qatar Awards than for British Airways (although Etihad is more common than Qatar). This can also become an even better deal if you manage to score a flight on Qatar Airways’ Qsuites (which is possibly the worlds’ best business class with closed suites and the ability to make a double bed, although possibly now with ANA’s new 777 seats), which they fly to Cape Town along with cities in the United States such as New York, Washington, Dallas, Los Angeles, and more.

7. Business Class to (Southern) South America

• Award Pricing: From 57,500 miles ($804)
• Routes: North America to Southern South America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay)
• The Best of the Best: Flights on American Airlines’ 787-9s or 777-300s

While not as common as some other awards, American Airlines has a decent amount of award availability from North America to southern South America, which includes Brazil (excluding Manaus), Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. Unfortunately, American Airlines is no longer allowing awards on their former partner, LATAM, after Delta bought a 20% stake in them, which will lead to LATAM’s departure from Oneworld. Additionally, that means that as of now, you can’t connect within South America on other airlines to get to smaller destinations because of their lack of a future partner in South America, although they are in talks for a partner agreement with Brazil’s Gol. Like with most awards, there is more award availability during the off season, although there is a fair amount of award availability in the summer too.

Most of American’s award availability in South America is to Sao Paulo, specifically on their flights from Miami, New York JFK, and Dallas, most of which are operated on their 777-300ER. This sweet spot is a great opportunity to try American Airlines’ 777-300ER business class, which is their flagship product, as they don’t have much award availability on their own metal in business class on most other routes around the world. Additionally, there is a good amount of award availability on their flights from Miami to Cordoba, Argentina on their 767, on their 777-200 flight from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, and on their 767 flight from Miami to Montevideo. Unfortunately, award availability is limited at the saver level in business class to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile. Additionally, there are no surcharges (besides the standard $5.60 TSA fee) on American’s flights to South America. In case you were wondering, economy class awards cost 30,000 miles on American to southern South America and almost never publish first class saver awards.

8. Business Class to The Middle East/India

• Award Pricing: From 70,000 Miles ($980)
• Routes: North America to The Middle East, India, Egypt
• The Best of the Best: Flights on Qatar’s QSuites or Etihad’s 787/A380 Business

Lastly, American Airlines does have some pretty good redemptions on its partner airlines to the Middle East and India, for 70,000 miles one-way. Additionally, there is some award availability on British Airways via London to the Middle East (also for 70K miles), although again, you will have to pay the high surcharges. Every once in a while, you also might find award availability in business class on Royal Jordanian on their New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Detroit routes, although Qatar and Etihad have vastly superior business class products, so there isn’t a huge reason to fly them. In case you were wondering, economy class tickets cost 40,000 miles one-way and first class tickets cost 115,000 miles one-way.

Again, Etihad does have quite a bit more award availability than Qatar Airways, and British Airways does have a lot of award availability to and from the Middle East and India. Always make sure you aren’t put in economy class, because often times, the award ticket might put you in an economy class ticket from India to the UK and then put you in a business class ticket to the US.

Conclusion

Overall, American Airlines is probably the second most valuable points currency of the four major US programs (only Alaska MileagePlan is more valuable). There are countless sweet spots with the American’s AAdvantage, mostly involving business class redemptions on long-haul flights (in addition to a couple really good redemptions between two non-US regions), although there are a lot of good economy class redemptions, such as intra-US flights and flights to Europe.

What is your favorite mileage redemption on American Airlines?