11 Cool Things You Can Do With the 60k Bonus from the AAdvantage Card (That's Ending Soon)

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For a limited time, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select World Elite™ MasterCard® is offering 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months. While we don’t know when exactly, according to the Points Guy, this 60k bonus is disappearing soon. 60k is as good as it gets for this card, and while it comes and goes periodically, I’d apply now if you were already interested.

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In the process of reaching that minimum spending requirement you would earn:

• 60,000 miles for the bonus
• at least another 3,000 miles from the $3,000 in spending it takes to unlock the bonus (you earn 1 mile for every dollar spent on everyday purchases)
• more than 3,000 points if any of that spending is on American Airlines flights, which earns 2 miles for every dollar spent

The card offers other benefits as well, including a free checked bag for you and up to four others on your domestic American Airlines itinerary, and 10% of your redeemed American miles back — up to 10,000 miles each calendar year.

63,000 American Airlines miles is a pretty big stash that you can do a lot of cool things with. Listed below are different ideas for how you could use them.

Awards Originating in the United States

1. Fly two roundtrips between the United States and Mexico, Caribbean, or Central America during the time window of April 27 to May 20 or September 7 to November 14 (Off Peak dates).

How many miles you’ll have leftover: 13k (18k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 12,500 American Airlines miles to fly one way between the United States and Mexico, Caribbean, or Central America during Off Peak season. Note that this price applies only to American Airlines flights.

Award space for two travelers is wide open from Chicago to Bermuda this September and October.

2. Fly roundtrip in Business Class to Northern South America.

How many miles you’ll have leftover: 3k (9k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 60k American Airlines miles to fly roundtrip to Northern South America in Business Class.

American Airlines’ definition of Northern South America, interestingly enough, also includes Manaus, Brazil.

Manaus is the jumping off point for people who want to explore the Brazilian Amazon, so consider that if it’s on your bucket list.

3. Fly roundtrip to Europe.

How many miles you’ll have leftover: 3k (9k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

A roundtrip for one person in economy to Europe costs 60k American Airlines miles.

If you can travel during the Off Peak season (January 10 – March 14 or November 1 – December 14) then you’ll pay only 50k miles for the roundtrip, which is a steal. 

Just don’t forget to check the price of cash flights, which you can often find dirt cheap deals on to Europe. Read this post to learn who to follow on Twitter for cheap flight alerts!

4. Fly four roundtrips within the contiguous 48 states and Canada.

How many miles you’ll have left over: 3k (9k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

Just make sure the flights are direct and don’t exceed 500 miles each direction, like this 426 mile flight between Raleigh and New York City:

American Airlines now offers a lower award price for direct economy flights that are equal to or less than 500 miles in distance and within the contiguous 48 states and Canada– only 7,500 miles.

The Points Guy wrote an excellent post about the best routes for AA’s New 7,500-Mile Award Level.

5. Fly to Japan in flat bed Business Class on Japan Airlines.

How many miles you’ll have leftover: 3k (9k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

Japan Airlines (JAL) is known for having superb premium products. 

For the Business Class flight to Japan, try for one of its newer Dreamliners that feature flat beds in Business Class.

The plane is a new Dreamliner if “SS8″ appears on the search results for the flight on jal.com. SS8 means the new flat beds are installed.

6. Fly to Europe in flat bed American Airlines Business Class.

How many miles you’ll have left over: 5,500 (11,250 after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 57,500 American Airlines to fly one way in Business Class to Europe. On January 24th I wrote about a batch of newly released AAdvantage Business Class award space to Europe. It has been picked over since that post, but you can still find lots of seats for a solo traveler.

Above is the calendar for one traveler between New York and London (direct).

7. Fly to Australia in flat bed Qantas Business Class (almost).

You’ll need to earn 17k extra miles to make this happen since it costs 80k one way in Business Class to the Australia.

Qantas Business Class on the A380 feature flat beds and onboard lounge to hang out in.

Awards That Originate Outside the United States

Think outside the box! Not all awards have to originate in the United States. Use the 65,000 miles from your sign-up bonus to fill in the gaps on your next Around the World trip.

8. Fly from the Middle East to Southeast Asia in Qatar A380 Business or First Class. 

How many miles you’ll have left over: 23k if you fly Business , 13k if you fly First Class (27k / 18k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 40k miles to fly flat bed Qatar Business Class between the Middle East and Southeast Asia, or 50k miles to fly Qatar First Class.

9. Fly Etihad First Class between Europe and the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, or Maldives.

How many miles you’ll have left over: 500 (6,750 after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 62,500 miles to fly First Class between Europe and the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, or Maldives.

Etihad First Class on its newest A380 has a couch that seats several people and a separate bed.

Etihad’s fully enclosed suites are the most spacious in the sky, and there’s a shower onboard that you can use in flight.

First Class Award space is generally plentiful on the A380 between London and Abu Dhabi throughout the year.

10. Fly Qantas First Class between London and Dubai.

How many miles you’ll have left over: 500 (6,750 after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 62,500 miles to fly First Class between London and Dubai.

Qantas’ international First Class on the A380 looks fantastic, with fully flat bed and dining space for two at each seat.

11. Fly two people in Business Class from Northern South America to Southern South America.

How many miles you’ll have leftover: 13k (18k after your 10% rebate on redeemed AAdvantage miles) 

It costs 50k miles to fly two people one way between Northern and Southern South America in Business Class. Include this award on your next big trip! Email me when you get to Buenos Aires and we can go for a glass of wine.

Bottom Line

For a limited time that appears to be ending soon, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select World Elite™ MasterCard® is offering 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles  after spending $3,000 in the first three months.

By meeting the $3,000 total spending requirement you’ll earn at least 63,000 American Airlines miles, which you can redeem on a plethora of awesome awards.

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