If you want to use American AAdvantage miles for your next international trip, there are numerous options. Award availability and award rates vary significantly depending on where and when you want to travel, how far in advance you’re planning the trip, the number of travelers and preferred class of service. 

As of early 2025, AAdvantage miles can be extremely valuable in certain circumstances. Advantages (pun intended) of redeeming these miles include:

The program has published award charts with fixed rates for flights on partner airlines.

If you’re interested in booking flights within the United States and have Citi ThankYou® Points, there are more options than you might have considered. Let’s start with some background.

ThankYou Points are flexible currency earned through the Citi ThankYou® Rewards program. Like other flexible rewards programs, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, the primary benefit of Citi ThankYou Rewards is that there are many ways to use points. 

You can redeem for cash back, statement credits, purchases at select retailers and gift card purchases.

Emirates first class is a bucket-list item for many travelers seeking luxury flights with points and miles. The aspirational product features onboard showers, onboard bars, luxurious suites, attentive service and extravagant food and beverages. The ground experience, particularly at the airline’s home airport of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB), also is impressive and may include chauffeur transfers and exclusive lounges.

Emirates first class varies depending on the plane. The older product, which is on all Airbus A380 planes, has unique features, such as onboard showers and bars, but the suites themselves aren't fully enclosed with floor-to-ceiling partitions.

Alaska is a dream-come-true destination for nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts alike. With a vast array of national parks, endless opportunities for kayakers and hikers, and the ability to go whale watching or see the northern lights, America’s Last Frontier sure lives up to its name.

If you have a stash of Delta SkyMiles and are hoping to visit Alaska, you’re in luck.

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American Express Membership Rewards is one of the major flexible rewards programs.

Europe is one of the most popular travel destinations for many of us living in the United States, and there are many flight options. On the other hand, there is competition for desirable flights, and award availability is dependent on multiple factors, including specific origin and destination airports, travel dates, planning horizon, types of points and miles available, number of travelers and desired class of service.

For individuals who want to use American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book travel between the U.S.

Capital One Miles are flexible currency earned with multiple Capital One credit cards, and Capital One’s program is similar to other banks’ flexible currency programs, such as American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. A big advantage of flexible currency is that it provides multiple redemption options to cardholders.

One of the best ways to use flexible rewards is to transfer them to airline or hotel partners.

Capital One—like American Express, Chase and Citi—issues credit cards that offer either cash back or flexible currency rewards.

Capital One’s flexible currency, referred to as miles, can be used in different ways, such as buying gift cards, reimbursing previous travel purchases, purchasing travel through Capital One's travel booking site or transferring miles to partners.

Let’s look at Capital One’s flexible currency and ways to use it.

Capital One Miles

For many people in the points and miles community, Capital One Miles have become more relevant and valuable in recent years as Capital One improved its rewards program.

At first glance, the $325 annual fee (see rates and fees) charged by the American Express® Gold Card may seem relatively expensive, especially considering that there are many credit cards that don’t charge any annual fee whatsoever. However, this card comes with a suite of statement credits that can offset this annual fee year after year.

For those fresh to the points and miles hobby, it’s natural to wonder when you’ll be able to fund your first trip using points. Traveling is an adventure, and doing it for (almost) free makes it even more exciting.

However, the answer to the question depends entirely on what your travel plans are. For instance, the number of points and miles required for a domestic award trip is going to be lower than that required for an international award trip, all things remaining equal.