MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.


Hey there, you’re reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the nineteenth post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

Here are the basics of using aa.com for award bookings. Use aa.com when you are searching for award space on flights operated by American Airlines or Alaska Airlines regardless of what type of miles you are redeeming. Reread that sentence. If you want to fly on a plane that is painted with the AA or Alaska logo, use aa.com to search for your space whether you’re redeeming AAdvantage miles, Avios, or some other mileage currency.

Searching for space on AA and Alaska flights is easy on aa.com. Starting on the home page, type in your departure and arrival cities. Put in your dates, number of travelers, and click the box for Redeem AAdvantage Miles.

I’ve typed in LAX to CLO (Cali, Colombia) from 7/11 to 7/18.

Along the top, color coded, are the possible redemption classes and rates, mine range from 17.5k per direction for Economy MilesAAver to 80k per direction for First AAnytime. The map below shows the lowest mileage cost per day. Since my route has no availability at all for the entire month of July in Economy MilesAAver, my cheapest option is Business/First MilesAAver at 30k per direction. When you select the date and class you want, you are taken to the screen where you choose itineraries.

I selected Business/First MilesAAver on 7/22 to 7/28. On the itinerary screen, itineraries are ordered by shortest duration. If you click the + sign for expansion, you can see the class and aircraft for each leg. You can use this information on seatguru, or you can click View Available Seats to see the seatmap.

After you’ve picked your itinerary, you can follow the steps to book it if you are using AA miles for the award. If you are using another carrier’s miles, say British Airways’, now would be the time to go to their site, and search for the same flights you just found and book.

The reason to start on AA’s site if you want AA flights but want to use BA miles is that AA has a more convenient, easier-to-use calendar that makes finding the perfect itinerary easy.

Again these are just the basics of using aa.com to find award space on AA and Alaska flights. For more complex itineraries, you’ll need to learn more, perhaps from my series Anatomy of an Award, or you can hire a professional award booker like me.

60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.

The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.