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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
JT is a location-independent digital nomad traveling 250,000+ miles each year with his wife Katie.
June 6, 2016 • 9 min read
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Quick summary
Discounted award flights are available for select airports on American Airlines through September 2016, with varying lists of eligible airports each month.
Travelers with certain eligible cards can save either 7,500 or 5,000 miles on round-trip award bookings, depending on the card held, with additional savings for flights under 500 miles.
Booking must be completed by July 31, and the list of participating airports changes monthly, with more options opening up for August and September.
These discounts apply to both economy and premium cabins, and are valid for flights originating in the contiguous US or Canada.
What to consider
Discounted awards must be booked by phone, but the standard phone-booking fee is typically waived for these redemptions.
A $75 close-in booking fee applies for flights within 21 days unless the traveler holds certain elite status levels.
The list of eligible airports and discount codes may change after August 1, so flexibility and timely booking are important.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of eligible airports by month and step-by-step instructions for securing reduced mileage awards.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.
American Airlines and Citi currently offer reduced mileage awards — the latest iteration of which allows you to book discounted travel now through September 2016.
Note that the airports for June-July previously coveredaren’t necessarily still available. Discounted award flights to/from the airports on this list had to be booked by May 31, and the list changed on June 2. Make sure to book award flights for the airports listed below before July 31 to avoid missing out.
Before you ask: Yes, the discount applies to flights both to and from the listed airports, although the terms now clarify that “travel must originate in the 48 contiguous United States or Canada.”
Who’s Eligible?
If you have one of the following cards, you can save 7,500* miles off of a round-trip award ticket (or 3,750* off one-way):
Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard
The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card and CitiBusiness Platinum has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Or, you’re eligible for 5,000* miles off of a round-trip award ticket (or 2,500* off one-way) if you have one of the following:
Citi / AAdvantage Gold World Elite Mastercard (as well as the old Visa and Amex versions)
AAdvantage Aviator Blue MasterCard (not accepting new applications)
If you have multiple types of cards (i.e., the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite MastercardandCiti / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard ), you’re only eligible to get one 7,500- or 5,000-mile discount. However, these redemptions will still be eligible for the 10% mileage rebate available on qualifying cards. So, your net mileage cost for a round-trip economy flight could be as few as 15,750 miles.
*Award flights of less than 500 miles (each way) now cost just 15,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip — rather than the standard 25,000 miles round-trip. While these <500-mile award flights aren’t eligible for the 7,500- or 5,000-mile discounts noted above, you can use an eligible card to save 2,000 (1,000) miles off of a round-trip redemption. This means that you’ll pay just 13,000 (or 14,000) AAdvantage miles round-trip for flights of less than 500 miles.
June Airports
Reduced mileage cities for June. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.
Under the just-ended version of this promotion, American Airlines included 62 airports for June, but this sadly only 22 airports made the cut on this version.
Northern reduced mileage cities for August. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.Southern reduced mileage cities for August. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.Western reduced mileage cities for August. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.
Once you exit the peak summer travel season, AA opens up a lot more airports for the reduced mileage awards — including 95 airports on the list for August. So many, in fact, that we needed three maps to make the airport codes readable.
Williamsport Regional (IPT) — A short drive away from the Peach Music Festival (August 11-14)
September Airports
Northern reduced mileage cities for September. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.Southern reduced mileage cities for September. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.Western reduced mileage cities for September. Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.
A whopping 109 airports are included in AA's list for reduced mileage award flights in September. Of the many options, here are some to keep in mind:
Austin, TX (AUS) — Try to snag a reduced award flight to Austin City Limits (September 30-October 2; October 7-9)
For June-September 2016 reduced mileage awards, the discount code that you’ll have to provide the agent is:
7,500 / 2,000-mile cards
Within the US
(excluding <500)
Flights under
500 miles
To/From Canada
Savings (per round-trip)
7,500
2,000
7,500
First Class (2-cabin aircraft)
UD21X2A / AVM86
UD14A / AVA36
UD26X2A / AVA33
Business Class (3-cabin aircraft)
UD28X7A / AVA31
n/a
UD33X7A / AVA34
Main Cabin
TD8X7A / AVM85
TD6X5A / AVA35
TD11X2A / AVA32
5,000 / 1,000-mile cards
Within the US
(excluding <500)
Flights under
500 miles
To/From Canada
Savings (per round-trip)
5,000
1,000
5,000
First Class (2-cabin aircraft)
UD22X5A / AVM83
UD14X5A / AVA30
UD27X5A / AVA27
Business Class (3-cabin aircraft)
UD30A / AVA25
n/a
UD35A / AVA28
Main Cabin
TD10A / AVM82
TD7A / AVA29
TD12X5A / AVA26
Tips
Keep in mind the following as well:
1. The discount requires booking by July 31. The list of airports for August and September will likely change on August 1.
2. The $75 close-in booking fee still applies to award flights within 21 days — waived when American Airlines Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum are using miles from their account.
3. As you can tell by the codes above, the discounts are also available for domestic business and first-class flights. The savings of 7,500/2,000 (5,000/1,000) miles are the same regardless of the cabin booked.
4. Award flights to/from Canada no longer cost the same amount of miles as flights inside the US; award flights to/from Canada start at 30,000 miles round-trip in economy. If you are flying to/from an eligible city, you can apply one of these codes to save 7,500 (5,000)-miles.
Which of these reduced mileage awards are you going to book?
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
