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Last chance: Save up to 7,500 miles on American Airlines award flights this summer and fall

Benji Stawski
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Benji Stawski is a former reporter for the site, covering all things points, miles, credit cards, travel and aviation.
Aug. 04, 2021
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11 min read
American Airlines AA 737-800
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Editor's Note

This is The Points Guy’s permanent page about American Airlines’ reduced mileage awards, so you can bookmark it and check back regularly for the latest offer.

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Along with the ability to defeat basic economy, American Airlines' cobranded credit cards have long offered a lesser-known — but quite valuable — perk: reduced mileage awards. This benefit allows you to save between 1,000 and 7,500 miles per round-trip, depending on the route and the type of card you have. However, this benefit will be discontinued on Oct. 1, 2021, so now's your last chance to take advantage of it.

While American Airlines reduced mileage awards are valid at select cities each month, it's a robust list of options. The current list has a whopping 190 qualifying airports for at least one month from August through November 2021. Of these, 66 are on the list for all four months, giving you plenty of options for your potential summer vacations.

In fact, the list can be a little overwhelming. We’ve found it helpful to have maps of all the monthly options. You’ll find those maps below. Notable cities that are listed for all four months include Cincinnati (CVG), Long Beach (LGB), Seattle (SEA), St. Louis (STL) and West Palm Beach (PBI).

Just note that you must book these flights by Sept. 30, 2021, even if you're looking at a flight to or from the below airports that depart in October or November. Fortunately, American allows all AAdvantage awards, including reduced mileage awards, to be changed or canceled for free if your plans change.

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How do AA Reduced Mileage Awards work?

Before you scroll down, here’s a quick reminder of how reduced mileage awards work. Say you live near Long Beach (LGB) or near any other airports currently listed all four months. If you have an eligible credit card and can find saver award availability, you can fly to any airport in the U.S. for just 17,500 miles round-trip from April through July 2021 — since your airport is listed for all four months. For flights less than 500 miles nonstop each way (i.e., San Francisco to Los Angeles), the cost is just 6,500 miles one-way or 13,000 round-trip.

However, even if your airport isn’t listed for a month, you can still fly from your airport to any of the airports mapped below for as little as 13,000 miles (for direct flights less than 500 miles) round-trip — again, if there’s award availability on the route. Also, although some of these deals are for travel in October and November, remember that you must book by the end of September. As of Oct. 1, 2021, you'll no longer be able to book reduced mileage awards.

Related: American Airlines is eliminating reduced mileage awards

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(Photo by Benji Stawski/The Points Guy)

Who is eligible for AA Reduced Mileage Awards?

If you have one of the following cards, you can save 3,750 miles off one-way award tickets:

  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
  • CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
  • AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard
  • AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard
  • AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard
  • Other credit cards listed here are no longer open to new applicants.

The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card, CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card, Barclays Aviator cards 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 2,500 miles off a one-way award ticket if you have one of the following:

  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold World Elite™ Mastercard®
  • Other credit cards listed here are no longer open to new applicants.

The information for the Citi AAdvantage Gold World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you have multiple types of cards (i.e., both the Citi Executive and the Citi Platinum Select), you'll only get the discount once.

Nonstop saver award flights of less than 500 miles normally cost just 7,500 AAdvantage miles. These sub-500-mile award flights aren’t eligible for the full 7,500-mile round-trip discount noted above. Instead, there's a savings of 1,000 miles each way. This means that you’ll pay just 6,500 miles one-way for flights of less than 500 miles.

Related: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers

Here's how the numbers break down for flights both longer and shorter than 500 miles:

One-way flightsWithin the U.S.
(excluding <500)		Flights under
500 miles
Award chart cost12,5007,500
Reduced Mileage Award discount(3,750)(1,000)
Mileage cost8,7506,500

Reduced Mileage Awards vs. Web Specials

Reduced Mileage Awards offer a discount on saver-level awards. Although American also offers Web Special awards, they don't qualify for the additional discount. In some cases, Web Specials can be cheaper than Reduced Mileage Awards and vice versa, so it's important to compare the different rates. Unlike traditional MileSAAver awards, Web Special pricing varies by day, route and when you book.

Related: Maximizing redemptions with American Airlines AAdvantage

Airports you can fly to

There are 66 airports available for all four months. If you live in one of these cities, you can fly anywhere you can find saver award space from August 2021 through November 2021 for just 8,750 miles each way. Or, you can visit these cities for just 8,750 miles each way during the next four months:

(Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper/Copyright © 1996-2021 Karl L. Swartz)

August 2021

(Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper/Copyright © 1996-2021 Karl L. Swartz)

August offers a whopping 142 airports at the discounted award rates. Here are some notable options to consider if you haven't locked down your upcoming travel plans:

September 2021

(Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper/Copyright © 1996-2021 Karl L. Swartz)

September offers 127 eligible airports, largely clustered out east. There are tons of great options, but here are some notable inclusions:

October 2021

(Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper/Copyright © 1996-2021 Karl L. Swartz)

In October, the list drops to 102 options to consider. Here are some that may be of interest:

November 2021

(Image courtesy of Great Circle Mapper/Copyright © 1996-2021 Karl L. Swartz)

Finally, in November, there are 136 airports on the list. However, many may be of interest, including:

How to book AA Reduced Mileage Awards

Once you’ve found MileSAAver award availability on American Airlines’ website, call American Airlines at 800-882-8880 — or your elite reservations number, if applicable — to book the award ticket. As these awards aren’t available to book online, the terms and conditions state that the standard $30 phone-booking fee will be waived. However, if you book in person through an airport agent or AA travel center, a booking fee of $35 will apply.

For August – November 2021 reduced mileage awards, the discount codes that you’ll have to provide the agent for the larger discount are as follows:

7,500 / 2,000-mile cardsWithin the U.S.
(excluding <500)		Flights under
500 miles
Savings (per round-trip)7,5002,000
First class (two-cabin)UD21X2B / AVM92UD14B / AVA48
Business class (three-cabin)UD28X7B / AVA43n/a
Main cabinTD8X7B / AVM91TD6X5B / AVA47

And for the smaller discount:

5,000 / 1,000-mile cardsWithin the U.S.
(excluding <500)		Flights under
500 miles
Savings (per round-trip)5,0001,000
First class (two-cabin)UD22X5B / AVM90UD14X5B / AVA42
Business class (three-cabin)UD30B / AVA37n/a
Main cabinTD10B / AVM89TD7B / AVA41

Related: How to use off-peak pricing to save on American Airlines awards

Tips

  1. The discount applies to flights both to and from the listed airports. There periodically are AAgents that insist otherwise, so you might have to employ the HUCA (Hang Up Call Again) technique. One thing is clear, though: American Airlines agents are instructed to only apply the discount for flights inside the U.S. to/from the listed airports. So, unfortunately, this keeps you from applying this discount for flights between a listed airport and Europe, Asia or the Caribbean.
  2. Unfortunately, the discount only applies to American Airlines-operated flights; Alaska-operated flights don’t qualify for the discount.
  3. The airports on the previous RMA list for August and September 2021 aren’t necessarily still available. Discounted award flights to/from the airports on the previous list had to be booked by July 31. To avoid missing out, make sure to book award flights for the airports listed above before Sept. 30, 2021.
  4. Remember that American no longer charges a close-in booking or change fee for award tickets.
  1. Reduced mileage award discount codes can be applied to domestic business and first-class awards. The savings of 7,500/2,000 (5,000/1,000 for lesser cards) miles are the same regardless of the cabin booked.

Additional reporting by JT Genter and Nick Ewen

Featured image by (Photo by Benji Stawski/The Points Guy)
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.