You now may be able to save AAdvantage miles by booking round-trip awards
American Airlines recently implemented dynamic pricing, which replaced the airline's previous MileSAAver and Web Specials. Previously, the airline did not offer any savings for booking round-trip tickets. Instead, it essentially combined the pricing of two, one-way tickets to arrive at the total mileage cost for a round-trip award ticket.
However, now the airline has started offering cheaper award tickets for those who book select round-trip flights, as first reported by AwardWallet.
That said, this appears to be very limited across American's route network, as TPG has tested these American routes and didn't find lower round-trip pricing in premium cabins:
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
- JFK to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD).
- JFK to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU).
- JFK to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport (EZE).
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to MAD.
- Miami International Airport (MIA) to EZE.
- MIA to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport (GIG).
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Santiago, Chile's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL).
- DFW to Seoul, South Korea's Incheon International Airport (ICN).
- DFW to Lima, Peru's Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM).
Nevertheless, you may be able to save AAdvantage miles by booking a round-trip ticket.
On a sample search from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO), you'll need 50,000 miles to book a pair of one-way economy tickets.
By booking these exact same flights as a round-trip itinerary, you'll save 8,000 miles.
You could save quite a bit going this route, as 8,000 AAdvantage miles are worth more than $140 based on TPG's valuation.
Related: How to earn miles in the American Airlines AAdvantage program
Here's another example, this time for a business-class search from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).
As you can see, booking the outbound ticket as a one-way flight would set you back 67,000 miles, and the same price holds on the return, putting the total mileage cost at 134,000 miles. However, combining them on a round-trip itinerary drops the required mileage to 112,500 miles — a savings of 21,500 miles.
Note that this doesn't apply to award tickets operated by partner airlines, so those will still price based on the (still-published) award charts on aa.com.
Bottom line
American officially dropped award charts on its own metal a month ago, and it's now offering the ability to book select round-trip award tickets at a discount compared to two one-ways. As of now, this isn't widespread across the carrier's network. That said, check round-trip award rates before booking a one-way award on your next AAdvantage redemption.
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month