Andrew Kunesh is TPG's Points & Miles editor. He has been active in the points and miles space since 2014, using them to travel far and wide around the world. He is originally from Chicago but moved to New York City after graduating from DePaul University. His work is featured on Credit Karma, UpgradedPoints, ValuePenguin and various other travel and finance publications. He currently holds Delta Diamond Medallion and Marriott Titanium status, and 20+ credit cards that each have a special place in Andrew's wallet.
October 6, 2021 • 8 min read
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Quick summary
American Airlines Web Special awards offer discounted mileage rates on select routes, with pricing that varies by date and demand.
These awards can be cheaper than standard awards but sometimes cost more, especially when only last-seat availability remains.
Web Special awards are more restrictive, as tickets cannot be changed, though cancellations are now allowed without extra fees.
Finding Web Special awards is straightforward using the airline's website and calendar search tool.
What to consider
Web Special awards cannot be changed; cancellations are permitted with miles refunded to your account.
Discounted pricing is not guaranteed and may be higher than standard awards if MileSAAver space is unavailable.
Availability and pricing are dynamic, varying by route, date and booking timing.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step instructions for searching and booking Web Special awards and tips for maximizing value with American Airlines miles.
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 is — for right this second — one of the airlines doing dynamic pricing right.
American usually discounts Web Special awards below the cost of a MileSAAver award ticket, but it can sometimes be more. You’ll usually see higher prices when only AAnytime — American’s “last seat” award ticket — award space is available.
Here's everything you need to know about American Airlines Web Special award tickets including what Web Special awards are, how to find them and the restrictions surrounding them. Being able to make use of Web Special awards will help to maximize your American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
What are American Web Special awards?
Web Special awards often offer discounted award tickets on many American flights — even in business class. (Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy)
As discussed earlier, Web Special awards are a product of American’s move towards dynamic pricing where the cost of awards varies just as paid ticket prices vary. These awards usually provide a discount over MileSAAver awards but also include more restrictions around changing your ticket.
Generally, however, deals won’t be quite this good.
In most cases, expect to save 5,000 to 10,000 miles per ticket. For example, I found a Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) to Cancun (CUN) for 10,000 miles one-way in economy. In this case, you’d get a nice 5,000 mile discount from the standard 15,000 MileSAAver price.
Further, you’ll sometimes find that Web Special awards are more expensive than the published MileSAAver rate. This higher cost usually happens when the flight is out of MileSAAver award space. As such, American is effectively offering you a discounted AAnytime ticket. You may find this option useful when booking a last-minute ticket or flying on high-demand routes.
For example, this flight from Charlotte (CLT) to London-Heathrow (LHR) didn’t have available MileSAAver award space in business class. This flight would typically cost 57,500 miles one-way. An AAnytime ticket costs a huge 180,000 miles one-way, but American is offering a Web Special award for 104,500 miles one-way.
This still isn't a great deal, but a good option to have if you need to fly on a specific day.
(Screenshot courtesy of aa.com)
Web Special awards are slightly more restrictive than MileSAAver
There is one significant restriction to Web Special awards: you can’t change your ticket. So if you want to make changes, you’ll need to cancel your trip and book a new one once your miles are refunded.
The inability to change Web Special awards isn’t a massive deal in the end. The only thing you have to lose when canceling and rebooking a ticket is — possibly — the cost of the new flight being higher than your original flight. This is far better than the high fees American Airlines used to charge for Web Special cancellations, making Web Special awards a lot more flexible now than before.
Finding Web Special awards is simple: search the American website like you would for any other award ticket by selecting "Redeem miles". Web Special awards will appear alongside MileSAAver and AAnytime awards.
Start your search by heading to AA.com and entering your search details. Make sure to check the “Redeem Miles” box before starting your search.
(Screenshot courtesy of aa.com)
If your dates are flexible, use the calendar search tool to find the lowest award price for the month. This tool shows you pricing for all the dates in a given month. You can access it by clicking the “Calendar” button at the upper right-hand corner of the search results screen.
(Screenshot courtesy of aa.com)
American Airlines highlights the lowest price in green, which generally indicates a Web Special award if it’s less than other prices displayed that month. If you’re interested in booking, click the date and then click the blue “Apply Changes” button at the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
(Screenshot courtesy of aa.com)
You can’t tell which awards are Web Specials from the initial search results. Instead, you’ll get this notice when you click on the award you’d like to book. Here, American will sell us a Web Special or MileSAAver Main Cabin award.
If you’re comfortable with the Web Special restrictions, click the Confirm button under the Web Special option and continue your booking as usual.
If you're interested in redeeming miles for Web Special awards, you might want to earn AAdvantage miles first.
There are several cobranded American Airlines cards you can use to earn these miles quickly. These cards let you earn AAdvantage miles on every purchase you make. Even better, some of these cards offer lucrative travel perks like free checked bags, priority boarding and even Admirals Club access.
Here’s a look at some of the best American cobranded credit cards and current signup bonuses:
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 70,000 miles after you spend $7,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening (see rates and fees).
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening (see rates and fees).
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®: Earn 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles plus a $50 statement credit after you spend $500 in the first three months of account opening.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after you make $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening.
The information for the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select 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're interested, you could consider opening a Citi Premier® Card and earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening (see rates and fees). The points may or may not post in time for you to transfer them, but you'd be ready if the opportunity arises again.
American’s Web Special awards are a great way to maximize your AAdvantage miles. You can use them to save miles on international and domestic award tickets in economy class and premium cabins. I’ve personally used Web Special awards to save tens of thousands of American miles over the years.
These awards got even better when American Airlines removed cancellation fees. Now, Web Special awards have almost as much flexibility as MileSAAver awards. Remember, you can cancel a Web Special award and redeposit miles for free, but you still can’t change a Web Special award.
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.
