American Airlines Offering 10x Miles per Dollar Donated to Disaster Relief
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
American Airlines is offering AAdvantage mileage program members 10 miles for each dollar donated to the American Red Cross, with a minimum donation of $25. There are multiple donation options available under the dropdown: the Disaster Relief fund covers relief efforts for natural disasters big and small such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
Another option allows givers to donate directly to combat the wildfires currently ravaging California. The "Where it is needed most" fund does exactly that, supporting a variety of humanitarian needs addressed by the Red Cross. And finally, donations can go to your local Red Cross so that the funds go toward programs and services that benefit your community, going where they're needed the most.
The AA partnership with the Red Cross allows generously-minded donors to earn a little bit back on their philanthropic donations, although an AAdvantage mileage account is required for earning miles. Donation-earned miles will be reflected in your account 30 to 45 days after the donation is made.
On top of donating to charity, this could be a great way to add miles to your AAdvantage account to keep them from expiring or hit a credit card minimum spend to earn a sign-up bonus. TPG values American miles at 1.4 cents apiece, so 10x miles is effectively 14% back per donation.
A donation to the Red Cross will likely code into a category that doesn't earn bonus points, so you'll want to use a card that's great for everyday spend. The Blue Business®️ Plus Card from American Express (earn 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent each year; then 1x thereafter), Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5% or 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points on purchases) or the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express (1x Membership Reward plus 50% bonus after making 30+ purchases per month) are all great options to do this.
