Not enough AAdvantage miles for an award? American's new cash and miles option can help
American Airlines is giving its AAdvantage program members a new way to spend their miles. Over the coming weeks, eligible members will be able to pay for select flights with a mix of cash and miles on aa.com and in the American app.
The move brings American in line with rivals including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which already offer some form of cash and miles bookings. It could be handy if you have a small balance of American miles you can't otherwise use. But American hasn't said what each mile will be worth redeeming them in this new way, and the option wasn't live in our accounts when we tested it.
Here's what you need to know.
Related: Combination of points and cash: How I strategize my award redemptions
How cash and miles bookings work
Once the new option is live, eligible U.S. AAdvantage members will be able to book domestic cash flights on American, excluding flights to and from Alaska and Hawaii, and then choose how many AAdvantage miles they wish to redeem to reduce the cash cost of the flights.
Unlike searching for an award booking, you won't need to select the "Redeem miles" button when searching for a flight, and it won't depend on traditional award availability; instead, you can follow these steps:
- Log in to your AAdvantage account and select your flights at the cash price
- Accept or decline the optional trip insurance offer during checkout
- Use the slider to choose the amount of AAdvantage miles you wish to redeem (the more miles you redeem, the more the cash required will drop)
- Once you have a ratio of cash and miles you are comfortable with, enter your payment details for the remaining cash amount and complete your booking. The number of AAdvantage miles you selected will be deducted from your account
Should you use cash and miles?
American Airlines has not disclosed what redemption value members will receive from using the new option, other than saying that pricing may vary by destination, itinerary and flight, while available cash-and-miles combinations are determined by American and may also depend on the AAdvantage member's mileage balance.
American's example in the screenshot above doesn't show the fare before miles were applied, so we can't calculate the exact value. Based on similar options, such as using miles for Instant Upgrades, we'd expect around 1 cent per mile.
Cash and miles could make sense if you have a small AAdvantage balance. A few thousand miles usually won't cover a full award, let alone an aspirational redemption like business-class travel to Europe or Asia. Putting them toward a cash fare to save, say, $50, is better than leaving them sitting in your account if you don't think you'll ever use them.
However, you're unlikely to get close to TPG's October 2026 valuation of 1.45 cents per AAdvantage mile by using the new cash and miles option.
Also, keep in mind that only the cash portion is confirmed to earn miles and Loyalty Points. Applying more miles could mean earning less toward elite status.
If you have a healthy AAdvantage balance, a standard award booking will almost always stretch your miles further, particularly for premium cabin flights on American and its Oneworld partners.
If you're trying to build your AAdvantage balance, remember you can transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points from many cards at a 1:1 rate.
Related: Why Citi's newest transfer partner has changed my credit card and points and miles strategies
Bottom line
This new cash and miles option gives AAdvantage members an easy way to redeem small amounts of miles toward their next flight booking. Until we can test it, though, treat it with caution.
If you're saving for a big trip, a standard award booking will likely remain the better use of your miles, since cash and miles may only get you 1 cent per AAdvantage mile.