Do American AAdvantage miles expire? Execs hold firm on airline's policy

Do American Airlines AAdvantage miles ever expire? Eventually, yes — and it appears that won't change anytime soon.

American Airlines largely stands alone among the four largest U.S. carriers that control around 80% of the U.S. market share in the airline industry.

AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of inactivity.

Value check: Are airline credit cards worth it anymore?

Though there are easy ways to keep your miles active, American's policy is certainly more stringent than what you'll find at its top competitors. Frequent flyer miles never expire for Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus and Southwest Rapid Rewards members, for instance.

Might American change its policy? In the airline industry, carriers frequently make policy changes to match competitors. Look no further than the wave of airlines that hiked baggage fees in early 2024 — or the move a long list of airlines globally have moved toward dynamic award pricing.

However, it appears American isn't in any hurry to change its stance on mileage expiration.

Read more: How to keep your airline and hotel points and miles from expiring

American sticks with current expiration policy

Last month, on the company's third-quarter earnings call, a Wall Street analyst asked American CEO Robert Isom whether the company had any plans to follow in the footsteps of its largest competitors and shift to a "miles never expire" policy.

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"We're constantly looking at ways to better engage our customers not only from a loyalty perspective, but also from a value perspective," Isom replied, offering a rather indirect answer to the question — but one that seemed to suggest American is comfortable with its policy, as-is.

"While there may be some carriers that are doing something different, I do know one thing: You take a look at any type of assessment of the value of a mile on American Airlines, versus anyone else, and you'll see that we absolutely generate more value for our customers," Isom added.

How much are airline miles worth?

To be fair, Isom has a point about the value of American's loyalty currency. According to TPG's November 2024 points and miles valuations, AAdvantage miles are worth approximately 1.6 cents per mile. That's currently the best of any U.S. airline, exceeding Delta SkyMiles (1.2 cents), United MileagePlus miles (1.35 cents), Southwest Rapid Rewards points (1.4 cents), Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles (1.4 cents) and JetBlue TrueBlue points (1.3 cents).

How to keep AAdvantage miles from expiring

We should also note that while AAdvantage miles technically expire after 24 months of account inactivity, it's incredibly easy to keep your miles active.

Earning or redeeming miles on just one flight will do the trick. You can also keep your miles active without even leaving the house by earning miles through the AAdvantage e-shopping portal or another one of American's eligible shopping, travel or dining partners.

Plus, even if your miles do expire, there are ways to get up to half a million miles reinstated after the fact.

It's also important to know that miles never expire for AAdvantage members who carry an American cobranded credit card. That includes the Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees), which carries a hefty $595 annual fee but includes complimentary access to American's network of Admirals Clubs.

Read more: Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard review: Complimentary Admirals Club membership

It's not just American

Mileage expiration is far more common for international airline loyalty programs, including popular programs such as Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club and Emirates Skywards — just to name a few. (Exact policies differ from one carrier to another.)

Meanwhile, on the hotel front here in the U.S., multiple prominent loyalty programs, including Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt, stipulate that points expire after two straight years of inactivity.

Related reading:

• American Airlines elite status: What it is and how to earn it
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• American Airlines basic economy: What you need to know about bags, seats, boarding and more