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One of the lesser-known — though pretty amazing — benefits with the American Airlines’ cobranded credit cards is the opportunity to save up to 7,500 miles per round-trip award flight, solely for being a cardmember. This reduced mileage award benefit has been around for years, but unfortunately, is coming to an end on Oct. 1, 2021 — for both Barclays and Citi cobranded cards.
Fortunately, you still have two days to utilize this discount before it's gone forever — with the list of eligible flights extending through November 2021.
You can still reap the savings
Since you have two more days to take advantage, we wanted to point out a few of the eligible destinations that are particularly enticing. These are bookable for October and November and make for some great fall destinations:
- Asheville, N.C. (AVL)
- Bozeman, Mont. (BZN)
- Palm Springs, Calif. (PSP)
- Seattle (SEA)
- Vail/Eagle, Colo. (EGE)
Also, the discount you receive depends on the card you have in your wallet. If you have one of the following cards, you can save 3,750 miles on one-way award tickets (flights 500 miles and less will only receive a 1,000-mile discount):
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
- CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
- Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard®
- Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator Silver Mastercard
- Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator Business Mastercard
- Other credit cards listed here that are no longer open to new applicants.
The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card, CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card, Barclays Aviator cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Or, you’re eligible for 2,500 miles on a one-way award ticket if you have one of the following (flights 500 miles and less will only receive a 500-mile discount):
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold World Elite™ Mastercard® (no longer available for new applicants)
- Other credit cards listed here that are no longer open to new applicants.
American is still offering Web Special awards
Besides the reduced mileage award benefit, American Airlines offers Web Special awards for all AAdvantage members — regardless of whether or not you have one of the carrier’s cobranded credit cards. In fact, there are times when these awards actually offer a significant discount and can’t be combined with the reduced mileage awards anyways.
And since American no longer charges a change or cancellation fee on award tickets, there’s no reason not to book early and hopefully score a discounted award flight. You can then continue to cancel and re-book if your flight reduces the number of miles required.
Related: Maximizing redemptions with American Airlines AAdvantage
Are American Airlines cobranded credit cards still worth it?
In my opinion, this was a nice perk to have, but not the sole reason to have any of American’s cobranded cards. Since the applicable airports could change from month to month, it was the luck of the draw as to whether or not you’d be able to take advantage of this benefit. You also needed to call to book these, as opposed to using AA.com. Finally, the proliferation of Web Special awards often eliminated the need for these discounts.
And if you’re a current cardholder of the Citi AAdvantage Executive card, you’re probably more concerned with the complimentary Admirals Club access for both you and up to 10 authorized users — which still remains a benefit on the card.
If you have more flexibility in your travels and frequently utilized Reduced Mileage Awards, this will most likely be a loss. However, if you are one to plan in advance and have a specific destination in mind, there’s a chance you probably never even had the opportunity to use this benefit. That said, be sure to see if any of the participating airports work for your current travel plans — and then book your award in the next two days before this perk disappears for good.
Additional reporting by Stella Shon.
