American Airlines miles will no longer expire for members under 21

American Airlines announced a positive change for its youngest AAdvantage members on Tuesday. Starting July 1, AAdvantage members under age 21 will be exempt from mileage expiration.

"This change makes retaining miles easier for members who may have fewer opportunities to earn miles,” the airline told TPG.

For more TPG news and deals delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Once a member turns 21, the program’s 18-month activity requirement will take effect.

American tells TPG that on a member’s 21st birthday, the 18-month expiration policy will begin to apply. That means the earliest your miles would expire is at age 22.5. AAdvantage members who are younger than 21 whose miles have expired on or after Jan. 1, 2020, may reactivate their miles by calling AAdvantage customer service.

AAdvantage miles usually expire after 18 months of no activity, meaning that a user hasn’t earned or redeemed miles in this time frame.

American in April announced that that it would extend AAdvantage mileage expiration for miles set to expire to July 1, 2020 — the latest announcement related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

But if you haven't used your American account in a while, there are several ways you can keep your AAdvantage miles active without flying. Spending on an American Airlines co-branded credit card, shopping through the AAdvantage shopping portal, donating to charity or earning miles with Bask Bank are all ways to keep your miles from expiring.

Another free way to keep your miles active is by commenting on a post on the AwardWallet blog. All you need to do is link your AAdvantage account to your AwardWallet account, and use that AwardWallet account when commenting on a post on their blog. Each comment earns five American Airlines miles.

Remember to put your birthdate into AAdvantage, as miles will still expire after 18 months in AAdvantage accounts without it.