You can now use your American AAdvantage miles to upgrade your airport experience
American Airlines lets its premium cabin passengers pay for extra-special treatment via its Five Star Service offerings. And now, you can use your miles as a payment option.
As first noted by Twitter user @xJonNYC and confirmed with the airline, American will now let you redeem AAdvantage miles for the base level Five Star Service. As usual, the buy-up is only available to those traveling in either first or business class on at least one segment of the American Airlines itinerary.
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What American Airlines Five Star Service gets you
This VIP experience is ideal for travelers who find business or first class isn't premium enough. It makes the ground experience more enjoyable, providing extra perks like priority check-in — including access to Flagship First Check-In, where available — expedited security screening, access to the Admirals Club, an escort to and from the gate, pre-boarding, priority re-accommodation during delays and more.
While some perks like priority boarding may seem redundant for premium cabin passengers, having access to the exclusive Flagship First Check-In area and expedited security can be valuable. Even more so during times like this when social distancing is more important than ever.
Access is usually reserved for Flagship First passengers on qualifying three-cabin flights, AAdvantage Executive Platinum members on qualifying international flights, ConciergeKey members and Oneworld Emeralds. Unlike the usual priority security privileges, passengers coming from the Flagship First Check-In area are escorted directly to the front of the line.
How much does Five Star Service cost?
Five Star Service usually costs $350 for the first person and $100 for each additional adult. Passengers 17 and under pay just $50. With miles, the service costs 35,000 miles for the first adult and 10,000 miles per additional adult or 5,000 miles per additional child, meaning the airline is valuing miles at 1 cent apiece.
Adding more options for redeeming miles is a welcome development, but the value proposition isn't very good. TPG values AAdvantage miles at 1.4 cents each, so there are definitely better uses of your miles. For instance, you can redeem 32,500 miles for a Flagship Business seat on American's premium transcontinental A321T flights.
Related: Choosing the Best Credit Card for American Airlines Flyers
Which airports offer Five Star Service?
Five Star Service is offered at 16 U.S. airports and four international ones. However, only its U.S. locations are bookable with miles:
- Austin (AUS)
- Atlanta (ATL)
- Boston (BOS)
- Charlotte (CLT)
- Chicago O'Hare (ORD)
- Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Miami (MIA)
- Nashville (BNA)
- New York Kennedy (JFK)
- New York LaGuardia (LGA)
- Newark (EWR)
- Philadelphia (PHL)
- Phoenix (PHX)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Washington Reagan (DCA)
You can purchase Five Star Service by calling 877-578-2702 or emailing fivestar.service@aa.com.
American's more premium Five Star experiences like Five Star Select (which includes perks like Flagship First Dining and American Airlines Cadillac or cart transfers), Five Star Private Departure and Five Star Private Arrival have been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic. It's unknown whether those will become bookable with miles when they resume.
Bottom line
This new feature comes two months after American Airlines introduced the option to purchase seats with miles. The airline also recently made adjustments to boarding times, award change and redeposit fees, elite status and more.
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month