How To Redeem AA Miles for Cards—Explained How To Redeem AA Miles for Cards—Explained

How To Redeem AA Miles for Cards—Explained

A Quick Guide on How To Redeem AA Miles for Gift Cards

American Airlines (AA) is one of the few airlines in the U.S. that offer a loyalty award program (AAdvantage) for regular customers. Partaking in the program is quite easy—participants earn miles for each flight they take using American Airlines or one of the partner airlines. Getting enough miles enables you to redeem them for various prizes, including free gift cards.

This guide will break down everything you need to know about the AAdvantage Program—we’ll explain how to redeem AA miles for gift cards, what other ways AA miles can be used, and how else to get gift cards for free besides the AA miles program.

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How Does the AAdvantage Miles Program Work?

The AAdvantage Program is a free-to-join loyalty program that lets users accumulate miles or reward points for travel and merchandise, such as magazines and gift cards. You can exchange the points for the following flight-related rewards:

  • Discounts on future trips
  • Free flights
  • Seat upgrades
  • Hotel stays 
  • Rental cars
  • Vacation packages

Source: Phil Mosley

Still, you need to gather points to access these notable perks. American Airlines provides several ways you can earn miles:

  1. Fly and earn—A common misconception is that you earn AAdvantage points for the number of miles you have flown—but this is inaccurate. The airline provides points based on the ticket price and your reward program status level. The higher your status level, the more points you’ll earn per ticket. Generally, you’ll earn 5–11 miles per $1 spent on American Airlines flights
  2. Use the AAdvantage rewards credit card—In a partnership with Citi, American Airlines provides credit cards that enable you to earn miles for purchases. You can earn up to 50,000 miles (points) for purchases worth $2,500 within the first three months of opening your Citi account. You also earn two points for spending $1 at gas stations and restaurants and on American Airlines purchases
  3. Shopping on the AAdvantage eShopping Store—AA has partnered with more than 1,200 renowned retailers, including Adidas, Sephora, Macy’s, Best Buy, and others. When you buy products from these retailers, you earn points at a specified rate (note that rates vary from store to store)

AA Miles—Frequently Asked Questions

To use your AA miles effectively, there are terms and conditions you need to follow. The following Q&A table highlights the most frequently asked questions regarding the use of AAdvantage miles:

FAQ

Answer

Are AA miles redeemable only for American Airlines expenses?

No. The points can be redeemed/used at AA partner airlines, including British Airways, Jetblue, Malaysia Airlines, Etihad Airways, Alaska Airlines, etc.

How many miles do I need for a free flight on American Airlines?

You need about 7,500 miles for one-way flights under 500 miles in the economy class or about 15,000 miles for business/first class 

Can I transfer the AA miles gift card to a loved one?

Yes. The minimum amount of miles you can send is 1,000, which costs $15, while the maximum is 200,000

Do AA miles expire?

Yes. If you do not transact using your AA miles for 24 months, the points will expire and be removed from your account

How To Redeem AAdvantage Miles for Gift Cards

While flights and travel expenses are excellent ways to spend your AA miles, you can also use them for items like gift cards. Redeeming your miles for gift cards is an especially suitable option for individuals who:

  • Don’t often fly
  • Live in a city with airports that don’t operate AA flights
  • Have a lot of points to spare
  • Want free gift cards from their favorite brands, including Spotify and Apple

At the moment, you cannot redeem your AA miles for gift cards directly from the AAdvantage website. American Airlines has partnered with Points—a loyalty points wallet—to handle the online redemption of miles for gift cards. Here are the steps you should follow to redeem your miles on Points:

  1. Go to the Points website and navigate to the Points Loyalty Wallet button at the top-right 
  2. Click on Sign Up, enter the required details, and press Join Now to complete the registration process
  3. Add the AAdvantage Program to your account—scroll down to the name of the program under Add Programs on the right-hand side of the page and click on Add
  4. Press the Register Program button
  5. Enter your AAdvantage account number and PIN
  6. Click on the Give and Exchange tab at the top of the page
  7. Click on the gift card you want and choose the AAdvantage program as the account you’d like the miles taken from
  8. Enter the value of your gift card
  9. Hit Calculate to find out the number of points required for the gift card
  10. Click the Confirm Redeem button and follow the on-screen check-out process

Other Ways To Get Free Gift Cards

If you’re in need of gift cards, there are more reliable ways you can get them for free apart from the AAdvantage program. After all, AA miles are best spent on flight seats and travel expenses like car rentals. Luckily, the internet provides plenty of opportunities to get cheap and free gift cards from your favorite brands. The most convenient ways include:

  1. Joining survey websites
  2. Participating in social media giveaways
  3. Using reward-based apps

Survey Websites

Survey platforms provide participants with free gift cards and other prizes for answering questionnaires on the website. The surveys usually revolve around specific brands, products, and customers’ shopping habits and are meant to help companies with market research.

Keep in mind that not all survey platforms can be trusted as some websites are looking to steal personal and financial information from users. 

To avoid getting scammed, choose survey platforms that are popular and established, such as Swagbucks and Survey Junkie.

Still, survey websites aren’t the most profitable means of getting gift cards for free—you can spend hours filling out a questionnaire and get less than a dollar for it.

Social Media Giveaways 

Influencers and companies on social media use giveaways to drive up engagement, reach, and brand awareness. In the giveaways, winners can get various prizes, such as gift cards, discounts, and free products.

You can find gift card giveaways by searching for relevant hashtags on Instagram or TikTok, where giveaways are most popular. Common hashtags are:

  • #giftcardgiveaway
  • #giftcardpromo
  • #freegiftcards
  • To get gift cards from a particular brand like Starbucks, search for the company-specific tag, e.g., #Starbucksgiftcardgiveaway

    Like survey websites, social media giveaways aren’t the most convenient method of getting gift cards for free. The chances of winning in a giveaway are low since winners are selected randomly, and only a few are selected from numerous participants.

    Reward-Based Apps

    The most reliable way to get free gift cards is by using reward-based apps. These apps reward you for completing particular activities, including filling out surveys. Rewards-based apps are different than survey websites, though, because they offer other earning activities—you can earn by watching ads, referring a friend, and playing games, among other tasks.

    When looking for a reward-based app, you will realize there are plenty of options—but not all are worth your time. You need to find an app that:

    1. Is safe and reliable
    2. Has a high earning rate
    3. Offers a wide range of earning activities and rewards

    You can enjoy a safe and versatile reward-based earning environment thanks to Mode Mobile. The company offers two products—the Mode Earn App and the Mode Earn Phone—to help you earn free gift cards from your favorite brands as well as other amazing rewards.

    Get Free Gift Cards With the Mode Earn App

    Source: Mode Mobile

    The Mode Earn App is a free-to-use reward-based app that you can download from Google Play. The app enables you to earn rewards for completing a plethora of phone-based activities, such as:

    • Streaming music
    • Watching video ads
    • Reading the news
    • Surfing the web 
    • Charging your device
    • Locking and unlocking your phone
    • Completing fitness goals
    • Checking the weather

    When you complete these activities, the app automatically rewards you with redeemable points. Once you have enough points, you can redeem them for the following prizes:

    1. Gift cards from several brands, including Amazon, Walmart, iTunes, etc. (which you can redeem online and in stores)
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    • News Mode
    • Weather Mode
    • Task Mode
    • Fitness Mode
    • Games Mode
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    With the pre-installed app and the earning modes, you can make more than $1,200 worth of cash and rewards annually.

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    Source: Mode Mobile

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    Featured image source: Miguel Angel Sanz

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