Can Award Travel American Airline Earn Miles?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Fly on American Airlines, American Eagle

®

, any oneworld

®

airline and our partner airlines, or book cars, hotels or vacation packages and watch how fast your miles add up.

Do award flights count towards status American Airlines?

The good news is that

award travel marketed by American will contribute towards the 30-segment threshold

. This only includes AAdvantage award segments for travel on American — partner-issued tickets or awards on partner airlines will not count towards this threshold.

Does award travel count towards Million Miler?

Instead, they fall into an entirely separate category and only count toward your lifetime status qualification. According to American Airlines, “

flight distance on American marketed flights or the base miles earned for travel on eligible partner marketed flights” count toward Million Miler qualification

.

How can I earn American Airlines miles without flying?

One of the easiest ways to earn American AAdvantage miles is through

cobranded credit cards, both via sign-up bonuses and everyday spending

. Both Citi and Barclays currently issue American credit cards, giving you six different options with different welcome bonuses and point-earning abilities.

Can you earn miles on award travel?

As a general rule that

award tickets do not earn frequent flyer miles since they are paid for with miles

, the same way you do not earn hotel points when you redeem points on an award stay. Frequent flyer programs will usually exclude award booking classes from mileage accrual.

Do you earn EQM on award travel American?


No. Award tickets earn no miles, EQDs, or EQMs

.

Does award travel count status?

Bonus award miles, award miles and any other miles earned through non-flight activity

do not count toward or qualify for Premier status unless expressly stated otherwise

. Taxes and fees related to award travel are the responsibility of the member.

What are elite qualifying miles?

What are Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) on American Airlines? EQMs are

the number of miles you’ve flown on American Airlines and Oneworld partner airlines

, and it’s calculated based on the actual miles and airline flown, and the fare code purchased.

Do miles expire on American Airlines?

Per the AAdvantage program terms and conditions,

American Airlines miles expire after 24 months of no activity

. For the occasional flyer, that might not seem like a lot of time. But there are plenty of ways to keep your miles active beyond simply hopping on an American Airlines flight.

What are award miles on American Airlines?

On most flights marketed by partner airlines, you earn award miles

based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class of your ticket

. Elite status members get bonus miles in addition to base award miles earned on eligible partner airlines: Gold – 40%

What is the difference between award miles and Million Miler?


The miles in your frequent flyer account are different from actual flown miles and do not count toward Million Miler status

. Miles that count toward Million Miler status are normally miles flown on flights you purchase, not bonus redeemable miles that you collect and use to secure award tickets.

Does award travel count towards lifetime miles on United?

Instead, it’s an entirely different number: the number of flight miles you’ve taken on paid flights operated by United or United Express over your lifetime. This means that

award tickets don’t count towards Million Miler status

, nor do extra PQMs you previously earned on paid premium-class tickets.

Can you convert Amex points to American Airlines miles?


Amex Membership Rewards points DO NOT transfer to American Airlines

. You can use Amex Membership rewards to book American Airlines flights indirectly, though. There are 5 American Express Membership Rewards airline transfer partners that you can use to book award tickets for flights operated by American Airlines.

How much is 60000 AAdvantage miles worth?

If you deduct the $33.60 in taxes you paid for award flights, you realize your 60,000 miles are worth

$620 in cash

.

Do you earn miles when booking with miles?

If you pressed the “using miles” or “award ticket” button when booking directly with an airline, the answer is almost undoubtedly, no.

You will not earn frequent flyer miles if you booked your ticket using miles as the main payment for your flights

.

Do you earn miles when flying on miles?

While many of us earn airline miles from credit card purchases, online shopping, and other activities, flying is the most basic way to earn them. However,

you won’t earn miles on every flight you take, including some paid flights

.

Do you only earn miles after the flight?


Miles are always earned by the Member who is flying

(whose name and SkyMiles number are listed on the ticket) regardless of who purchased the flight.

How are award miles calculated on United?

Standard United MileagePlus members earn 5x the cost of their ticket. So

multiply the cost of your ticket by five

and and you’ll get the number of miles you’ll earn for that flight. Elite members earn more, with the total miles equaling between 7x to 11x the cost of the ticket.

Do I earn MQM on award travel?

Extended Earn on Award Travel


SkyMiles Members can earn MQMs, MQSs and MQDs for Award Travel on qualifying* flights that are both marketed and operated by Delta and flown April 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022

.

What is the difference between award miles and Elite qualifying miles?

Elite qualifying and redeemable miles are very different. They both have value, though they serve different purposes.

Redeemable miles can be redeemed towards a ticket and earned over time, while elite qualifying miles can help you earn status, but reset every year

.

How does American Airlines calculate elite qualifying miles?

Elite qualifying miles, or EQMs, are the actual miles you fly every year aboard American and its Oneworld partners. They’re calculated by

taking the mileage of the flight and multiplying it by the fare class

: Full-fare first or business class: EQM = miles flown x 3. Discount first or business: EQM = miles flown x 2.

How do I get AAdvantage gold?

For more information and a complete list of eligible fare classes and the equivalent elite points earned on AAdvantage participating airlines, visit www.aa.com/aadvantage. To requalify for Gold status, you need to

fly at least 30 qualifying segments or earn 25,000 qualifying miles or points during the calendar year

.

Timothy Chehowski
Author
Timothy Chehowski
Timothy Chehowski is a travel writer and photographer with over 10 years of experience exploring the world. He has visited over 50 countries and has a passion for discovering off-the-beaten-path destinations and hidden gems. Juan's writing and photography have been featured in various travel publications.