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Last month, I published an article titled “The Only Place You Should Send RBC Avion Points is American AAdvantage.” As a follow-up, let’s take a look at the best American Airlines AAdvantage sweet spots.
The goal here is to focus on awards you can actually book. For example, I won’t be discussing Qatar Airways Qsuites because while Johannesburg – Doha – Montreal is a fantastic deal at 75,000 miles with minimal taxes and fees, availability is so poor these days that it’s really not feasible. I booked and flew this route myself in September 2024 (booked in March). I also won’t cover Cathay Pacific for the same reasons.
The best feature of AAdvantage is no fuel surcharges on awards, except for British Airways.
Japan Airlines Business and First Class
AA has very reasonable premium cabin pricing across the board, but especially for East Asia. One-way from North America to Japan costs 60,000 miles in business class and 80,000 miles in first class. You can tag on a positioning flight within North America for the same price.
Note that for the past few months, there’s been a lot of phantom Japan Airlines first and business class availability on AA. However, I’ve managed to successfully make a few bookings in the past few days.
Business class availability to the West Coast, especially Vancouver, opens up very reliably close to departure.
Etihad A380 First Class Apartments
The current timing could be better, but Etihad A380 first class apartments remain the singular best use of AA miles. You can fly from Abu Dhabi to Europe for 62,500 miles, Abu Dhabi to Toronto for 115,000 miles, or Abu Dhabi to Singapore for just 50,000 miles. If you can find availability, string together Singapore – Abu Dhabi – London/Paris for 90,000 AAdvantage miles.
As usual, you can combine partners on AA. As an example, I booked Abu Dhabi – London – Dublin for the same 62,500 miles with the second leg on British Airways business class.
To take this a step further, you can actually fly all the way to the Indian subcontinent for 62,500 miles in first class (or business class for 42,500 miles). You’d be able to book Mumbai – Abu Dhabi – Paris for 62,500 miles with all legs in first class (mixed cabin is allowed as well) if you can find space. The best case is if it shows up online, since AA sometimes has trouble manually piecing together mixed-cabin Etihad segments.
Book Etihad first class with AAdvantage
Transcontinental Flights on American Airlines
Atmos Rewards is my favourite way to book short-haul AA flights, but AA’s dynamic pricing can often undercut it when you’re flying across the continent. An award ticket from Seattle to Miami would cost 17,500 Atmos Rewards points, but I managed to book directly with AA for 10,000 miles.
AA dynamic pricing can work in your favour
Middle East to Asia Business Class for 40,000 Miles
Not touching North America, but this is a fantastic redemption value. “Middle East” here goes as far north as Israel, so you could book Tel Aviv – Abu Dhabi – Hong Kong on Etihad Airways business class for just 40,000 miles.
First class costs a bit more at 50,000, but it is still a deal if you find Qatar Airways first class availability.
From Southeast Asia to North Asia for 30,000 Miles
On AA’s regional-based award chart, it defines much of Southeast Asia as “Asia 2” and flying from Asia 2 to Japan or Korea costs 30,000 miles in business class. This represents solid value as Singapore – Hong Kong – Tokyo or Kuala Lumpur – Seoul is 7+ hours of flying.
Fly KUL–ICN for 30,000 miles in business class
From Japan to Australia + South Pacific for 40,000 Miles
Definitely more of a niche redemption, but you can fly from Tokyo to Tahiti or all the way to Australia for just 40,000 miles one-way in business class. AA partners with Fiji Airways, Qantas, and even Air Tahiti Nui. Keep in mind that a flight from Tokyo to Sydney is about 10 hours of flight time!
Takeaway
American Airlines AAdvantage is a fantastic award program for both aspirational and practical travel. Book Japan Airlines first class or transcontinental flights on AA economy, AAdvantage really does do it all.
From North America, the best sweet spots are booking Etihad first and business class to the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. Outside of North America, business class prices are excellent for hopping around North and South Asia, or even flying from Asia all the way to Australia and the South Pacific. Flying from the Middle East to Asia is a great value as well.
Not quite a sweet spot, but you can book Qantas from North America to Australia with AAdvantage at 80,000 miles one-way in business class and 110,000 miles in first. Prices are steep, but Qantas is hard to book, so I’d snag this if availability were there.
Featured Image Credit: American Airlines
