American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty members enjoy a new way to travel in South America.
Travelers can now use points to book flights on Chilean discount airline JetSmart through the American Airlines website. This fills one of the last remaining gaps in airline partnerships, which is that AAdvantage members can book JetSmart flights, but only on the budget airline’s website.
The move comes four years after American Airlines and JetSmart first announced their partnership. Under the agreement, American Airlines holds a 35.4% stake in the South American airline and JetSmart adopts AAdvantage as its loyalty program.
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American Airlines operates the most flights to South America among U.S. airlines – a market position it has held since 1990 when it purchased the former Eastern Airlines’ assets in the region. This has translated into a significant ‘local’ presence for the airline.
“American Airlines is a local brand in most countries in South America,” Vasu Raja, the airline’s former chief commercial officer, said in 2021.
However, American Airlines does not offer flights within the continent to many of its loyalty members.
Enter JetSmart. By agreeing to adopt AAdvantage as its own loyalty program, the discounter gives American Airlines’ many customers in the region a way to redeem points on flights within South America, not just flights to and from the United States.
There are some caveats to the new JetSmart redemption on the American Airlines website. First, travelers only have one fare choice compared to the three they get when booking directly through JetSmart. All points bookings made with American Airlines include free checked bags, seat selection and flexibility in flight changes and cancellations.
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Additionally, redemption is only available on JetSmart-only itineraries. Itineraries that include transfers between American Airlines and JetSmart flights are not available.
A quick search of the American Airlines website revealed that JetSmart flights in October are available for redemption. On October 24, you can use 7,000 points to book a domestic flight from Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport (SCL) to Andrés Sabella Galvez International Airport (ANF) near Antofagasta in northern Chile.
Earn 14,000 points on a same-day flight from SCL to Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) near Buenos Aires.
AAdvantage members can already earn points when flying with JetSmart, including loyalty points toward elite status.
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