While our normal advice here at TPG is to collect transferable points and miles that you can send to various hotel and airline programs, the highlight for me lately has been American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
I’ve held American Airlines’ top executive platinum status for the better part of a decade, and I’ve been able to get a ton of value from the program, starting with my first big redemption: back in 2016, flying first class on Japan Airlines to Tokyo for just 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
What’s crazy is that redemption is still around a decade later. In fact, I just wrote last year about having that same redemption all over again. Today, such huge redemptions are nearly impossible with United MileagePlus and Delta SkyMiles.
I’ve had an incredible number of redemptions through AAdvantage miles over the past year. This is the only airline currency I still recommend people collect. Just in the past few months, I’ve booked multiple business and first class seats on Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and of course American Airlines. We’re talking flights to and from Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo, just to name a few incredible destinations.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of American Airlines’ enormous value.
If you’re thinking of repeating some of those bookings, there are some amazing welcome offers worth considering right now. More details below, but let’s start with what I’ve been looking for and pre-ordering.
Cathay Pacific business class to and from Asia
While it’s hard to find tickets available right now, you can use American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book Cathay Pacific business class (or even first class) tickets.
A few months ago, I saw that the door had opened for using AAdvantage miles or Alaska Airlines Atmos reward points to book business class on Cathay Pacific to and from Seattle. What’s the reason? Cathay Pacific has just announced a new route to Seattle and is offering a large number of seats to its Oneworld partners.
I booked a one-way ticket from Hong Kong to Seattle for only 70,000 AAdvantage miles, plus $64.81 in taxes and fees. (I booked another award with just 75,000 Atmos Rewards points plus $5.60 in taxes and travel to Hong Kong.)
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While this is rare, it can still be booked if you’re patient.
Etihad flies to South Africa in business class and to Abu Dhabi in first class
Another hard-to-find redemption is booking first or business class on Etihad Airways, but the rewards gods must have been feeling generous this spring when Etihad suddenly opened its doors to redemptions on American Airlines. Etihad has even opened up first-class bookings for The Apartment through American Airlines.
I booked several first class flights to and from Abu Dhabi and Paris at Etihad Residences. Each flight costs just 62,500 American Airlines miles plus $158 in taxes and fees.
I couldn’t wait to try Etihad Airways for the first time and fly first class on the legendary Airbus A380, with a shower in the sky, it was a dream come true. (I will report this experience to TPG.)
But the Etihad party didn’t stop there. I could also book the airline’s new service from Atlanta to Abu Dhabi and on to Johannesburg for just 75,000 AAdvantage miles each way in business class.
This equates to 150,000 AAdvantage miles and the trip costs $5,785 cash. Safari, here I come.
Japan Airlines first and business class flights to Tokyo and Shanghai
As I mentioned above, I’ve also booked first class on Japan Airlines multiple times over the past few years, including a trip later this year.
I found a first-class award seat on a Japan Airlines flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) in September for just 80,000 AAdvantage miles.
I’ve also used 60,000 AAdvantage miles to book business class flights a few times. Japan Airlines offers great deals on premium cabins when you use AAdvantage miles.
Another interesting booking I made last summer was flying from Tokyo to Shanghai in business class for only 30,000 AAdvantage miles. That plane was a Boeing 777-300 operated by Japan Airlines, which meant it was first class, so I was able to select a first class seat on the three-hour flight thanks to my elite status.
Related: Tokyo Narita vs Haneda: Which airport should you fly to?
American Airlines Business Class to Europe
Of course, AAdvantage miles are also very helpful if you just want to get cheap business class flights to Europe. You’ll typically find business class seats to Europe for as low as 57,500 miles with minimal taxes and fees.
You’ll want to stay flexible and use American Airlines’ award calendar to find the cheapest dates, but it’s common to find a seat or two at least a few days a month.
RELATED: American Airlines Boeing 777 Business Class Review from Rome to New York
We found such deals (namely business-class seats for as low as 57,500 miles one-way) when American Airlines opened sales in May on several new seasonal routes from Philadelphia to Prague and Budapest, Hungary.
A search conducted at the time of writing turned up similar offers in London this summer. A quick search also found one-way business class flights to Paris this summer for just 65,000 AAdvantage miles.
How to find available rewards
Here are some of my top tips for achieving those hard-to-find salvations.
First, flexibility is key. You may have to travel whenever space is available, including at the last minute.
Try to book as soon as the schedule opens. With an airline like Japan Airlines, you’ll find the best available seats 11 months in advance because that’s when it opens seats to partner airlines.
Rewards search tools have become a must-have in today’s points and miles world. Seats.aero and ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG parent company Red Ventures) are my top picks for rewards availability, but I’ve also been testing Roame.travel recently. Points Path, the rewards tool, is also on my browser, so when I search on Google Flights, I see reward availability.
When conducting award searches on American Airlines, I use the airline’s award search calendar to find business class seats for months at a time. Below is an example of a flight from New York to Paris.
As you can see, I found business class to be more affordable at only 57,500 miles one-way for six days. Fraction!
I typically search for flights from New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, even if I need to book a cheap location flight to get there. This is how I prepared in Atlanta for that upcoming trip to Johannesburg that I mentioned earlier.
How to increase your AAdvantage mileage reserve
There are many ways to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles, including opening a Citi American Airlines branded card with a great welcome offer.
at the moment, Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (See Rates & Fees) Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening. While the annual fee of $595 is high, the welcome bonus is worth $1,425 based on TPG’s February 2026 valuation.
Citibank and American Airlines also recently launched Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (See Rates and Fees). Citi / AAdvantage Globe gets a limited-time welcome bonus of 90,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening.
Keep in mind that Citi also recently announced transfers from the Citi Thank You Rewards program to the American Airlines AAdvantage program for those with certain Citi cards, so this is a great way to top up your AAdvantage account.
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