Best Ways to Book American Airlines Flights Using Credit Card Points

Listen… any airline that shows a $5.60 tax next to my award booking has my attention. And while American Airlines (AA) is great for other reasons, there is a qualm to address here. You cannot transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Capital One miles directly to AAdvantage. Womp. Sad.

Only Citi ThankYou points transfer to American Airlines at a 1:1 ratio for premium cards and 1:.07 for non-premium cards (which is still pretty decent, by the way). 

The good news? This doesn’t mean you’re stuck paying cash for every AA ticket. By working with American’s many Oneworld and non-alliance partners (or even booking straight through bank portals), you can still use those transferable points to score AA flights for way less.

Transfer Points to Partner Airlines

American Airlines is part of Oneworld, which means that many partners will allow you to book the exact same AA flight with their own miles. And the best part is that Amex, Chase, and Capital One do transfer to those partners (yay!).

Quick Partner Cheat Sheet

Here’s a little breakdown of the best transfer options for booking AA flights:

To break things down a little further…

Use British Airways Avios for Short Hauls

For short nonstop AA flights within the U.S., British Airways Avios is often the sweet spot. British Airways uses a distance-based chart, so flights under 650 miles can be priced as low as 12,000 Avios one-way. That’s Dallas to Austin, Miami to Nassau, or New York to Toronto for fewer points than AA would charge itself. And that, my friends, is a win.

Again, Amex, Chase, and Capital One transfer 1:1 to British Airways Avios, so whichever program you’re rocking with, you can make this work.

Use Iberia or Etihad for Better Long-Haul Deals

If you’re headed over to Europe or down to South America, Iberia Plus and Etihad Guest sometimes offer cheaper long-haul AA awards than you’ll find on its site.

Iberia is often cheaper than AA for business class between the U.S. and Europe. And, Etihad can be a hidden gem for routes to South America when there’s space.

Both programs are 1:1 partners with Amex, which makes these sweet spots very accessible. Keep in mind that Etihad space is very limited, so if you see something, snag it.

Book Through Travel Portals

Sometimes the best way to “use points on AA” is to not mess with partners at all and just book directly through your credit card’s travel portal.

You’ll pay in points instead of cash, and AA still sees that as a paid ticket (helloooo, elite qualifying miles).

How to Book AA Flights Using Amex or Chase Travel

American Express Travel® and Chase Travel^SM both sell American Airlines flights, and you can pay with points instead of cash.

Amex points are worth 1 cent each through Amex Travel, unless you’ve got The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, which gives a 35% rebate on premium cabins (or for economy if it’s your selected airline through Amex Travel).

Chase just rolled out Points Boost, replacing the old fixed 1.25x and 1.5x rates. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, points can be worth up to 1.75 cents on select premium cabin flights (or 1.5 cents on hotels and economy flights). With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can get up to 2 cents per point on select flights and hotels (and Chase automatically applies the best rate when you book).

The only fine print is that points earned before Oct. 26, 2025, still work at the old rates or Boost (whichever is better), but starting Oct. 26, 2027, those older points drop to 1 cent unless they qualify for a Boost.

Covering Taxes and Fees With Points or Credits

Even if you transfer to partners, those darn taxes and fees still exist. That’s where flexible programs are clutch because you can use points as a statement credit with Capital One or Amex, or offset them with annual credits like the $300 travel credit from the Capital One Venture X Business. If you’re booking AA flights for work, this perk alone can wipe out most of the extra costs for that card.

Where to Search for Partner Awards

AA doesn’t always show you what partners can book. Instead, you’ll want to search on sites like British Airways or Qantas for AA award space. These tools will reveal flights that you can’t see otherwise, and then you simply transfer your points to the partner that offers the best rate.

Set Alerts for AA Availability

If searching manually sounds painful, services like Daily Drop Pro (shameless plug!), or even simple Google Flights alerts can tip you off when award space pops up. Since AA availability can go quickly, having an alert set is a great strategy.

Best Cards for Earning Transferable Points

All of these strategies only work if you’re sitting on the right points in the first place. Here’s how some of our favorite cards tie into booking American Airlines flights, even without direct AAdvantage transfers:

• Venture X Business — earns 2x on everything, and miles can transfer to BA Avios or Etihad Guest to book AA flights with partners (or you can book AA flights directly through Capital One Travel)

• Sapphire Reserve — points can move 1:1 to British Airways or Iberia to snag AA award space (or book AA flights through the Chase Travel portal)

• American Express® Gold Card — while you can’t transfer Amex points straight to American, you can send them to British Airways, Iberia, or Etihad to book AA-operated flights (or book directly through Amex Travel)

These cards earn rewards and they give you at least two paths to turn those points into AA flights: transfer to partners when award deals are good, or book directly through the bank’s travel portal when cash fares are cheap.

Bottom Line

Hopefully, by now, you understand that there are still plenty of clever workarounds when it comes to booking American Airlines flights. Use Avios for short domestic hops, Iberia or Etihad for long-hauls, or just book through portals when the math checks out.

With a little partner knowledge, your Amex, Chase, and Capital One miles and points can make booking American Airlines way more fun (and cheaper).