Black Friday is here with many airlines delivering Black Friday deals, and American Airlines is no different.
Starting today, the carrier launched its best deal this year for buying AAdvantage miles, as well as many one-way domestic flights for less than $100.
“We’re proud to share our love for connecting travelers with the world by offering flight and mileage deals to ring in the new year by checking off bucket list adventures, reconnecting with friends and family after the holidays or earning AAdvantage miles,” said Caroline Clayton, American’s Chief Marketing Officer.
Buy AAdvantage Miles For Up to 50% Off
For a limited time starting Nov. 28 through Dec. 2, American Airlines is running a promotion to get up to 50% off when buying AAdvantage miles.
As expected, the discount becomes larger the more miles you buy. Here’s the breakdown:
- Buy 3,000 to 9,000 miles: 10% off
- Buy 10,000 to 29,000 miles: 20% off
- Buy 30,000 to 89,000 miles: 30% off
- Buy 90,000 to 299,000 miles: 40% off
- Buy 300,000 to 499,000 miles: 45% off
- Buy 500,000 miles: 50% off
Although the number of miles you can buy is typically capped at 150,000 miles, the airline is raising the ceiling to 500,000 miles during this promotion.
I typically only recommend buying miles when you’re just shy of the amount needed for an award ticket you’re looking at. Say that you have 76,000 miles in your AAdvantage account, and want to make a redemption for 80,000 miles to fly first class to Asia. That would be a good time to buy an extra 4,000 miles for $135.
I recently went over some of the best sweet spots for redeeming AAdvantage miles. In short, these mostly involve American’s partner airlines in premium cabins.
For example, as a frequent traveler to Japan, I’m able to redeem 60,000 AAdvantage miles for business class on Japan Airlines. Given that business class over the Pacific typically costs $4,000 or more, I can get tremendous value out of my miles.
American still uses an award chart for its partner airlines, unlike Delta or United. As long as there is availability, I’m able to count on the award chart and know how many miles I’d need.
The catch is, however, finding availability on partner airlines can be a challenge. If you’re looking to buy some extra miles to grab an award ticket, I highly recommend placing a ticket on hold first. I also recommend using a service like Seats.aero or Thrifty Traveler Premium (50% off for a limited time, sponsored) to get award deals right to your inbox.
All of that said, the best deal under this current promotion comes when you buy a lot of miles. Purchasing 500,000 miles will cost you $9,406. This still may get you good value if you have specific obligations/plans for international travel in premium cabins.
Related: Tools I Use to Hunt Cheap Award Fares (Seats.aero, Thrifty Traveler Premium)
Cheap Domestic One-Way Flights
American is celebrating its centennial year in 2026. With that, the airline is offering several domestic flights for under $100.
These deals involve travel dates in January and February. Some deals I’ve found are:
- Dallas (DFW) to New York (LGA) starting at $69
- New York (JFK) to Miami (MIA) starting at $74
- Washington D.C. (DCA) to Miami (MIA) starting at $83
- Philadelphia (PHL) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) starting at $46
More of its discounts can be found here. Just like the AAdvantage promotion, these discounts are available through Dec. 2.
Bottom Line
Black Friday is always a good time of year to grab cheap flights and award tickets, and American Airlines is offering a solid lineup of deals this year. If you have a specific plan for maximizing your AAdvantage miles or have ideas for a domestic trip in January or February, I’d consider these deals before they go away on Dec. 2.
Featured image by the author.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this article may include affiliate links, where Altitude Yes will receive commission for any purchases made, at no additional cost to you.
