Summary
American Airlines has launched a limited-time offer that allows AAdvantage members to earn up to 100,000 bonus miles when they buy or gift AAdvantage miles through April 30, 2019.
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If you’re an American Airlines loyalist interested in earning bonus miles to use toward free summer travel, you’re in luck: The airline has launched a limited-time offer that allows AAdvantage members to earn up to 100,000 bonus miles when they buy or gift AAdvantage miles.
See the amount of bonus miles you can earn based on the number of miles you purchase in the table below:
| Miles purchased | Bonus miles |
| 10,000 – 19,000 | 4,000 |
| 20,000 – 29,000 | 7,500 |
| 30,000 – 39,000 | 15,000 |
| 40,000 – 54,000 | 22,000 |
| 55,000 – 69,000 | 30,000 |
| 70,000 – 84,000 | 40,000 |
| 85,000 – 119,000 | 55,000 |
| 120,000 – 149,000 | 75,000 |
| 150,000 | 100,000 |
To participate in the promotion, which is valid from March 16 through April 30, 2019, visit the American Airlines BuyMiles/GiftMiles page. Miles successfully purchased should show up in the designated account immediately; however, they may take up to eight hours to post.
The fine print:
- You must be an AAdvantage member to buy miles for your own AAdvantage account; however, you do not need to be a member to gift miles to others.
- Members can purchase for themselves, or receive as a gift, a maximum of 150,000 AAdvantage miles in a calendar year.
- You must purchase a minimum of 10,000 miles in a single transaction to earn bonus miles.
- If your AAdvantage account is less than 30 days old, you are not permitted to buy or gift miles.
- Miles purchased through the Gift Miles program do not count towards AAdvantage Gold, Platinum, Executive Platinum or Million Miler(SM) status qualification.
- The offer is valid from March 16 through April 30, 2019.
Save up to 30 percent when you share
American Airlines is also running a promotion that allows members to save up to 30 percent on the transfer cost when they share their miles with others. You will receive a 20 percent discount when you transfer 6,000 to 25,000 miles, and 30 percent when you transfer 26,000 to 50,000 miles. The offer is valid for miles transferred March 16 through April 30.
| Miles transferred | Discount |
| 6,000 – 25,000 | 20% |
| 26,000 – 50,000 | 30% |
Earning AAdvantage miles
In addition to the Buy Miles and Gift Miles program, American Airlines offers a variety of ways to earn bonus AAdvantage miles. If you combine the Buy Miles bonus with the sign-up bonus from an American Airlines AAdvantage credit card, you have the potential to earn up to 170,000 bonus points.
See what American Airlines AAdvantage cards are currently available below:
| Sign-up bonus | Rewards rate | Annual fee | |
| American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card Update: Offer no longer available as of April 1 , 2019 | 10,000 miles and a $50 statement credit when you spend $500 in first 3 months |
| $0 |
| Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® | 60,000 miles when you spend $3,00 in first 3 months |
| $99, waived first year |
| Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® Update: Offer no longer available as of April 1 , 2019 | 50,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in first 3 months |
| $450 |
| CitiBusiness®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® Update: Offer no longer available as of January 13 , 2020 | 70,000 miles when you spend $4,000 in first 4 months |
| $99, waived first 12 months |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® | 60,000 miles when you make a purchase in first 3 months and pay the $95 annual fee |
| $95 |
The bottom line
Applying for an American Airlines credit card is typically the easiest way to earn a large influx of AAdvantage miles in a short period of time. However, if you’ve already received your sign-up bonus, or if you’re simply not interested in a credit card, the Buy Miles promotion is a great alternative.
If you aren’t already an AAdvantage member, you can join the loyalty program at aa.com/enroll or by calling the membership desk at 1-800-882-8880.
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