2 New Promos to Get More American Airline Bonus Miles

American Airlines has some new options available for those customers who want to bulk up on their AA miles. Check out the details of both methods below!

2 New Promos to Get More American Airline Bonus Miles

25% Bonus On Transferred Hotel Points

Link: Transfer Bonus from Hotel Points

American Airlines has run a transfer bonus the last couple of years from SPG to American Airlines but this transfer bonus is for a host of hotels (though the hotel of choice for transfers will still likely be SPG). Here are the details of this transfer bonus:

• Get a 25% bonus on miles when transferred from participating hotels through June 15, 2017
• Best Western – 5,000 points = 1,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
• Club Carlson 
  • 2,000 points = 200 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • 10,000 points = 1,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • 50,000 points = 5,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • 100,000 points = 10,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
• Choice Hotels – 5,000 points = 1,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
• Hilton Honors – 10,000 points = 1,500 AA miles + 25% bonus
• Hyatt Hotels – 5,000 points = 2,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
• IHG – 10,000 points = 2,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
• Marriott
  • 10,000 points = 2,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • 20,000 points = 5,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • 30,000 points = 10,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • 70,000 points = 25,000 miles + 25% bonus
  • 140,000 points = 50,000 AA miles + 25% bonus
• SPG – 2,500 points = 2,500 AA miles + 25% bonus
  • For every 20,000 Starpoints transferred within the same transaction you’ll earn 5,000 bonus Starpoints
• *Note: Even though Wyndham points are on the above page, they are not eligible for this transfer bonus
• To qualify for this AAdvantage® 25% bonus mile offer, member must initiate the AAdvantage mileage conversions with participating eligible AAdvantage program hotel participants (“Hotel Partner(s)”) between 12:00 am Central time on April 28, 2017 and 11:59 pm Central time on June 15, 2017 (the “Promotion Period”), and must be in good standing in the AAdvantage program.\
• Members can convert multiple times with multiple Hotel Partners. Conversions for hotel and air packages from Hotel Partners are included for this offer. This offer is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offers.
• Bonus miles will be posted by American Airlines to the qualifying AAdvantage member’s account within 7 business days after the initial conversion activity has been posted by the participating Hotel Partner. Bonus miles earned in this promotion do not count toward elite status qualification.

Up to 40% Bonus on Purchased Miles = As Low As 1.9 Cents Each

Link: Buy AA Miles Promo

American Airlines runs many promos on purchased miles and they can be great – depending on the travel you have in mind. Buying miles is almost always the thing to do if you are planning on traveling in business or first class. But, since their devaluation last year, the value has dropped on many common awards. Still, there can be some good values. For instance, flying first class in the Etihad First Apartment between London and Abu Dhabi would cost 62,500 miles. With this promo maxed out, you would essentially be paying $1,201. That is far less than the ticket would normally cost but it is still pricey. So, check out what you are planning on booking to run the costs first.

Details

• To be eligible for a discount AAdvantage members must purchase at least 11,000 AAdvantage miles or more in a single transaction from the Buy or Gift Miles program beginning 7:00:00am CT on May 1, 2017 to 11:59:59pm CT on May 31, 2017
• The prices shown include the applicable discount
• The discount applies to the AAdvantage miles purchased and does not apply towards taxes or the $30 transaction processing fee.

Analysis

AA miles are not nearly as valuable as they used to be but there is still some value to be had. Still, I would not transfer any points or buy miles unless I knew exactly what my trip plans were. Forget about using AA miles for travel to Europe as availability is pretty poor and the surcharges are high if traveling on British Airways. But, they can be helpful for South America and/or Asia. They can also be useful for travel between other regions outside of the US.

If you are transferring hotel points, I think one of the better values is SPG points. If you transfer 20,000 points, you will end up with 31,250 AA miles (because of the 5,000 mile bonus + 25% bonus). That is not too bad and can be pretty helpful if you like using your Starpoints for airline transfers.