Where Is the Best Places to Travel With Frequent Flyer Miles

Last week we officially said goodbye to the much-loved American Airlines AAdvantage program as we knew it, and welcomed the program's newest iteration. American followed Delta and United's lead by transitioning to a revenue-based program and altering (in many cases downgrading) its business-class and first-class award charts. But even after the new award levels went into full effect on March 22, there are still a few areas where American excels above the rest of the legacy carriers. Here are the sweet spots in the AAdvantage award chart:

Short-haul redemptions

One of the few improvements to the new AAdvantage program is that fliers can now redeem one-way tickets on flights that are less than 500 miles for 7,500 points. These short trips used to cost 12,500 points. United, by comparison, charges 10,000 miles for these flights. Delta offers seats on some short-haul flights for as low as 5,000 points, but few destinations are eligible and availability is unpredictable.

The Wandering Aramean site has a great interactive map tool that will show you all of AAdvantage's 7,500-mile options from any given airport.

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MileSAAver Off Peak to Europe

American offers discounted economy tickets to most regions during various periods outside the high season. Generally, the airline reduces prices by 2,500 miles each way, which adds up to a significant savings. But the off-peak flights to Europe are a stellar deal. From Jan. 10 to March 14, and Nov. 1 to Dec. 14, flights between Europe and the U.S. cost 22,500 each way, compared to 30,000 the rest of the year (which is also what United and Delta charge). That's a savings of a whopping 15,000 miles — good enough for one of the aforementioned short-haul round trips.

Economy to Caribbean, Mexico and Central America

A ticket to Panama City for the same price as Chicago? Yes, please!

American actually lowered its economy prices to these destinations from 17,500 points to 15,000 points each way. And from Sept. 7 through Nov. 14, and April 27 through May 20, prices drop to 12,500 each way. That's 5,000 fewer than United and Delta for a round trip most of the year and 10,000 fewer during off-peak dates.

Under the new award chart, one-way prices to India and the Middle East also dropped 5,000 miles from 45,000 to 40,000, which is 2,500 fewer than United.

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First class to Japan and Korea

Just like its competitors, American's biggest devaluations were for seats in the front of the plane. But there are still at least two first-class routes where travelers can score a relatively sweet deal. First-class seats on flights between the U.S. and Japan or Korea cost 80,000 each way. Eighty thousand points for a flight that can easily cost more than $5,000 is a good ratio of miles to money.

Business class to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia or Manaus, Brazil

Want to fly to Machu Picchu in style? At 30,000 points for a business-class ticket, American is probably your best bet. Prices in premier classes increased nearly across the board, with some regions rising nearly 30%. But northern South America is the sole region where economy prices increased on the new award chart but the cost of business-class tickets remains the same. By comparison, United charges 35,000 each way to this part of the world and Delta charges 40,000.

Hidden two-for-one special

Still mourning the loss of American's much-loved free one-ways? So are we. But there is one great hack remaining for wily travelers heading to the Middle East or India. If your trip originates during off-peak dates between Jan. 10 and March 14, or Nov. 1 and Dec. 14, you can get a free stopover anywhere in Europe on your way east. Because flights to Europe are only 20,000 during this period, and it only costs 20,000 more to the Middle East or India, that means you can hit both destinations for 40,000 — the same price as a one-way without the stop.

Rotating list of discounted U.S. cities

Every month, American puts nearly 100 destinations on sale for holders of various AAdvantage co-branded credit cards. Credit card holders get a discount of either 5,000 points or 7,500 points depending on which card they have. A full list of eligible cards and current destinations can be found here.

Where Is the Best Places to Travel With Frequent Flyer Miles

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/roadwarriorvoices/2016/03/30/american-airlines-aadvantage/82417048/

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