How to Book American Airlines Business Tickets With Miles

If you have earned miles through the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you can use those miles for travel on American Airlines, oneworld Alliance airlines, and partner airlines. You can travel to nearly 1,000 different destinations within the U.S. and internationally, and you can choose to fly in the main cabin or business class.

Learn how to fly American Airlines business class using miles and how you can book your trip so you're able to travel in style.

Key takeaways

• American Airlines business class provides a premium travel experience, including priority privilege at check-in, wider seats, and free in-flight entertainment
• You can get a business-class ticket by redeeming American Airlines miles, but the ticket will cost you more miles than redeeming for a flight in the main cabin.
• Using certain credit cards will allow you to earn miles within the American Airlines loyalty program, AAdvantage, that you can redeem for a business-class flight.
• You can also transfer miles or points from other airline partners affiliated with American Airlines, such as oneworld Alliance.

What does American Airlines business class offer?

Flying American Airlines business class offers a number of attractive benefits. Here are some of the biggest perks that you can expect to enjoy:

• Priority check-in: Flyers on first class, business class, and premium economy are entitled to priority check-in. If you're eligible, you can stand in the Priority line when checking in to board earlier. You can also claim your checked bags first upon landing.
• Lounge access: If you are flying from the U.S. to Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, or certain locations in South America or Hawaii, you can access the American Airlines Admirals Club lounge or Flagship Lounge. Your ticket must be designated as Flagship in order for you to be eligible for the Flagship Lounge.
• Bigger seats with more legroom: You'll have more space in the business-class cabin. If your ticket is marked as “Flagship First”, you’ll even get a lie-flat seat with direct aisle access.
• WiFi: You can access in-flight WiFi on certain flights when you fly business class.
• Premium dining: If there's a meal on your flight, you'll get access to a menu with additional selections. You can even get access to award-winning wines.
• In-flight entertainment: Free entertainment and streaming services are available on eligible flights when you fly in business class.

Business class is available on both domestic and international flights. However, Flagship Business Class is offered only on certain international flights on Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200, Boeing 787-8 and 787-9, and Airbus A321T. These aircraft typically fly between destinations in the U.S., Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and South America.

How to book American Airlines business fare with miles

If you want to book an American Airlines business flight using your miles, you need to search for availability first before determining the flight you’ll book.

Search for availability

The first step to booking American Airlines business fare with miles is to make sure there are available flights headed to your chosen destination that you can use miles to pay for.

You can use the AAdvantage Miles Finder Map to discover what flights are available to you by following these steps:

1. Input the city you are flying from, select your chosen dates, and choose business as your cabin class.

2. When searching for your chosen origin and destination, be sure to specify you are searching to "Redeem Miles."

3. You'll see a list of possible flights along with details about what types of seats are available — and the cost in miles.

Learn more about the AAdvantage program in our American Airlines AAdvantage guide.

Book a business-class fare

After finding your preferred flight, you can book it by following these steps:

1. Click on your flight to view a summary of how many miles it will cost as well as what fees, if any, must be paid in addition to using your miles.

2. Log into your American Airlines AAdvantage account to complete your transaction and to pay with the miles available.

3. Once you're logged in, your information should be auto-filled based on your stored data, and you can simply complete your checkout by selecting your seat and confirming you want to pay with miles.

How to earn enough American Airlines miles for business class

You can earn miles toward future American Airlines flights by flying with the airline and using your AAdvantage number when booking.

However, that's not the only way to earn miles you can trade for trips. In fact, you can earn more miles in a number of ways, including credit cards, airline partners, and transfer partners.

Credit cards

Using the right credit card can help you earn extra miles if you need them, so be sure to compare credit cards to see which will help you earn free travel the fastest.

You can earn miles using co-branded AAdvantage credit cards as well as cards that allow you to earn points that you can transfer to the AAdvantage program. For example, the Bilt Mastercard^® earns rewards that you can transfer to American Airlines miles.

Explore more options in our list of the best credit cards for American Airlines.

Flights and airline partners

American Airlines has relationships with many other airlines. As a result, you can earn miles to redeem for American Airlines business-class flights by flying with one of their partner airlines.

This includes airlines in the oneworld Alliance. Participating airlines include:

There are also many other airlines that allow you to redeem miles earned by flying with them toward American Airlines flights. The airlines that allow you to redeem their miles with American include:

Transfer partners

Other airlines are not the only partners that American Airlines has. There are also partners within the hotel industry, as well as partnerships with car rental companies and cruises.

You can convert hotel points from the following hotels into AAdvantage miles:

• AAdvantage Hotels
• Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
• Marriott International
• IHG Hotels and Resorts

If you book a car rental with either Avis or Budget, you can also earn miles for each dollar you spend.

Finally, cruises booked through Norwegian or Carnival can open the door to a business-class seat with American Airlines, as you'll earn one mile per dollar spent as well as get special deals only available to AAdvantage members.

American Airlines business class FAQ

American Airlines business class: bottom line

Redeeming your American Airlines miles for a business-class flight is a simple process as long as you have enough miles. Business-class tickets start at 15,000 AAdvantage miles within the mainland U.S., and they give you plenty of perks.

Just be sure to consider whether the higher class is worth it for your business travel.

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