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The good news is that domestic flights start at just 7,500 miles on low-demand dates, and that can include favorable travel dates like Saturday mornings in September.

Even better, regular web specials offer AAdvantage that mean domestic flights can be booked for as little as 5,000 AAdvantage miles.

Booking American flights at this price is a great option, especially since fees and taxes are only $5.60, about the price of a cup of coffee at these airports.

Flights in domestic first class start at 15,000 miles and are priced dynamically, rising to 145,000 miles on peak dates. Given the excellent long-haul partner redemptions you can book for miles less than AAdvantage charges, we do not recommend redeeming your AAdvantage miles this way.

Related: American Airlines Review First Class on the Airbus A321neo from Philadelphia to San Francisco

Use partner miles to book AAdvantage domestic flights

If you have a stash of AAdvantage miles, and can find domestic American Airlines flights for less than 10,000 miles per person, this is a great way to redeem them.

However, if you are dealing with prices that are more dynamic than this, you may want to consider using a partner’s currency instead. TPG recommends using carrier partners that use Avios as loyalty currency to book American Airlines flights.

As British Airways Executive Club is a transferable partner with Amex Membership Rewards, Built Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards, you can use your credit card rewards points and transfer them at a 1:1 ratio. You can then transfer Avios between programs — Qatar, Finnair, Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia — at a 1:1 rate in any direction.

Using this redemption option can be much cheaper than booking through AAdvantage for the same American Airlines domestic flights.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Right now, the best option for booking American (or Alaska) domestic flights under 2,000 miles in length is to redeem through the Qatar Airways Privilege Club program, which uses Avios as its loyalty currency.

You will need the following Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios for American flights:

• Flights up to 650 miles in length: 6,000 Avios in main cabin economy or 12,500 Avios in first class
• Flights 651-1,150 miles in length: 9,000 Avios in Economy or 16,500 Avios in First Class
• Flight length 1,151-2,000 miles: 11,000 Avios in Economy or 22,200 Avios in First Class
• A flight 2,001-3,000 miles in length: 13,000 Avios in Economy or 38,750 Avios in First Class

While taxes and fees are a few dollars higher than AAdvantage charges, it’s still a great way to redeem your points and miles.

Finnair Plus

Another program that uses Avios is Finnair Plus, which is a good redemption option when booking domestic flights operated by American Airlines. The program charges a flat 11,000 Avios for any domestic AA flight, regardless of length, or 30,000 Avios in domestic first class.

If your flight is less than 1,151 miles in length, such as from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), it is cheaper to book with Qatar Airways Avios than Finnair Plus Avios. For flights between 1,151 and 2,000 miles, it’s the same price when booking through the Avios program. For flights over 2,000 miles, it is cheaper to use Finnair Plus Avios instead of Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios.

You may need to call Finnair Plus at 929-474-6049 to book American domestic awards if they don’t appear online (you can also check availability via American or Qatar’s website).

Remember, you can transfer Avios as many times as you like at a 1:1 rate in any direction between any programs that use Avios as currency (including Finnair and Qatar).

Related: Transfer Avios to and from the Finnair Plus loyalty program

British Airways Executive Club

Redeeming Avios through BA’s Executive Club program to book flights on domestic American Airlines (and Alaska Airlines) was a great deal. However, a series of recent devaluations mean that these flights start at 12,500 Avios in economy for American Airlines flights up to 650 miles in length, and up to 20,000 Avios for flights between 2,001 and 3,000 miles in length, so using Avios is a better deal. . Qatar Airways Privilege Club or Finnair Plus.

All of these Avios redemption prices are fixed, regardless of dates, and while AAdvantage dynamically prices these flights (potentially) above a fixed amount it may seem like a smart deal to redeem Avios on peak dates, remember that American Airlines provides only one flight. Limited number of seats for partner programs.

While it’s worth checking prices across all programs, if AAdvantage increases award prices on peak travel dates, seats will not be offered to partner programs.

How to earn points and miles for booking American Airlines domestic flights

Whether you want to earn AAdvantage miles or Avios, it’s easy with the right credit card.

Earn AAdvantage miles

Information for AAdvantage Aviator Red is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Earn Avios

As mentioned earlier, British Airways Executive Club is a transfer partner for all major transferable rewards programs except Citi ThankYou Rewards. In addition, Finnair Plus is a transfer partner of Capital One Mile; Qatar Airways Privilege Club is the transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and CitiThankYou Rewards. All credit card points are transferable to Avios at a 1:1 rate.

The following cards currently offer strong welcome bonuses that you can easily convert to Avios:

• American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
• Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Check to see if you’re eligible for CardMatch’s 125,000-point welcome offer (offer subject to change at any time). Conditions apply.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, plus a $250 Capital One travel credit in the first cardholder year.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases on the card in the first three months of card membership.