Summary
- AAdvantage members can now use frequent flyer miles on concerts, theatre, and sports events through Ticketmaster’s offerings.
- Purchases made entirely with cash still earn members AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points.
- Members can browse events, choose tickets, and pay with either miles, cash, or a combination of both.
Still, looking for your Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpender tickets? American Airlines has officially rolled out a feature allowing members of its loyalty program to use frequent flyer miles on events ranging from concerts and live theatre to NFL games.
Off to the races
Members of American Airlines’ frequent flyer program, AAdvantage, have long been able to earn points on entertainment and events through a partnership with Ticketmaster. Simple Flying revealed last week that the ability to spend miles on events was coming at some point in the year, and customers have not had to wait long.
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American Airlines Announces Additional Benefits For Frequent Flyers
Members of the carrier’s AAdvantage loyalty program will soon be able to redeem miles for concerts and First Class dining in the Flagship Lounges.
Beginning today, AAdvantage members will be able to redeem miles to purchase tickets for concert, theater, and sports events through the AAdvantage Events platform, which contains the entirety of Ticketmaster’s available offerings in the region. Members can purchase standard and resale tickets exclusively with AAdvantage miles or using a combination of cash and miles.
Photo: Philip Lange | Shutterstock
Purchases made entirely with cash will continue to earn one AAdvantage mile and one Loyalty Point for every $1 spent on standard and resale tickets, excluding any taxes and fees.
How to earn and redeem miles on events
Members can browse all available possibilities through the designated AAdvantage Events portal. The website lists everything available on Ticketmaster for the same prices but with the ability to earn or spend air miles on tickets. One can search for artists, events, or venues in any date range or browse through the catalog of local events.
Once the event has been selected, a popup will appear to suggest logging into your AAdvantage account. You can then choose ticket quantity and browse the different seat and price options, with each option displaying the number of miles earned for the purchase.
Once the seats have been selected, you will be redirected to the billing and delivery page to enter an address before proceeding to the payment page. At this stage, members are presented with the option to use miles or cash to cover the final cost. To pay with miles, choose ‘Redeem miles” to pay fully with miles or a combination of miles + cash.
Related
How Much Are American Airlines AAdvantage Miles Actually Worth?
Determining the exact value of AAdvantage miles can be tricky.
According to our testing, using miles reduced the cost of the tickets by $9 per 1,000 AAdvantage mile spent. This equates to a monetary value of around one cent per mile.
Members earn 1 AAdvantage mile and 1 Loyalty Point per dollar on tickets paid for entirely with cash, but any tickets paid for partially with miles will not earn any points.
The airline’s website states, “AAdvantage® status members and AAdvantage® credit cardmembers use fewer miles when logged in,” but the exact discount could not be immediately verified.
The tickets will be immediately available for download, and an email with a link to claim them will be sent. Members with a Ticketmaster account using the same email address as their AAdvantage account can find their upcoming events on the Ticketmaster website.
American Airlines is not the only carrier that has partnered with Ticketmaster to provide passengers with a way to earn miles. Delta Air Lines SkyMiles and Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue programs also allow members to earn miles on event tickets but not spend them.