Booking American Airlines Flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be challenging to earn, as the airline program is only a transfer partner of one major transferable credit card program: Citi ThankYou Rewards. However, this doesn't mean that you can't redeem your hard-earned Chase points for American Airlines flights.

## Transferring Chase Points to Oneworld Partners

American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance, and multiple Oneworld airline programs are transfer partners of Chase Ultimate Rewards. This means you can transfer Chase points to one of these partner programs at a 1:1 ratio and use them to book American Airlines-operated flights.

There are three Avios-based airline loyalty programs that are Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners and can be used to book American Airlines award flights: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Club, and Iberia Club. These airlines use Avios as their loyalty currency, but each program may offer different award rates, taxes, and fees, and availability for the same American Airlines flight. It's worth checking each one or using a tool like Point.me to compare them.

| Program | Award Rate | Taxes and Fees | | --- | --- | --- | | Aer Lingus AerClub | | | | British Airways Club | 18,000 Avios + $5.60 | | | Iberia Club | | |

You can book American Airlines economy-class flights from New York-area airports to Miami International Airport (MIA) through the British Airways Club program for 18,000 Avios plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. Alternatively, you can book a direct flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), operated by American, through British Airways Club for 28,000 Avios and about $328 in taxes and fees.

If short-haul flights are your preference, you can book them on American with Avios as well. For example, you can fly one-way between Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) for 13,500 Avios plus $5.60 in taxes and fees.

## Booking American Airlines Flights through the Chase Travel Portal

Another way to book American Airlines flights with Chase points is through Chase Travel℠, the issuer's travel booking platform that lets you redeem points for travel instead of cash. If you can't find the American Airlines flight you're looking for through a partner airline or the partner's redemption rates aren't a good value, try this option instead. Chase Travel offers a wide variety of travel bookings, including American Airlines flights.

Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders who applied before June 23, 2025, can redeem their points at a flat rate of 1.5 cents apiece on American Airlines flights (on points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025, and redeemed until Oct. 26, 2027, then 1 cent thereafter). Similarly, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cardholders who applied before June 23, 2025, can get a value of 1.25 cents per point on American Airlines redemptions during the same time frame.

When award rates are high or partner airlines have limited availability, your best bet will likely be to redeem Chase points through Chase Travel. You can generally get more value when you transfer Chase points to partners, but still, 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point is nothing to sneeze at. Unfortunately, this number will eventually drop to 1 cent per point for all cardholders, on par with other issuers' travel portals, like American Express Travel, Capital One Travel, and Citi Travel.

## Bottom Line

Even though you can't transfer Chase points directly to the American Airlines AAdvantage program, there are multiple other avenues to book American Airlines flights with Ultimate Rewards points. If you're looking to earn more Chase points, the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card are fantastic cards to consider.