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How to Find Discounted Mileage Awards

Ramsey Qubein

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July 7, 2020

Thought you were short on miles and points for your next trip? Think again. Many airlines and hotels offer discounted redemptions at different times of the year or even shave down the cost for members that hold certain types of credit cards. Could you be one of the lucky ones? Read more to find out!

American off-peak awards

American Airlines puts many of its economy class award redemptions on sale for travel during off-peak times of year when demand slows. This doesn’t mean it is not a good time to visit; it just means it isn’t prime time. Hawaii drops from 45,000 to 40,000 miles roundtrip between mid-January and early March and between mid-August and mid-December. Northern South America (including Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) drops in price from 40,000 to 35,000 miles roundtrip from mid-January and mid-June and between mid-August and the end of November. Discounts to Europe go from 60,000 to 45,000 miles between mid-January to mid-March. Northern Asia (including Japan and South Korea) price out 65,000 miles (down from 70,000 miles) roundtrip between January and April and between July and November. No special codes needed. If off-peak, saver award availability is there, it automatically prices out at the lower rates on aa.com. The dates may change slightly each year so be sure to check online.

American mileage discounts for Citi AAdvantage cardholders

If you have an American Airlines co-branded credit card from Citi, you may be eligible for a discount on your next award redemption. One of the perks of the card shaves off miles for award redemptions, but the amount depends upon the type of card you have. Cards like the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® or Platinum Select-branded Visa, MasterCard, or American Express options each come with a 7,500 mile discount for roundtrip travel on flights over 500 miles or 2,000 mile discount for flights under 500 miles. Citi AAdvantage Gold cards or the AAdvantage Aviator Blue MasterCard come with a 5,000 mile discount on roundtrip flight more than 500 miles or a 1,000 mile discount on roundtrip flights under 500 miles.

American_Mileage_Discount_Citi_Cardholders — With American Airlines co-branded credit card from Citi, you can redeem miles for a reduced mileage award

Short flight discounts

Mileage programs have certainly become greedier over the years, raising rates for free flights. But, one area that has benefited travelers is the redemption for short-haul flights. American sells award flights for 7,500 miles if the travel distance is less than 650 miles. United puts its awards on sale for 10,000 miles if the distance is less than 700 miles. Both would normally charge 12,500 miles for a one-way saver ticket. Delta is not as generous. It puts flights on sale for as low as 5,000 miles, but it does not do it with any regularity making it quite hard to plan. There is no mileage distance that is traditionally discounted, but if you’re willing to take your chances (like many things with the SkyMiles program), Delta.com might price out a one-way award ticket for less than the standard 12,500 miles.

Intra-region awards

Alaska Airlines puts some of its one-way awards on sale for 5,000 miles on occasion like its bigger competitors. But for those traveling wholly within Alaska, it always sells award tickets for 15,000 roundtrip (instead of the standard domestic saver price of 25,000 miles). The same goes for redeeming American miles on Oneworld partner airlines when travel remains wholly within certain countries. For example, domestic flights wholly within Argentina, Australia, Brazil, mainland Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, Jordan, Peru, Russia, Spain, and United Kingdom price out at a discounted mileage amount from what other awards within those regions would typically cost. The same goes for flights on American’s partner Hawaiian Airlines. Inter-island award redemption price out cheaper than typical domestic award tickets.

Redeem American miles on Oneworld partner airlines at a discounted mileage amount when travel remains wholly within certain countries

Flying Blue Promo Awards

The loyalty program of Air France and KLM puts flights on sale for award redemptions each quarter, and it releases a list of specific routes and cabins of service in advance. Before you bemoan the fact that you don’t collect Flying Blue miles, it can pay off to sign up for a free account since the program is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards points. Discounts on offer this season include 25% off business class flights between Boston and Europe; 20% off economy class redemptions within Europe to cities like Luxembourg, Milan, and Prague; and 25% off business class redemptions between Europe and cities in China including Beijing, Chengdu, and Xiamen.

IHG Point Breaks

Intercontinental Hotels Group puts on a quarterly sale that is one of the best bargains in the market. It makes hotel redemptions around the globe available for only 5,000 points each. Of course, you’re not going to find the most popular hotels in the most popular cities at these rates. But, there are some fantastic bargains out there. The hotel group publishes a list each quarter of the best hotel redemption bargains. This quarter, the list includes hotels everywhere from Alabama to Zimbabwe.

Marriott Point Savers

There is no way to plan in advance for these discounts, but occasionally Marriott will discount some of its standard redemption nights by a few thousand points. If they are available, Marriott will automatically give the discount online.

Starwood Preferred Guest weekend discounts

On weekend nights, Starwood discounts its category 1 and 2 properties by 1,000 points. For example, the Westin Atlanta Airport goes from 4,000 points to 3,000 points on Friday or Saturday nights. There are no special codes needed. If you make a reservation through a Starwood channel, the points discount is automatically applied on eligible nights.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

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American Airlines Is Offering 50,000 Miles Plus $125 Credit

Anya Kartashova

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June 26, 2023

New card members who sign up for the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® and spend $2,500 in the first three months of account opening can earn a welcome bonus of 50,000 AAdvantage miles. The standard welcome offer on this card ranges from 30,000 to 60,000 AAdvantage miles.

The AAdvantage Mastercard comes with all the benefits you’d expect from a co-branded airline card, including a free checked bag for the primary traveler and up to four companions on the same reservation, preferred boarding, a 25 percent savings on in-flight purchases and double miles for AA purchases.

Citi and American have recently upgraded other benefits that come on this card, too. You can now earn double miles at restaurants and gas stations. Additionally, cardholders who spend $20,000 on the card in a year will earn a $125 flight discount.

What Can I Use the $125 Flight Discount for?

The $125 American Airlines Flight Discount certificate attached to this offer can be applied toward the initial ticket purchase of air travel on American Airlines flights, or air travel on any oneworld® carrier, or American Airline codeshare flight. The Flight Discount can be used all at once and will expire one year from the date of issue of the certificate. Flight products or services that are sold separately, car rentals, hotel reservations and elite status boost do not qualify for the credit.

What About the 60,000-Mile Offer?

You might have seen the other bonus offer with the AAdvantage Platinum Select card – 60,000 miles. It also requires $2,500 to be spent within the first three months of account opening.

This offer is not widely available but you can see it advertised on some travel portals. If you applied for the AAdvantage Platinum card with lower bonus offer and then saw the same card with a higher welcome bonus, you might be able to get it. Citibank might match the offer to the higher miles bonus! Let’s look at how the match works.

Matching the AAdvantage Card Bonus: The Best of Both Worlds!

Citibank typically offers bonus matching with the AAdvantage cards. Simply put, this means that they might match a higher bonus if it’s offered after you received your AAdvantage card.

This can be done after you get the AAdvantage Platinum card and meet the minimum spending requirement for the sign-up bonus. Then, you can send a secured message to Citi via your account and mention that you’ve seen a different public offer with a higher mileage bonus. They will, at least in theory, match that bonus.

So, once you get the 50,000 miles you can request another 10,000 miles to match the 60,000-mile offer. Better yet, if you’ve been sent a mailer from Citi with an even higher welcome offer, you can try for a higher match. You might be required to spend an additional amount to receive a bonus match, but in many cases it is not necessary.

Personally, I applied for the AAdvantage credit card last year after receiving a targeted offer of 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 on the card. A few weeks after application, I received another offer, only that time it mentioned 65,000 miles. I sent a message to Citi asking for a match and received an additional 5,000 miles as a courtesy.

If you can pull this off, you can wind up with 60,000 miles or more plus the $125 American Airlines Flight Discount. Although I was successful at requesting a bonus match, please note that your success may vary and this trick might not work for every account.

A customer service representative can decline your request based on the different offer terms. Still, many have reported getting a match. It doesn’t hurt to try.

Who’s Eligible to Receive a Bonus on This Card?

Citibank restricts bonuses on the same family of cards to once per 24 months for both opened and closed accounts. The American Airlines family of cards includes the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard, the no-fee American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Mastercard and the premium Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard.

If you’ve received a bonus on any of the aforementioned personal credit cards, you cannot receive another bonus if you opened or closed the accounts in the last 24 months.

Who’s Eligible to Receive a Bonus on This Card?

However, if you currently hold any of the AAdvantage credit cards and it’s been more than 24 months since you were approved, you are eligible for another bonus. Business credit cards do not preclude you from receiving bonuses on personal cards.

Go for the Bonus

If you’re eligible for this offer, it’s not a bad card to apply for. Even if you’re unsuccessful at receiving a bonus match, it’s still a good deal. And if you get the bonus match, you’re definitely coming out ahead with a total of about $215 worth of added bonuses ($125 credit + 10,000 miles worth $215).

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