Use cash and miles on flights
Enjoy more flexibility when booking
Whether you're saving your miles for a future trip or don't have enough for a flight award, a combination of cash and miles can give you another way to use your AAdvantage® miles.
Apply miles toward an eligible American Airlines flight and pay the rest with cash. Plus, you'll earn miles on the cash portion of your fare.*
Why use cash and miles?
- Use miles even if you don't have enough for a flight award
- Pay less in cash when booking a flight
- Earn miles on the portion you paid for with cash*
*Includes base fare and carrier-imposed fees, excludes government-imposed taxes and fees
How booking works
Using cash and miles to book a flight is easy:
1. Search for flights
Look for flights within the contiguous 48 U.S. states on aa.com or in the American app. Note: Do not check ‘Redeem miles’ unless you want to book your trip entirely with miles.
2. Select your flight
Choose the right flight for you and go to checkout.
3. Choose how many miles to use
During checkout, you'll see available cash and miles amounts. Choose the option that works best for you.
4. Pay the remaining balance
Use cash or another form of payment to cover the rest of the fare.
Cash and miles eligibility
Who can book flights with cash and miles
To book a flight with cash and miles, you must:
- Be an AAdvantage® member
- Have at least 500 AAdvantage® miles in your account
- Have a valid home address in the U.S.* saved in your AAdvantage® account
Which flights are eligible
Booking with cash and miles is available on:
- Flights marketed and operated by American Airlines
- Trips within the contiguous 48 U.S. states
- Any fare except Basic Economy
Cash and miles answers and support
*Includes Puerto Rico and U.S. territories
Changes, cancellations and refunds
Once booked, trips with cash and miles cannot be changed. If you need to change your trip, you'll need to cancel your trip and make a new reservation
Yes. You can cancel trips booked with cash and miles online or through Reservations.
If you're eligible for a refund:
- AAdvantage® miles will be reinstated to your AAdvantage® account.
- For refundable tickets, the cash portion will be refunded to the original form of payment.
- For non-refundable tickets, the cash portion may be issued as a Trip Credit or Flight Credit in the passenger's name, according to the fare rules.
If you've flown part of your trip
Refunds are based on the unused portion of your trip.
If you've taken your departing flight:
- The cash portion of the return trip you didn’t take will be refunded to the original form of payment or issued as a Flight Credit, depending on fare and ticket refund rules.
- Miles for the return trip you didn’t take will be reinstated to your AAdvantage® account.
If you take one flight of a trip with a connection:
- You'll be refunded for the connecting flight you didn’t take based on the cash portion you paid and any applicable fare rules.
- Miles will not be reinstated for the connecting flight you didn’t take.
Terms and conditions
I. General
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A. American Airlines, Inc. (“American Airlines”) and AAdvantage® Partners (as defined in the AAdvantage® Terms) may make available the option for you to complete a purchase using a combination of both cash purchase and AAdvantage® mileage redemption (a “Cash and Miles Offer”). A Cash and Miles Offer to book a flight directly through American Airlines (e.g., via AA.com, the American Airlines mobile app, or American Airlines Vacations℠) is referred to as a “Cash and Miles Flight Booking”, which, for clarity, does not include transactions on Third-Party Sites (as defined in the AAdvantage® Terms).
1. For clarification, Cash and Miles may also be referred to as Cash Plus Miles, Cash + Miles, Cash & Miles, or similar variations.
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B. These terms and conditions apply to any Cash and Miles Offer. By accepting a Cash and Miles Offer, you agree to be bound by:
1. these terms and conditions;2. the terms and conditions of American Airlines’ AAdvantage® program (the “AAdvantage® Terms”); and3. the terms and conditions with respect to American’s websites, mobile app and select retail outlets (the “Platform Terms”).These terms and conditions, together with the AAdvantage® Terms and the Platform Terms, are collectively referred to herein as the “Terms”.
II. Cash and Miles Offers
- A. Cash and Miles Offers are made available at American Airlines’ and AAdvantage® Partners’ discretion. Cash and Miles Flight Bookings may not be available for all destinations, fares, itineraries, on all flights or for all seats, and other Cash and Miles Offers may not be available for all products and services or on all Third-Party Sites. Availability, eligibility, offer values and applicable redemption options are subject to change by American Airlines or AAdvantage® Partners without notice.
- B. To be eligible to accept a Cash and Miles Offer, your AAdvantage® account must be associated with an address in the supported regions and territories, as established by American Airlines or the applicable AAdvantage® Partner at their discretion. American Airlines or AAdvantage® Partners may also establish minimum amounts of AAdvantage®
- C. The conversion rate between AAdvantage® miles and cash may vary depending on the destination, itinerary, flight, or service selected for Cash and Miles Flight Bookings, or based on the specific product or service selected or the applicable Third-Party Site for other Cash and Miles Offers. The available combinations of AAdvantage® miles and cash available for Cash and Miles Offers are determined by American Airlines or AAdvantage® Partners (as applicable) at their sole discretion and may vary depending on the available AAdvantage® miles in your account.
- D. Taxes and fees for your Cash and Miles Offers must always be paid in cash.
- E. You will earn Base Miles (which earn Loyalty Points), each as defined in the AAdvantage® Terms, for the cash portion of your Cash and Miles Flight Booking, including base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, but excluding government-imposed taxes and fees. Unless otherwise stated, you will not earn any AAdvantage® miles for the cash portion of your Cash and Miles Offer on Third-Party Sites. Visit the Third-Party Site terms for more information.
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F. If you are eligible to receive a refund for a Cash and Miles Offer other than a Cash and Miles Flight Booking, (i) your AAdvantage® miles will be returned to your AAdvantage® account, and (ii) your cash portion will be refunded to your original form of payment. If you accept a Cash and Miles Offer on a Third-Party Site, the applicable AAdvantage® Partner establishes the change and cancellation policy, and determines whether you are eligible for a refund.
Third-party site terms
III. Cash and Miles Flight Bookings
- A. If you are eligible to make a Cash and Miles Flight Booking, you will be presented with combinations of AAdvantage® miles and cash values for the applicable booking when making a cash booking. Cash and Miles Flight Bookings do not include any ancillary products, extras or optional services, which must be purchased separately.
- B. You will not be able to use a trip credit for the cash portion of your Cash and Miles Flight Booking, unless you have and apply a trip credit from a prior refunded Cash and Miles Flight Booking.
- C. If you are involuntarily rebooked for a ticket that was booked as a Cash and Miles Flight Booking, the full value of the AAdvantage® miles and cash that were used for the booking will be applied toward the rebooking, and you will not receive any refund of AAdvantage® miles or cash.
- D. If you voluntarily terminate your AAdvantage® account, American Airlines will honor Cash and Miles Flight Bookings already ticketed at the time of account termination, but such tickets cannot be modified.
- E. Tickets booked as Cash and Miles Flight Bookings are non-transferable and non-assignable.
- F. If you are eligible to receive a refund for a Cash and Miles Flight Booking (including as a result of your rebooking), (i) your AAdvantage® miles will be returned to your AAdvantage® account, and (ii) your cash portion will be refunded to your original form of payment if you booked a refundable ticket or your cash portion will be refunded as a trip credit or flight credit in the name of the passenger if you booked a non-refundable ticket. Visit the American Airlines website for more information about the type of refund you may be eligible to receive (which depends on the applicable fare and may involve a flight credit).
- G. American Airlines is not responsible for the cancellation of Cash and Miles Flight Bookings or changes to any travel plans made by passengers or AAdvantage® members.