5 reasons why I believe American Airlines miles are worth more than United Airlines and Delta Air Lines miles
Editor's Note
Quick summary
All airline points and miles are not created equal.
While United MileagePlus miles and Delta SkyMiles have been easier to earn thanks to transferable credit card programs, I consistently find that American Airlines AAdvantage miles offer greater value when it comes time to redeem them, especially for premium international travel.
From lower saver award rates to an impressive roster of partner airlines, AAdvantage miles can unlock more aspirational opportunities with fewer miles.
Here's why I personally value them more than their major U.S. counterparts.
Related: American Airlines adds 2 brand-new destinations in 7-route expansion
TPG's data-backed valuations agree
In TPG's July 2025 valuations, these three programs are valued as follows:
- American Airlines AAdvantage: 1.55 cents
- United MileagePlus: 1.3 cents
- Delta SkyMiles: 1.15 cents
These aren't finger-in-the-air guesses. These three valuations have been made using our data-backed calculation method, which analyzes more than 23,000 individual data points on popular round-trip domestic and international itineraries, weighted as follows:
- Domestic economy: 20%
- Domestic business/first class: 10%
- Hawaii: 10%
- Short-to-medium-haul international economy: 25%
- Transatlantic economy: 15%
- Long-haul business class: 20%
We use a three-month rolling average of data to minimize outlier pricing during periods of high demand, such as major holidays.
Simply put, when looking at thousands of flights to redeem these three currencies right now, AAdvantage miles are worth more than MileagePlus miles and significantly more than SkyMiles.
Related: How (and why) to calculate award redemption values
American miles have been harder to earn from credit cards
AAdvantage miles have traditionally been harder to earn through credit card points transfers than SkyMiles or MileagePlus miles because AAdvantage had no major flexible transferable points and miles credit card partners.
So, I was thrilled to see the recent news that the Citi ThankYou Rewards program has added AAdvantage as its latest 1:1 transfer partner for three of its rewards cards in its lineup: The new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees), the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) and the Citi Prestige® Card.
SkyMiles is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, and MileagePlus partners with Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
It's worth noting that Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred to all three airline programs, albeit at a poor transfer rate.
Psychologically, at least, I considered American Airlines miles more valuable as they've historically been harder for me to earn. I have typically been far more careful in how I redeem them than I've been with United Airlines or Delta Air Lines miles, as I didn't have transferable points options for AAdvantage until recently.
I'm really excited to start transferring my Citi points to AAdvantage. It has instantly made the ThankYou Rewards program more valuable to me.
The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The lowest saver redemption rates are cheaper through AAdvantage
Redemptions for flights operated by American Airlines start from just 5,000 AAdvantage miles on short routes like Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), which, while a lower starting point than Delta SkyMiles, is similar to the cheapest United MileagePlus redemptions, so it's not a slam dunk "advantage."
But on longer flights, especially in premium cabins, where you can find rates at the lowest saver levels, the AAdvantage program really shines.
I regularly travel across the Atlantic, so I'm always looking to spend the fewest miles possible. Here's how the three programs stack up for routes to and from Europe:
- Economy: AAdvantage offers nonstop flights from 19,000 miles versus 20,000 miles through MileagePlus and SkyMiles.
- Premium economy: AAdvantage offers nonstop flights from 39,000 miles versus 50,000 miles through MileagePlus and 52,000 miles through SkyMiles.
- Business class: AAdvantage offers nonstop flights from 65,000 miles versus 80,000 miles through MileagePlus and 145,000 miles through SkyMiles.
- First class: AAdvantage offers nonstop flights from 75,000 miles, while United and Delta no longer operate international first class. (American Airlines will be phasing out this product as well.)
Where you can find saver availability, you'll need fewer American miles than Delta or United miles, so I value them more highly.
Related: Is American Airlines premium economy worth it between London and New York?
Oneworld is a premium airline alliance
Each of the "Big Three" U.S. airlines is a member of the "Big Three" global airline alliances:
- American Airlines is a Oneworld member.
- United is a Star Alliance member.
- Delta is a SkyTeam member.
Although Oneworld is the smallest of the three alliances, I have always considered it the most premium in terms of member airlines. Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, Finnair, Cathay Pacific, Oman Air and Qantas are all members, and they are airlines with impressive products, especially in premium cabins on long-haul flights.
I appreciate that Star Alliance has the most member airlines and a huge global route network, especially across the Atlantic. However, many members don't operate long-haul flights or have a proper long-haul premium product, so, in my eyes, they are less aspirational to redeem miles to fly.
SkyTeam has a handful of decent airlines, like Air France, KLM and Korean Air, but I jokingly refer to the SkyTeam alliance as "the best of what's left," meaning to me, it is largely made up of airlines that weren't able to join Oneworld or Star Alliance.
Simply put, if I could only choose one alliance to earn and redeem miles with for the rest of my life, it would be Oneworld.
Related: The best websites for searching Oneworld award availability
Partner redemptions remain a terrific value
My single favorite thing about the AAdvantage program is its partner award chart. As other programs move to dynamic pricing for partner-operated flights and do away with published award charts, I'm frankly amazed AAdvantage has retained one for this long, and the rates are still so low.
I also appreciate that it is region-based rather than distance-based, allowing you to really maximize your travel by choosing longer itineraries, such as the East Coast to western and central Australia.
When you factor in the wide range of premium airlines you can redeem AAdvantage miles with, including Etihad Airways, with its fabulous Airbus A380 first-class Apartments, you'll realize there are incredible sweet spots available from the U.S. For example, you can fly:
- Japan Airlines' gorgeous new Airbus A350 first class for 80,000 miles
- Qantas business class to Australia for 80,000 miles
- Qatar Airways' award-winning Qsuite business class to India, the Maldives or Nepal via Doha's Hamad International Airport (DOH) for 70,000 miles
- Finnair's "no recline" business class to Europe for 57,500 miles
- Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines in economy for 22,500 miles
Related: Huge suites and phenomenal amenities: A review of Japan Airlines' new A350 first class
How to earn AAdvantage miles
You can earn AAdvantage miles with an American Airlines cobranded credit card or select Citi Strata cards and receive a generous welcome offer:
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: For a limited time, earn 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $3,500 on purchases within the first four months of account opening.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months of account opening.
- Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening.
- Citi Strata Elite Card: Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
- Citi Strata Premier Card: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
The information for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
Despite historically having been harder to earn, AAdvantage miles consistently outperform United and Delta miles where it matters most for me: award pricing, desirable partner airlines and premium redemptions.
Whether you're flying across the country in economy or across the globe in a lie-flat seat on a top-tier Oneworld airline, your miles stretch further with American — and that's why they top my list of desirable airline miles to collect and redeem.
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