Insider
YourGuidetoAmericanAirlines
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74 AMERICANWAY
JANUARY 1 2009
WhenAmericanAirlines created itsAAdvantage
program nearly 30 years ago, it was known as
the world’s first frequent-flier program. The
designation was appropriate at the time be-
causecustomersearned travel awardssolelyby
flyingonAmerican. Butmuchhas changedover
the past three decades, and the term frequent
flier
to describe the AAdvantage program today
isamisnomer.
Customers still earn miles for flying on
American, American Eagle, AmericanConnec-
tion,andmore than20additionalairlinesaround
theworld, including the nine othermembers of
the global
one
world Alliance. But today, there
aremany ways to earnmiles in addition to fly-
ing. In fact, about half of all AAdvantage miles
are now earned through products and services
other thanflights.
ManyWays toEarnMiles
Currently, AAdvantagememberscanearnmiles
with more than 1,000 participating companies,
which include eight car-rental companies, 18
financial companies, more than 35 hotel chains
representingmore than75brands, and250-plus
brand-name retailers. Inaddition,memberscan
earnmileswhenmaking purchaseswith one of
more than 100 affinity-card products in over 40
countries. Youcanearnmiles fordiningout (and
eating in, too), paying yourmortgage, using your
cell phone, purchasing electricity, donating to
charity,sendingflowers, reading thenewspaper,
almost 9,000 AAdvantage members have do-
nated more than $800,000, earning more than
fourmillion bonusmiles. To view current mile-
earning opportunities, including the details of
each offer, see the “AAdvantage Bonus Offers”
sectionatwww.aa.com/aadvantage.
By the way, you can also obtain additional
miles by purchasing them through American’s
buyAAmiles program. It’s agreat way toput you
over the top if you’re close to a travel awardbut
don’t havequiteenoughmiles for your trip. Find
more informationatwww.aa.com/buyaamiles.
BillionsofMilesRedeemed
Earningmiles isnice, butweknow that redeem-
ing them isevennicer. In2007alone, AAdvantage
members redeemedmore than150billionmiles
to claim in excess of 4.8 million awards for
flights, upgrades, car rentals, and things like
AdmiralsClubmemberships, AmericanAirlines
Vacationpackages,andmagazinesubscriptions.
Some customers even chose to give theirmiles
to charitable organizations such as Operation
Hero Miles, which assists families of injured
servicemen and servicewomen, and Miles for
Kids InNeed.
Whether you’re a frequent flier or a frequent
buyer, we’re pleased to have you as amember
of the AAdvantage travel-awards program. At
AmericanAirlines,we’ll continue toenhance the
programso that it remainsnot just thefirstof its
kindbut also thebest.
rentingmovies, listening tosatellite radio… just
aboutanything.Fora listofmileage-earningop-
portunities, visitwww.aa.com/partners.
BonusOpportunitiesToo
Even though there are already lots of ways to
earn miles aside from flying, there’s always
somethingspecialgoingonwith theAAdvantage
program so that you can add even more miles
to your account. For instance, just for getting a
Citi/AAdvantage credit card and making $750
in purchases within fourmonths of becoming a
cardmember, you’ll earn25,000AAdvantagebo-
nusmiles. That’s enoughmiles for an Economy
Class MileSAAver award within the continental
UnitedStatesandCanada.
And here’s a great way to earn bonus miles
and help out with a special cause at the same
time:With aminimum$25donation, you’ll earn
five AAdvantagemiles foreachdollardonated to
Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the battle to
end breast cancer. Over the past sevenmonths,
TakeAAdvantageWhereverYouGo
American Airlines customers
departing from Chicago O’Hare,
Los Angeles International, or
Santa Ana/Orange County/John Wayne airports can receive boarding
passes electronically on their mobile phones or other mobile devices,
eliminating theneed for apaper boardingpass.Mobileboardingpasses,
whichusea two-dimensional (2-D) barcode, arebeing rolledout inpart-
nership with the Transportation Security Administration. If successful,
they couldbeextended for useat additional U.S. airports.
When checking in using American’s website, AA.com, for flights de-
parting from theseairports, simply choose to receive yourboardingpass
via cell phone or mobile device. Then, at the airport, just scan the bar
codeon your cell phoneormobiledeviceat security andwhenboarding,
just as youwoulddowithapaper boardingpass.
Touse themobile-boardingoption, customersneedane-mail address
andan Internet-enabledmobiledevice.Also, travelmustbeonanonstop
or direct flight from one of the aforementioned airports to a domestic
destination. Formore information, visitwww.aa.com/mobileboarding.
DidYouKnow?
