Join the American AAdvantage Program. Access the American AAdvantage Program enrollment form online. You must provide your name and contact information. You can provide your home or business address; any address where you will be able to receive correspondences from the program. Additionally, you must create a password that will enable you to access your American AAdvantage account information at any time from the Internet. Avoid using nicknames and only enter your name as it appears on your government-issued I.D.
Earn miles by entering your American AAdvantage number when you make flight reservations. You will earn approximately 1,000 miles for every round-trip ticket you purchase and 5,000 for every international flight. Additionally, use your AAdvantage number when booking rooms at participating hotels or when reserving cars through participating rental companies. You can also earn miles by signing up for programs and services like T-Mobile Hotspot or by dining at participating restaurants. Even using certain energy providers can earn you miles that you can put towards a free flight. Also, with the Citi AAdvantage credit card you can earn a mile for every dollar you spend. Use the AAdvantage Mile Maximizer to determine how you can accumulate the most miles.
Book a flight using your miles. Log on to American Airlines' website, and make your flight reservation as normal by navigating to the "Reservations" page. Enter your account number to ensure that your flight is credited towards your account. You will need a minimum of 12,500 miles to fly one way within the United States. If you do not have as many miles accumulated yet, you can use your miles to purchase hotel rooms or rental cars, which can require as little as 1,000 miles. To exercise this option, book your hotel or rental car through the American AAdvantage Program website and provide your account information to redeem your miles.
Track your miles by logging into your American AAdvantage account monthly. Some miles may not be credited towards your account for up to 30 days after you have earned them. As such, you must keep all receipts to ensure that you receive all of the miles you have accumulated. Managing your receipts will be especially important in the early stages of establishing your account, because your AAdvantage number may not appear on your credit statement yet.
