What are AAdvantage miles worth?
Credit Upside values AAdvantage miles at a conservative 1.35¢ per point — the same mid-range number the optimizer uses to score your spending. That's about 1.35× a penny — an AAdvantage mile is worth more than a 1¢ cash-back point.
Updated 2026-09-16
What you actually get depends on how you redeem. A great redemption can beat this; cashing out often pays less.
How we get to 1.35¢
AAdvantage miles are miles in a single airline's program. We use a single conservative mid-range value — not the best-case redemption a points blog might quote — because the optimizer has to be honest about what you'll typically get, not what's theoretically possible. Your own redemptions can beat it (a well-timed transfer) or trail it (a low-value cash-out). Full methodology →
Cards that earn AAdvantage miles
- Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® — 2x on gas, $99 fee
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® — 2x on dining, $350 fee
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® — 2x on dining, $99 fee
- American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card — 2x on groceries, no fee
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® — 1x base, $595 fee
AAdvantage miles don't transfer out — they're spent inside one program. That's the trade-off against a flexible currency: fewer places to use them, so the 1.35¢ has to earn its keep on its own. Compare transfer reach across programs →
Is an AAdvantage mile better than cash?
At 1.35¢, yes on paper — but only if you redeem near that value. A 1.35¢ point that you cash out at 1¢ is just a 1¢ point. The only way to know for your wallet is to score real spending — which is what the app does, applying this value to every charge.
Want the ranked version? Best cards that earn AAdvantage miles puts all 5 of them in order by real cents back per dollar — the printed rate times this 1.35¢ value.
Which card should this spending actually be on? The demo re-scores a year of realistic spending against every card in a wallet — free, no signup. See it on sample data →
Valued near it: Aeroplan points (1.35¢) · Alaska miles (1.40¢) · Avios (1.30¢) · Capital One miles (1.30¢) · JetBlue TrueBlue (1.30¢)
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