American Airlines Is Now Allowing Travelers to Mix Miles and Cash for Redemptions

Travel advisors whose clients are AAdvantage members can now help them book flights by combining miles and cash.

For the first time, American is allowing redemptions with a split-payment model, catching up to U.S. rivals like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which have offered cash-and-points options for years.

Effective now, AAdvantage members booking domestic U.S. flights (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) via American’s website or app can use an interactive slider to customize their split between cash and miles.

According to Scott Long, Senior Vice President of AAdvantage, the feature aims to deliver “more personalized ways to use their miles and more choice and flexibility for our members.”

American is allow travelers to also earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points on the cash portion of their ticket, giving clients a way to maintain status progress even when using miles to cut down on flight costs.

The move comes as American makes another major member upgrade. Last week, the airline rolled out a new feature inside its mobile app designed to eliminate the need for passengers to manually refresh seat maps in search of a better spot.

The automated seat-monitoring tool allows AAdvantage members traveling on single-passenger itineraries to set specific seat preferences—such as window, aisle, or location toward the front of the cabin—right after completing a booking. If a seat matching those criteria opens up, the app automatically reassigns the traveler and sends a push notification.