One of the most common questions we receive on Instagram is, 'How can I use Capital One Venture miles to book an American Airlines flight?' Others are eager to know how to use other flexible points from Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Citi ThankYou Points, Capital One Venture Miles, or American Express Membership Rewards to book AA flights as well.

If you're looking to save big on American Airlines flights, learning to book through alliance partners is a game-changer. Not only is it surprisingly easy, but it can also save you a substantial amount of points. This post will walk you through the best travel partners for booking American Airlines flights, showing you how to use flexible points to maximize your savings. Get ready to unlock a whole new level of value on your next trip!

Let’s start with the basics of airline alliances and how they work for booking with points: American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance, which means you can often use points from other Oneworld loyalty programs to book American Airlines flights. While it’s not always guaranteed or straightforward, you’ll usually find options with some persistence. However, some loyalty programs provide better value and are easier to use than others, so I’ve included a chart below with my top choices for booking American award flights.

1) You can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qatar and then move them to British Airways. Additionally, BA Avios can be transferred to Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Finnair

2) For transferring miles to Qatar, you can first transfer them to British Airways, then move them to Qatar

3)First transfer American Express MR to Hawaiian and then transfer to Alaska

Flexible travel reward points are more advantageous than cobranded cards because they can be used across multiple airlines, giving you a wider range of booking options. Here are some of the best cards that earn flexible points.

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How to Find Your American Airlines Flight with Points: Step-by-Step

1. Search on Google Flights: Start by searching for your desired domestic flight on Google Flights to identify the best options.

2. Note the Airlines and Flights: Take note of the airlines and flights that fit your schedule and preferences.

3. Set Up Loyalty Accounts: Begin by creating a British Airways loyalty account to search for your flight. Remember, not every flight is bookable with points—it must be a saver flight.

4. Sign Up for Additional Loyalty Programs: Sign up for the other programs listed in the chart above for more options and flexibility.

5. Compare Award Rates: Once you find a flight on British Airways, check the award rates among other programs to find the best deal. Finnair and Qatar typically offer some of the lowest award rates for American flights.

American Airlines Award Flight

Below, will be examples of booking through different award programs to show how using travel partners can be a game-changer. You’ll see how this approach can save significant points, and by using flexible points with partner airlines, which are often easier to earn, you can maximize your rewards.

Example 1: Below, you’ll see a one-way flight from Phoenix to Maui, bookable on the American Airlines website using AA miles. If booked directly with AA, this flight would cost 22,500 miles."

Example 2: Booking an award flight on American Airlines through British Airways Avios program, Phoenix to Maui, one way: 20,000 points.

Example 3: Booking an award flight on American Airlines, through Qatar Airways Avios program, Phoenix to Maui, one way: 16,000 points.

Example 4: Booking an award flight on American Airlines, through Finnair Airways loyalty program, Phoenix to Maui, one way: 15,000 points.

Finnair comes out on top for offering the lowest award flight on this route.

We also tested a Finnair example for a flight from Phoenix to JFK, which they quoted at just 11,000 miles one way. In comparison, British Airways charges 20,000 points for the same flight, while Qatar costs 16,000 points. With a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways, you could pay only 8,500 points by booking through Finnair! 🤩

How to book Finnair Award Flights:

To book American Airlines award flights on Finnair, you’ll need to use the Finnair chat feature. Don’t hesitate to use Finnair’s chat feature—the wait time was short, and their representatives were very helpful. Just make sure to locate the flight on British Airways first or confirm there is an AA saver award; then it should be bookable through Finnair as well.

HOT TIP: Take advantage of bank transfer bonuses to British Airways when they’re available! You can then transfer those points from British Airways to Finnair, Qatar, Aer Lingus, or Iberia to book flights at very low award rates. For example, Finnair charges just 11,000 points for a flight from PHX to JFK, and with a 30% transfer bonus, that drops to only 8,500 points! West Coast to Hawaii flights can be as low as 15,000 points on Finnair, or just 11,600 points with the bonus.

How to transfer points from British Airways to Finnair:

Transferring British Airways Avios to Finnair or Qatar is very simple. Just log onto your BA account and look for using Avios or sharing Avios in the options and it will bring you to this screen.

Disclosures:

• This guide does not include all types of points that can be transferred. Additional points that can be used to transfer to some partners include Bilt Rewards, Marriott, and Wells Fargo.

• This guide does not include every single loyalty program. This guide focuses on the most popular and user-friendly programs

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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.