In the spirit of positive reinforcement, in this post I’d like to share the things that I think American Airlines does well. In separate posts, I’m taking a look at the things that Delta Air Lines and United Airlines do well, as well as my least favorite things about the “big three” US carriers.
American is the US airline that I fly most, given that I live in Miami. I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes give American a hard time, though that doesn’t mean I think the airline is terrible. While there are a lot of areas where American can improve, there are also areas where the airline does well.
As you’ll see, most of the positives center around the loyalty program, the value of miles, lounge access policies, etc., so I hope American takes note of that (in terms of not worsening the things that we really like, while trying to improve elsewhere). In no particular order, below is what I like about American…
In this post:
AAdvantage Loyalty Points system
Nowadays American AAdvantage elite status is based on the Loyalty Points concept. As I’ve explained, this program is absolutely brilliant, even if it doesn’t work great for me. You can earn elite status entirely through credit card spending, if you’d like, and can also qualify for Loyalty Point Rewards that way.
While I think there’s less value to having elite status than in the past (given how tough upgrades are to come by), I’d argue that among the “big three” US carriers, AAdvantage status is the combination of easiest to earn and most valuable.
Valuable mileage currency with great uses
Among the “big three” US airlines, American AAdvantage is the only program that offers some industry-leading partner award redemption values. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that all AAdvantage awards are an amazing value, but American has some real sweet spots.
For example, I value American AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each, while I value Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus miles at 1.1 cents each. So it’s nice to earn a more rewarding points currency for your travels. What makes AAdvantage miles more valuable?
For one, American actually releases a fair amount of good value award space on its own flights, including in premium cabins. This is true on everything ranging from short haul domestic to long haul international flights. This is honestly one of the things that keeps me most engaged in the AAdvantage ecosystem.
Furthermore, AAdvantage has excellent award redemption values for travel on partner airlines, like Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways. Admittedly these airlines don’t make all of their award space available to AAdvantage members, but if you can find availability, you’re in for quite a treat. Meanwhile to compare that to other programs:
- Delta SkyMiles really offers little value for partner redemptions when originating in the United States, not to mention partner award availability is limited
- While United MileagePlus has some okay partner award redemption values, you’ll almost always get a better deal through Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca Lifemiles
Premium international lounge access
American Airlines offers solid Flagship Lounges in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia, along with the Greenwich Lounge New York (the same concept, but a joint venture with British Airways). These are the best easily accessible international airline lounges offered by any US airline.
In line with oneworld lounge access policies, these lounges can be accessed by oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members traveling internationally, as well as all oneworld first and business class passengers. As a point of comparison:
- Delta One Lounges are truly industry leading, but have much stricter access requirements, and the only elite travelers who get access to these are invitation only Delta 360 members
- United Polaris Lounges are superior to Flagship Lounges, but are only accessible by international business class passengers, and no elite status will get you into those lounges
So there’s something to be said for American having solid lounges that are also easily accessible.
oneworld Emerald status perks
It’s not that American deserves full credit for this, since it’s more about the alliance than American. However, oneworld Emerald status is my favorite alliance status that exists, and I love the lounges it gets me access to. From the Cathay Pacific First Lounge Hong Kong, to the Japan Airlines First Lounge Tokyo, to the Qantas First Lounge Los Angeles, I pinch myself every time I get to use one of these lounges when not flying first class.
Other alliances don’t have an elite tier that can compete. While Star Alliance Gold status is useful as well, it’s not nearly as valuable.
Flagship First Dining facilities
American offers amazing Flagship First Dining facilities in Dallas and Miami, along with the Chelsea Lounge New York (which is the same concept, but a joint venture with British Airways). These are private, gorgeous spaces with a la carte dining. The food and service are generally quite good, but more than anything, I just appreciate how tranquil these facilities are. These are among the best lounge spaces you’ll find in the United States.
Flagship First Dining is open to “premium” first class customers, traveling either on Boeing 777-300ERs or Airbus A321Ts. Now, it’s anyone’s guess what the future holds for these facilities, given that American is expected to eliminate international first class within the next year or so.
The Chelsea Lounge is presumably here to stay, since it’s also used by British Airways. Meanwhile American is building a new Flagship Lounge in Miami, and it’s unlikely to have Flagship First Dining. So we’ll see what the future holds for this, but as of now, it’s still available.
Solid international business class seats
While not particularly flashy, I’d say that on balance, American offers the highest base standard of international business class seats among the “big three” US airlines. American’s wide body fleet consists exclusively of Boeing 777s and Boeing 787s, and all of those planes have fully flat beds with direct aisle access. American even has its brand new long haul business class, which is excellent, though is currently only available on a very limited number of routes.
To compare this to Delta and United:
- Delta’s most common wide body aircraft is the Boeing 767, and those have a not-great business class product (especially the 767-300ERs), with extremely narrow seats and many with outdated interiors
- United deserves points for consistency, as it has completed its Polaris business class retrofit project, so you’ll find Polaris seats on all 787s and 767s, and on most 777s; however, the airline also flies 757s on long haul flights, and some 777s don’t have Polaris seats (though they’re used primarily for domestic flights)
So while most of American’s business class seats might not be too flashy, I do think the airline has the highest “base” standard for business class seats offered on long haul international flights.
Reliable, high speed Wi-Fi
American has a great overall Wi-Fi offering in terms of quality, but not in terms of price. The airline has Viasat Wi-Fi on a vast majority of its narrow body aircraft, which is among the best you’ll find in the industry. Meanwhile the airline has upgraded Panasonic Wi-Fi on many international flights, and I’ve found speeds to be quite good there as well. Starting in January 2026, American even plans to offer free Wi-Fi on narrow body planes, which is exciting.
Now, American’s Wi-Fi situation isn’t quite the competitive advantage it used to be. At this point, Delta offers free Wi-Fi for all SkyMiles members on most routes. So why isn’t that objectively better? Well, Delta is still in a transitionary phase with Wi-Fi, and there are some major gaps in connectivity on long haul flights, due to what regions offer Viasat Wi-Fi connectivity.
When it comes to United, the airline is all over the place. While United is starting to roll out Starlink Wi-Fi, it’s going to be a couple of years before that’s consistently available, so you can’t give the airline too much credit for that just yet.
So if you value being able to stay productive and appreciate solid Wi-Fi speeds (even at a cost), I think American remains the best with inflight Wi-Fi.
Useful partnership with Alaska Airlines
American and Alaska both belong to oneworld, but beyond that, the two airlines have a partnership that offers all kinds of reciprocal perks, ranging from upgrades to priority services.
The reason I think this is worth calling out is because American is the only major US airline that has close to metal neutrality with another US airline in terms of the passenger experience. Admittedly this may largely reflect American’s weakness on the West Coast, but it’s nice to be able to fly another US airline and be treated similarly to how you’re treated on American (well… hopefully better, actually).
United is launching the “Blue Sky” partnership with JetBlue, which is a similar concept. However, I wouldn’t expect the integration to be quite as close, and for that matter, JetBlue doesn’t yet have a true premium cabin on most planes.
Citi AAdvantage Executive Card
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (review) is my favorite airline co-brand credit card. Unfortunately this card isn’t as generous as it used to be, but there’s still a lot of value to having it. The card has a $595 annual fee, and offers all kinds of great perks.
For one, the card comes with an Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember. On top of that, you can add up to three authorized users to the card for a total of $175, and they each receive Admirals Club access as well. In other words, you can get authorized users Admirals Club access for an average of under $60 each. If you fly American frequently, I find that this is quite easy to justify.
Bottom line
American Airlines is no doubt the weakest of the “big three” US carriers, so it takes a bit of effort to come up with the things the airline does a really good job with.
If you ask me, American’s strengths involve its loyalty program (both in terms of earning status and the value of miles), plus its more generous policies when it comes to lounge access. American is trying to improve right now and become more premium, and as it does that, I hope the airline doesn’t do that at the expense of what people love.
I’m curious to hear what OMAAT readers think — what do you think American Airlines does well?
For years I have had oneworld Sapphire status. (As I mentioned elsewhere, I'll soon qualify for oneworld Emerald.) This has all been achieved by flying Alaska. The few AA flights I've taken are credited to my Mileage Plan account. When I do fly AA, their website tells me that my upgrades to Premium and/or First class have been requested. That may be, but not once have I been upgraded on American. OTOH, I've flown 17...
For years I have had oneworld Sapphire status. (As I mentioned elsewhere, I'll soon qualify for oneworld Emerald.) This has all been achieved by flying Alaska. The few AA flights I've taken are credited to my Mileage Plan account. When I do fly AA, their website tells me that my upgrades to Premium and/or First class have been requested. That may be, but not once have I been upgraded on American. OTOH, I've flown 17 times on AS so far in 2025, and I have been upgraded to F on 10 of those 17 flights
I left AAdvantage for QR Privilege Club and the Avios alliance. It became too costly to attain PP since the transition to loyalty points. QR J BKK to JFK for 95k Avios works for me.
Apologies for a post off-subject, but I have been trying to write it for several days and this seems to be the least bad place:
Is American starting to blur the lines between Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro, and if yes with what intention?
I was very surprised the other day, to be admitted to the Flagship Check-in zone in JFK on a flight to London, to which I normally should not have access. I...
Apologies for a post off-subject, but I have been trying to write it for several days and this seems to be the least bad place:
Is American starting to blur the lines between Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro, and if yes with what intention?
I was very surprised the other day, to be admitted to the Flagship Check-in zone in JFK on a flight to London, to which I normally should not have access. I was sent there by the bouncer monitoring the simple "Premium" check-in zone.
Seen recently on a AA advertisement for AAdvantage Elite (on their own website I am almost certain):
" Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro members receive free upgrades as early as 120 hours before their flights"
2 errors ? Possibly but unlikely. It crossed my mind that this might be offered to LIFE Platinum Pro as I am, but the second statement is for everybody to see...
Has anybody noticed the same thing or am I imagining things ?
You definitely get access to Flagship "seated" check-in at JFK as Platinum Pro which is also Oneworld Emerald. If you have access to Chelsea or Soho (you get Soho on flights to Europe as Platinum Pro) you get access to Flagship check-in.
As for upgrades, AA website says 72 hours for PPro and 100 hours for EP. Not sure where the 120 comes from (CK may get 120 hours) although Elites at Delta/United start to...
You definitely get access to Flagship "seated" check-in at JFK as Platinum Pro which is also Oneworld Emerald. If you have access to Chelsea or Soho (you get Soho on flights to Europe as Platinum Pro) you get access to Flagship check-in.
As for upgrades, AA website says 72 hours for PPro and 100 hours for EP. Not sure where the 120 comes from (CK may get 120 hours) although Elites at Delta/United start to get processed at 120 I believe. As a practical matter it's usually the day before / morning of at best.
All that said, PPro is definitely the sweet spot in the AA loyalty program for many, especially if you value OWE over the chance of a domestic upgrade.
AA is the best of the US3 for me in YYZ. Flying to/from Asia I nearly always get my "positioning" segment to NYC/ORD/PHL/CLT added to the itinerary for free. Consistent last-minute availability JL F, with a J segment home to YYZ, for 110k and trivial taxes/fees. It's amazing how little I fly on AC metal when AA has such an AAdvantage. Hub captive? Moi?
The loyalty points program and the AA Executive card are terrific. OWE status is also terrific. AA's actual product is mid at best. But not everything has to be more than fine.
And while I know it's not your thing for lots of reasons, booking hotels through AA Hotels with the AA Exec card remains the single best way of earning AA miles/LPs and OWE status (other than flying of course). 10x miles per $...
The loyalty points program and the AA Executive card are terrific. OWE status is also terrific. AA's actual product is mid at best. But not everything has to be more than fine.
And while I know it's not your thing for lots of reasons, booking hotels through AA Hotels with the AA Exec card remains the single best way of earning AA miles/LPs and OWE status (other than flying of course). 10x miles per $ with the AA Exec card when booking through AA Hotels (1x base/LP; 9x bonus). And then whatever extra base miles are offered through AA Hotels which can be very significant (up to 15k miles/LPs per transaction), especially when traveling internationally, and those rewards are increased significantly 1) if you hold any AA card, even a $0 fee one and 2) if you have any AA status, even Gold which just takes 40k LPs. And if you are in the 20% or 30% LP bonus when spending with AA partners (earned at 60k/100k LPs) then it's even better.
Good read. Agree completely that, at present, American's loyalty program provides the most bang for your buck for American carriers. I just had five SWUs clear for a Friday flight from PHL to LHR on a 787-9P. That's an incredible value. Living in Nashville, I do wish AA would add more European flights from CLT and build out a Flagship Lounge there, but that's really just a nitpick.
yeah, over the past few years it has become clear that, while UA is really more premium in terms of reliability and intl destinations, AA is generally going to be the move for US-based flyers who can afford to be discerning
I don't fly AA internationally often enough to have a firm opinion. However, I do fly them a lot domestically (mostly in first class) along with United. I hardly find any difference in their domestic service. But then, I don't knit pick.
Non-AA Oneworld Sapphires and Emeralds (such as BA Silver and Gold) can access Flagship lounges even on solely domestic itineraries, including in Basic Economy!
Furthermore, I like how easy it is to shower at most AA hubs. Plenty of showers in all Flagship lounges (and most Admirals Clubs), rarely have to wait at all, even during peak hours. Meanwhile UA hubs either have horrendous wait times (was quoted 1hr at IAD Polaris once) or no...
Non-AA Oneworld Sapphires and Emeralds (such as BA Silver and Gold) can access Flagship lounges even on solely domestic itineraries, including in Basic Economy!
Furthermore, I like how easy it is to shower at most AA hubs. Plenty of showers in all Flagship lounges (and most Admirals Clubs), rarely have to wait at all, even during peak hours. Meanwhile UA hubs either have horrendous wait times (was quoted 1hr at IAD Polaris once) or no showers at all (DEN). Yes, I know, the old US Airways clubs in CLT and PHX don't have showers either, but UA built three brand new huge United Clubs in Denver and didn't include a single shower?! I know they are constructing a Polaris lounge there, but AA is reportedly planning a huge new CLT club, too.
youre being modest on the points value. Being choosy about redemptions I've averaged closer to 2.5cpp. With Delta tough to get over 1.3. As much as this blogs comments gets sidetracked with weird snipping between airline fanboys, at the end of the day its a points blog. and AA's are worth double. So i dont care if they spit in my face every flight I'll still fly them if the price is right
I maintain tier status in both One World and Sky Team. I have many points vested in both alliances. So, no bone to pick here. It is also possible to get 2.5 cents out of Delta points by being choosy about redemptions.
let's also be clear that, AA does buy loyalty as a result of not carrying the number of high value passengers that DL and UA do - which is why their redemptions are more costly.
Given that DL has been at a premium strategy with a focus on domestic size in the biggest corporate markets for the longest of the big 3 which means that a higher percentage of their revenue is negotiated and...
let's also be clear that, AA does buy loyalty as a result of not carrying the number of high value passengers that DL and UA do - which is why their redemptions are more costly.
Given that DL has been at a premium strategy with a focus on domestic size in the biggest corporate markets for the longest of the big 3 which means that a higher percentage of their revenue is negotiated and points are a bonus for alot of their passengers with companies picking up the tab, it is not a surprise that DL's formula works for it.
Absolutely agree, Master Dunn. Delta’s premium strategy really shines, especially when I get to board in Zone 8 with no carry-on and redeem 57,000 SkyRubles for a Tuesday flight to Des Moines.
Nothing says corporate luxury like seat 35E and a Biscoff cookie
I think your point is that Delta points can be worth less because Delta converts a lot of its corporate travelers to personal travelers. Which is true - why fly AA if you are already flying Delta for work. And as long as you are building miles with their loyalty program, might as well go all in and get the Delta credit cards as well. Lots of spend on those cards earning a lot of...
I think your point is that Delta points can be worth less because Delta converts a lot of its corporate travelers to personal travelers. Which is true - why fly AA if you are already flying Delta for work. And as long as you are building miles with their loyalty program, might as well go all in and get the Delta credit cards as well. Lots of spend on those cards earning a lot of miles that don't need to be worth as much because interacting with the brand is more powerful than the value of the Delta miles.
AA doesn't have that luxury and needs its value proposition with individuals to be greater.
100% agree with Harold. Unless they are offering a fare sale, accruing / redeeming anything on DL or UA makes little sense (even DL management knows this and had to concede a guaranteed discount to the Amex cardholders to entice people to keep renewing). Ben's 1st point is spot on, AAdvantage is a strength and AA knows what they got ($30bn valuation of AAdvantage, in fact, vs $27bn for SkyMiles). As an Atlanta based flyer...
100% agree with Harold. Unless they are offering a fare sale, accruing / redeeming anything on DL or UA makes little sense (even DL management knows this and had to concede a guaranteed discount to the Amex cardholders to entice people to keep renewing). Ben's 1st point is spot on, AAdvantage is a strength and AA knows what they got ($30bn valuation of AAdvantage, in fact, vs $27bn for SkyMiles). As an Atlanta based flyer with comped Royal Jordanian status, I'm lucky my routings don't force me to be hub captive and I can use the flagship lounges domestically b/w ATL and JFK / MIA. And no lines down the terminal to get in :)
let's be clear that the reason why DL can charge more for awards is because they are the largest carrier of corporate contract revenue in the US; many of the miles that are accrued on DL are on tickets paid for by businesses. DL gains loyalty passengers via corporate and business travel and does retain them for their personal travel.
AA simply is at the opposite end of the spectrum as DL and many...
let's be clear that the reason why DL can charge more for awards is because they are the largest carrier of corporate contract revenue in the US; many of the miles that are accrued on DL are on tickets paid for by businesses. DL gains loyalty passengers via corporate and business travel and does retain them for their personal travel.
AA simply is at the opposite end of the spectrum as DL and many of DL's gains in major competitive markets have come from AA.
UA is in between DL and AA.
It is not a surprise that AA is the discounter among the big 3 including in the "value" of their loyalty program
Oneworld is the smallest, least useful alliance of the three. At the vast majority of outstation airports they'll send everyone to the same lounge (if they even have a contract in place) while many, if not most, of their hubs don't have a first-class lounge either.
They can offer the moon on a stick as an elite benefit, but that still wouldn't change the fact that there are lots of places to which they just...
Oneworld is the smallest, least useful alliance of the three. At the vast majority of outstation airports they'll send everyone to the same lounge (if they even have a contract in place) while many, if not most, of their hubs don't have a first-class lounge either.
They can offer the moon on a stick as an elite benefit, but that still wouldn't change the fact that there are lots of places to which they just don't go. This isn't just a function of having fewer members- many of their members don't fly to lots of places. As an example, there are 13 mainline Lufthansa destinations in Spain while the entire oneworld alliance combined serves just 8 German airports.
... and of course their elite benefits aren't that good either when you consider that Skyteam offer ALL elites free baggage on ALL fares. Unlike the sporadic availability of oneworld first class lounges, the baggage benefit is something that can be used on every single Skyteam flight.
BA flies to 15 places in Spain? WTF are you talking about lmao
Not BA, Lufthansa!
You forgot to mention Lufthansa's great service. Silly goose.
@Lee mediocre service is better than no service! I don't really enjoy most of my flights on Lufthansa, but they're far better than not being able to fly where and/or when you need.
Do Lufthansa even fly to more than 8 German airports? It's not a huge country!
I can see some conflicting stuff in the wikis, but I know for a fact they do fly to NUE and DRS, both major cities without oneworld service.
Areas for improvement in the ground experience: 1) private TSA at Flagship check-in locations (like Delta One and BA's First Wing), 2) follow Delta's lead regarding lounge look and feel, and 3) do something about the LHR International First Class lounge.
@ Lee -- Agree the International First Class Lounge London isn't great, though in fairness, travelers are spoiled with choice when it comes to T3 LHR lounges, so I can hardly complain there. :-) Agree regarding the other two points.
For 3, I think AA’s best bet is to close the lounge and give that budget and lease to Cathay and Qantas, so they can provide great services to AA flyers ;-)
This is a great reminder of the value AA provides.
It's just too bad that operationally and service-wise, they remain sub-par when compared to the other Big Two legacy US carriers.
@TravelinWilly These frequent operational and service deficiencies alone justify significant criticism of AA as a carrier, and makes them a "terrible" airline. When an airline fails to execute basic services reliably and thus only primarily serves as a points accumulation platform for redemptions on partner airlines, they are not an airline but a points piggy bank.
This reminds me of the statement (I forget from where) that the AMEX Gold card has become a metal coupon book.