Earn 50x AAdvantage Miles With Stand Up To Cancer Donations

Earn 50x AAdvantage Miles With Stand Up To Cancer Donations

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American AAdvantage has long had a partnership with Stand Up To Cancer, which is a fantastic charity. At the moment, donating to Stand Up To Cancer can be particularly lucrative.

Earn AAdvantage miles on cancer research donations

American AAdvantage ordinarily offers 10x miles when donating to Stand Up To Cancer. Between August 15 and September 30, 2025, these donations can be much more rewarding:

  • When donating $25 or more, you can earn 25x AAdvantage miles per dollar donated
  • When donating $25-10,000 using an American AAdvantage Mastercard issued in the United States, you can earn 50x AAdvantage miles per dollar donated

While there’s no cap on the number of donations on which American will offer 25x miles, the 50x miles is only available for the first $3 million in eligible donations. I imagine the website will be updated if/when that cap is reached, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s relatively soon.

Note that the miles earned through this offer are AAdvantage redeemable miles, and wouldn’t count as Loyalty Points (aside from any base points from spending on co-branded American cards, at the rate of one Loyalty Point per dollar spent).

When you make a donation, on the payment page you’ll see that the option to “cover transaction costs” is automatically selected, and that can be as much as 4.9%. However, that’s not mandatory, and you can uncheck the box — everyone can decide for themselves what they want to do there.

The other catch to be aware of is that it can take several weeks for miles to post, so don’t expect the miles posting to be an instant process.

Earn 25-50x AAdvantage miles on donations

This is a rewarding opportunity to do good

If you have an eligible credit card, you could essentially be buying American AAdvantage miles for two cents each. Is that a rate at which I’d proactively pick them up? No, probably not. However, it’s a great opportunity if you want to acquire miles while also doing good, and it’s even lower than the cost at which American usually sells AAdvantage miles. Cancer research is of course a worthwhile cause.

Personally, I value AAdvantage miles at ~1.5 cents each, so as far as I’m concerned, you’re getting a 75% “return” on your donations in the form of miles. Other people will value miles differently, and can do their own math.

Some people may wonder if these donations are tax deductible. You’ll want to consult your tax professional, but the terms state the following:

For charitable deduction purposes, each mile is valued at 3 cents per mile. The receipt of miles may reduce the tax deductibility of your contribution.

A valuation of three cents per mile would put the reward at higher than the donation amount (for those earning 50x miles). I suppose you could dispute the value of miles, but still, most wouldn’t be looking at getting a significant tax benefit here.

This promotion is a great opportunity

Bottom line

At the moment, you can earn up to 50x AAdvantage miles when donating to Stand Up To Cancer. This is a way to acquire AAdvantage miles for two cents each while doing good, so it’s something worth considering. I plan to make a donation, and encourage others to as well.

Conversations (10)
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  1. Byron Guest

    I call it doing the right thing and u get a benefit

  2. Andrew Diamond

    Uh. So, they say that they consider it $0.03 cpm for tax purposes. If I donate $500, I get 25,000 miles, which means they "value" it at $750.

    Am I gonna get a 1099 for $250 if I donate this? I mean, I hope not, but... I don't know why they would value it at more than what people are paying...

    1. Andrew Diamond

      For the record, I support both donating and fighting cancer. I just don't understand their valuation choice. :)

  3. Felipe Guest

    Done. Glad to be able to help and in return even get some miles for my “hobby”.

  4. michael Guest

    the tax implications of this are interesting....why I am not a tax expert (other than I pay a lot of taxes and I have an internet connection) - in general, to get a deduction you cant get anything in return. Like if you go to a benefit, sometimes they separate out the cost of the meal...anyhow since you are getting AA miles in return - I wonder how the IRS would treat this and what valuation they would give it?

    maybe someone has more insight?

  5. zF Guest

    Would the 50x also work with a AA Barclays aviator Mastercard?

  6. FMBWI Gold

    Thanks, Ben! Made a 3 figure donation to a great charity. Nothing wrong with the miles as a bonus.

  7. justindev Guest

    It's a worthwhile promo. Getting some miles is just a gift.

  8. Jo Ann Guest

    I work in a cancer institute and I love this ability to make a donation and earn some miles. Whatever it takes to get people to donate. There are some amazing breakthroughs in cancer treatment on the horizon and I hope one day to say I am out of a job. Please donate!!

  9. Peter Guest

    Cancer is the worst. Easy donation to make, whether or not you take the tax credit. Good cause, get a few miles, everyone wins.

    The offer itself is not the best (obviously not at Conservation International levels...), but still slightly better at 2cpm than buying miles outright through AA (my current offer is a 40% discount on 151k+ purchases, comes in at ~2.25cpm). I suppose it is actually slightly better once you factor in...

    Cancer is the worst. Easy donation to make, whether or not you take the tax credit. Good cause, get a few miles, everyone wins.

    The offer itself is not the best (obviously not at Conservation International levels...), but still slightly better at 2cpm than buying miles outright through AA (my current offer is a 40% discount on 151k+ purchases, comes in at ~2.25cpm). I suppose it is actually slightly better once you factor in regular credit card rewards.

    As for your LPs they are a short DD delivery away...

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Byron Guest

I call it doing the right thing and u get a benefit

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Andrew Diamond

For the record, I support both donating and fighting cancer. I just don't understand their valuation choice. :)

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Andrew Diamond

Uh. So, they say that they consider it $0.03 cpm for tax purposes. If I donate $500, I get 25,000 miles, which means they "value" it at $750. Am I gonna get a 1099 for $250 if I donate this? I mean, I hope not, but... I don't know why they would value it at more than what people are paying...

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