American Airlines AAdvantage isn’t a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards — or any other transferable credit card currency, for that matter. In fact, AAdvantage miles are some of the hardest airline miles to earn.
But this doesn’t need to stop you from redeeming your hard-earned Chase Ultimate Rewards points for American flights. Let’s dive into the various ways to fly on American metal using Chase points.
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Transfer Chase points to airline partners to book American flights
You may not be able to transfer Chase points to AAdvantage, but American is part of Oneworld, which means you can book award flights through other partners of this alliance. Since multiple Oneworld airlines are transfer partners of Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can transfer Chase points to one of these airlines at a 1:1 ratio and use them to book American partner flights.
For instance, this American Airlines flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) is bookable through British Airways with 30,000 Avios plus $16 in taxes and fees in economy.
Or you could book this direct flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt, operated by American, through Qatar Airways for 25,750 Avios and $240 in taxes and fees.
These are reasonable rates, but not every American partner flight will be a good deal. It’s always a good idea to compare award rates among various airlines before you decide how to redeem your Chase points.
There are five airline loyalty programs through which you can book American flights with Chase points: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Club and Club Iberia Plus. Though Finnair Plus and Qatar Airways Privilege Club are not direct Chase transfer partners, you can easily transfer Avios between your five programs at a 1:1 rate.
All of the above airlines use Avios as their loyalty currency. However, you may see different award rates or availability on each airline’s site.
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For instance, the Charlotte-to-Frankfurt example that I found on Qatar Airways is also available through British Airways for 25,750 Avios and $233. The cost in points is the same, but the taxes and fees vary slightly. The Atlanta-to-Aruba flight, on the other hand, isn’t available on Qatar’s site.
It’s worth checking each partner airline in case you find more availability or better rates on one of them.
Don’t forget to check TPG’s list of current transfer bonuses before you transfer rewards. Chase occasionally runs promotions that allow you to earn bonus points or miles when you transfer, helping you stretch your points further when transferring points to book American flights.
Transferring your Chase points to partners to book American flights can help you save money, but it may not be the best way to maximize your points. TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents per point, per our April 2025 valuations, so you want to try and obtain a similar value when redeeming your points. Make sure you compare the cash rate of the American flight to the award price.
Related: How to decide when to use cash or miles for buying airline tickets
Book American flights through the Chase Travel portal
Another route for booking American flights with Chase points is through Chase Travel℠, the issuer’s travel booking platform, where you can redeem points instead of cash to pay for travel.
If you can’t find the American flight you’re looking for through a partner airline, or the partner’s redemption rates aren’t a good value, try this option instead. Chase Travel offers a wide variety of travel bookings, including American Airlines flights.
You can redeem Chase points for American flights directly through the portal, but the value you’ll get per point depends on which card you hold. With the ever-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred, your Chase points are worth 1.25 cents apiece through the portal.
So, if you booked a $300 flight with your Chase Sapphire Preferred, you would need 24,000 Chase points to pay for it.
Depending on the flight, redeeming Chase points through the portal may not be the best option. Let’s look at our earlier example flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt. This flight costs $494 on Chase Travel, or 39,520 points when you redeem them for 1.25 cents each. You’re better off transferring 26,000 points to British Airways Club, then transferring those points to Qatar Privilege Club and then booking the award flight for 25,750 Avios — saving yourself nearly 14,000 points.
But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, when award rates are high or partner airlines have limited availability, your best bet will be to redeem Chase points through Chase Travel.
You can generally get more value when you transfer Chase points to partners, but still, 1.25 cents per point is nothing to sneeze at. Chase’s cash-back cards will only give you 1 cent per point, which is on par with other issuers’ travel portals, like Amex Travel, Capital One Travel and Citi Travel.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of our favorite Chase cards that provide more than 1 cent of value per point when you redeem through the portal. The only card that provides better value is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), which lets you redeem points for 1.5 cents each through Chase Travel.
Bottom line
American Airlines’ lack of transfer partners may be frustrating, but there are ways to get around it. Even though you can’t transfer Chase points straight to AAdvantage, there are multiple other avenues to book American Airlines flights with Chase points.
If you’re looking to earn more Chase points, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a fantastic starter card, and right now, it’s offering a lucrative welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
Based on the previous example, that’s almost enough to fly four people from Charlotte to Frankfurt on American Airlines if you transfer your points to British Airways Avios and then to Qatar.
