Quick Overview

  • American Airlines is not a direct transfer partner of any major U.S. credit card rewards programs, making co-branded AA credit cards the best way to earn AAdvantage miles.
  • There are over 15 credit cards that transfer to American Airlines, consisting of co-branded hotel cards like Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG One Rewards.
  • While AMEX, Chase, Citi, and Capital One are not American Airlines credit card transfer partners, you can still use points from these cards to book AA flights by transferring points to oneworld partners or booking through their respective travel portals.

This page outlines the earning rates in AAdvantage miles for all AA credit card transfer partners and includes a calculator to help you determine which partner cards will earn you the most AA miles based on your spending.

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American Airlines credit card transfer partners

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If you're looking to maximize your AAdvantage miles outside of using AA's own co-branded credit cards, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt are our top picks for earning AAdvantage miles.

Marriott Bonvoy credit cards

Marriott Bonvoy Points can be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio. Every 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points can be converted to 1,000 AAdvantage Miles.

Marriott credit cards can earn you as much as 6X points per $1 spent on purchases made at Marriott properties which is equal to 2X AAdvantage miles when transferred. This makes picking up a Marriott credit card a solid option if you frequently stay at Marriott Bonvoy properties.

Here are the credit cards that Marriott offers that you can use to earn AAdvantage miles:

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World of Hyatt credit cards

World of Hyatt Points can be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 2.5:1 ratio. This means that every 2,500 Hyatt points you transfer will give you 1,000 AAdvantage miles. On top of that, Every 50,000-block of Hyatt points you transfer in a single transaction will net you an additional 5,000 AAdvantage miles.

Hyatt credit cards are fantastic for earning points at World of Hyatt properties as you'll earn a whopping 4X points on your stays on top of the points you'll already earn as a World of Hyatt member. When transferred to AAdvantage, this is equal to 1.6 miles... which, quite honestly, isn't that good.

The thing about Hyatt points is that they are easily worth 2 cents or more when booking stays at Hyatt properties. Obtaining great value requires very little effort... even when you're not trying you can get at least 1.8 cents per point.

So when you transfer Hyatt points to AAdvantage or any other airline partner, you will more than likely end up devaluing your points. Looking at the rate, 2,500 Hyatt points can easily be worth $50 towards a Hyatt stay whereas the 1,000 AAdvantage miles you'll end up with after the transfer are worth about $14 on average — maybe even $20-$30 if you can find an excellent upper-class redemption.

So keep this in mind when transferring Hyatt points.

Here are the credit cards Hyatt offers that you can use to earn AAdvantage miles:

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IHG One Rewards credit cards

IHG One Rewards points can be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 5:1 ratio. Every 5,000 IHG points you convert will give you 1,000 AAdvantage miles.

IHG credit cards are hands-down the best option if you frequent IHG hotels as you'll earn 10 points per $1 spent at IHG properties. You'll also enjoy complimentary elite status and an annual free night award on the personal and business Premier cards.

In terms of overall value transferring to AAdvantage... I wouldn't recommend doing so unless you are really in need of AAdvantage miles and don't want to buy them.

Here are the credit cards that you can use to earn IHG points transferable to American Airlines AAdvantage:

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Drury Rewards credit cards

Drury Rewards points can be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 5:1 ratio. Every 5,000 Drury Rewards points you transfer to your AAdvantage account will give you 1,000 AAdvantage miles.

Drury only offers one co-branded credit card and it's good for one thing... earning 5 points per $1 spent at Drury properties. At a 5:1 ratio, this means you'll earn up to 1X point with this card which isn't worth it at all.

Here is the co-branded credit card Drury offers:

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AAdvantage credit cards

With American Airlines having no major credit card transfer partners, your best bet for earning AAdvantage miles will be their own co-branded credit cards. You'll earn a solid amount of miles on your purchases and you'll receive a handful of perks which can provide some additional value.

Here are the co-branded credit cards American Airlines offers:

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What's the best credit card for AAdvantage miles?

Input your monthly and yearly spend amounts into our credit card finder tool to find out which credit cards will earn you the most AAdvantage miles and best return per $1 spent.

Results will include all co-branded AAdvantage credit cards and all American Airlines credit card transfer partners. Results will show up to the top 20 cards.

Want More Customization?

This calculator uses our valuations, the intro bonuses we have in the database, and includes the maximum (calculable) bonuses for each card. If you want to have control over these options and much more, check out this tool:

Rewards Credit Card Directory & Calculator: AAdvantage Miles

Currency Codes

Any currencies you add to the tool will be selectable when entering spend into the Spend Categories section of the calculator.

Do note that any foreign currencies selected will automatically be converted to the card's default currency when calculating rewards.

Currency Controls

Currencies

Sections of the calculator allows you to choose a currency. You will be able to choose from the options below. If you want more options, add them!

Currency Conversions

This site's currency rates update once per hour. If you have a different exchange rate in mind for any of the added currencies, you can change the rate here.

Calculator Options

Year 1 or Year 2+?

Year 1 - Calculate how much you will earn in your first year of being a cardmember. Includes Intro Bonuses (if toggled on) and will use the free or reduced first year annual fees for any cards that have them.

Year 2+ - Calculate how much the card will be worth the 2nd year and onward. Automatically turns off intro bonuses and will ignore first year free/reduced annual fees.

Include Intro Bonuses?

If set to yes, intro bonuses will be included for a card's calculation ONLY IF you have met the monthly spend criteria based on what's entered into the tool.

Note: We do not have intro bonuses for all credit cards (mainly partners and popular credit cards), and we cannot calculate intro bonuses for some cards due to the complexity of some spend requirements.

Authorized Users

Some banks charge an additional fee to add family, friends, or employees to the credit card account. If you plan on adding authorized users to your credit card(s), you can enter that amount here.

Note: Some credit cards have a cap on how many authorized users you can add. While we do keep track of the fee structures, we do not keep track of caps. So be sure to check the rates and fees before applying.

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Max of 100.
Calculate Foreign Transaction Fees?

Many cards will charge you a foreign transaction fee when making purchases in a foreign currency. This is typically between 2.5% and 3% for most credit cards.

If set to yes, we will calculate the estimated fee for any spend entered into the calculator that is considered foreign. This amount will appear in the calculations as well.

Note: We do not have the foreign transaction fee rates for all credit cards.

Monthly/Yearly Spending

Add Categories
Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add selected categories to the calculator.
When On, only shows currently selected categories.
When On, shows the descriptions for each of the categories.
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Selected Categories
Results Will Appear Here

No Results. This is usually due to:

  • There's no good card options based on the spend entered.
  • The calculator is having a brain-fart and is not calculating rewards properly.

Enter different values or try again later.

Results

Listed below are the results based on what you entered into the tool above. These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card.

You can click on "Show Calculations" to see a breakdown of how the rewards were calculated, click on the card itself to learn more/apply through our partners (big thanks if you do!), or click on any of the other links to learn more about the card and it's rewards.

Do note that some of the calculations are rounded so it is possible that the estimated values may be off by a point or two when added up.

Remember that this particular tool uses our point/mile valuations, the intro bonuses we have in the database, and includes the maximum (calculable) bonuses for each card. If you want to have control over these options and much more, slide over to the Rewards Credit Card Directory & Calculator.

These calculations should be used for illustrative purposes only.