American Airlines adds new loyalty program perk cruisers will love
Whether you want to sail Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, or a luxury cruise line, you’ll love this new perk for AAdvantage members.
Airline loyalty programs and airline rewards credit cards have grown extremely popular with travelers over the last few years.
Airline trade group Airlines for America (A4A) estimates that practically one in every four U.S. households now has an airline credit card, which typically comes with enhanced loyalty benefits like bonus miles and waived baggage fees.
Related: Disney cruiser shares genius money-saving hack any cruiser can use
Millions of travelers find airline rewards credit cards and loyalty programs valuable for the perks they offer — especially the ability to earn miles and points to apply toward future flights and other benefits.
And now, American Airlines’ AAdvantage loyalty program just got even more rewarding for travelers who want to use the miles they’ve earned to book vacations — even if they aren’t flying to get there.
As of June 3, American Airlines has expanded the benefits of its loyalty program to give AAdvantage members more flexibility to use their miles toward cruise vacations on most any cruise line.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise. Image Source: Norwegian Cruise Line
You can now book cruises using American Airlines’ AAdvantage miles
AAdvantage members now have the option to redeem their AAdvantage miles to book cruises, or use a combination of cash and miles on cruise bookings through its AAdvantage Cruises program.
Previously, booking a cruise through the AAdvantage Cruises platform came with the benefit of earning airline miles and points on cruises, but members couldn’t redeem their existing miles for cruises — until now.
To redeem your AAdvantage miles on a cruise booking, you simply need to book your cruise through the AAdvantage Cruises website, or book over the phone with World Travel Holding’s travel agents, who operate AAdvantage Cruises in partnership with American Airlines.
Related: Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival salute veterans with major perks
On the AAdvantage Cruises website, you can search for cruises according to your desired cruise criteria to select the right sailing for you. Thousands of cruises are available to book on most any major cruise line from Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian to luxury and river cruise lines. This makes it easy to compare various cruise line offerings side by side.
The platform also offers the same deals that cruise lines offer on their websites, including cruise line loyalty program benefits, plus the opportunity to earn AAdvantage miles and loyalty points. If you aren’t already an AAdvantage member, you simply need to join the free airline loyalty program to start earning those miles and points.
What are all the benefits of booking a cruise through American Airlines?
As far as airline miles go, AAdvantage members earn one mile per $1 spent on AAdvantage Cruises, while AAdvantage credit cardmembers earn even more — two miles per $1 spent. Sometimes, bonus miles are also available for bookings on certain cruise lines.
Along with earning miles on their cruise vacations, AAdvantage members who book cruises through the airline’s cruise booking platform also earn loyalty points, cruising their way to higher status in the popular airline loyalty program.
If you book a cruise through AAdvantage, you’ll earn loyalty points toward AAdvantage status in addition to the AAdvantage miles you earn just for booking. Each eligible AAdvantage mile earned on every booking gets you one loyalty point — bringing you closer to the next status tier — and closer to upgrades and other perks on qualifying American Airlines flights.
Related: Savvy Disney vacationers use this service to save big on trips
And of course, if you book your flight to your cruise departure port on American Airlines, you’ll earn even more miles and points on your vacation.
Booking a cruise through AAdvantage Cruises does come with a $24.99 processing fee per booking, but you won’t pay more for your cruise fare. AAdvantage Cruises offers a 110% best price guarantee — if you find a lower price on the same cruise on another website within 48 hours of booking, they’ll refund you 110% of the price difference.
Fly more often with another airline? Other major airlines like United, Delta, and Southwest offer similar programs that allow their loyalty program members to earn miles on cruises booked through their own cruise booking websites.
United Airlines appears to be the only other airline that currently allows its loyalty program members to use miles toward their cruise bookings, however.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
