Frequent flyers have more than one way to earn American Airlines miles for everyday purchases. One of them is AA’s SimplyMiles portal, which bears some similarities to Amex Offers and Chase Offers. With the SimplyMiles program, however, you earn miles even as you spend them.
The portal is simple to use. You register, using your AAdvantage account number, link cards to your account and add offers to your card. Then, you can earn bonus AAdvantage miles when you shop at the merchants listed on your account. Right now, only U.S. residents are eligible, and you must use a credit card with a Mastercard logo on it.
With the introduction of Loyalty Points, SimplyMiles is even more interesting for American loyalists. All base miles earned with SimplyMiles will count as Loyalty Points. This is virtually all the points you earn with SimplyMiles, sans any limited-time bonuses, giving you yet another way to inch closer to American elite status.
Let’s take a closer look at SimplyMiles and how you can use it to rack up AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points.
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Adding SimplyMiles offers to your Mastercard
To start using SimplyMiles, head to the SimplyMiles website and log in with your American Airlines account information. If it’s your first time logging in, you will be prompted to add a Mastercard to your SimplyMiles account. We recommend adding all the Mastercards in your wallet to the platform in order to have the best chance of earning bonus AAdvantage miles with the program.
You’ll then be taken to the offers page, where you can see all the available SimplyMiles offers on your account. At the time of writing, I have offers ranging from clothing companies like Carhartt and Levi’s to gas stations like Pilot. Some offer award miles based on how much you spend, and others award a set amount of miles when you spend a set amount of money.
Click the “Add to Card” button to activate an offer. When you do this, it will be added to all of the cards linked to your SimplyMiles account. Note that some offers can only be redeemed online or in-store, so make sure to check the terms of each SimplyMiles offer before you make a purchase.
When you make an eligible purchase, you’ll earn the AAdvantage miles that correspond to your offer in addition to the miles you have earned from your credit card.
In most cases, the miles you earn with SimplyMiles will appear in your AAdvantage account within three to five days of making a purchase. American does note, however, that some purchases may take up to 15 days to post to your account.
Related: How to earn miles in the American Airlines AAdvantage program
Earn elite status with SimplyMiles and AAdvantage eShopping
Again, the base miles you earn on SimplyMiles purchases also count as Loyalty Points, so you’re getting closer to elite status with each purchase.
Better yet, if you’re shopping online, you can stack your earnings with the AAdvantage eShopping portal if the merchant also participates in that program.
For example, I have a Wine.com offer on my SimplyMiles account that awards 1,400 miles after spending $100 or more on the merchant’s website.
The AAdvantage eShopping portal also offers 2 miles per dollar spent at Wine.com. If I were to make a Wine.com purchase, I’d first click through the shopping portal and pay with a Mastercard linked to my SimplyMiles account.
A $100 purchase would then earn 1,400 AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points from SimplyMiles and 200 from the shopping portal. This brings me to a total of 1,600 miles and Loyalty Points earned, which is a solid haul if I already planned to buy something from Wine.com. Plus, that doesn’t even take into account the points and miles I’d earn with my credit card.
The moral of the story here is to always stack SimplyMiles offers when you can. It will accelerate your progress toward American elite status, and help you build up your AAdvantage mileage balance, too.
Related: Ultimate guide to the best cards for each bonus category
The best American Airlines credit cards
If you’re looking to add an American Airlines card to your wallet, both Citi and Barclays offer cobranded cards. All of these cards are Mastercards, so they are eligible to use with SimplyMiles. Here’s a look at the current offers:
- CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 American Airlines miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
- American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: Earn 10,000 American Airlines miles and a $50 statement credit after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
- AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 American Airlines miles after you make your first purchase and pay the $99 annual fee in the first 90 days of account opening.
- AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard®: Earn up to 70,000 American Airlines miles: Earn 60,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening, and earn 10,000 miles when a purchase is made on an employee card.
The information for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select card, Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card, Aviator Red and Aviator Business Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers
Bottom line
From shopping portals to dining programs, there is no shortage of ways to earn AAdvantage miles.
SimplyMiles is yet another great tool to have in your AAdvantage toolbox, as you can use it to earn even more miles when you shop in-store and online. Better yet, it stacks with the points you already earn with your credit card and shopping portals.
And with the introduction of Loyalty Points, SimplyMiles is even more attractive. Now, your SimplyMiles purchases count toward earning elite status, inching you closer to your desired American elite status tier every time you swipe your Mastercard at a participating merchant.
Additional reporting by Benét J. Wilson and Victoria M. Walker.
Featured photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images.