Which Airlines Allow You To Book First Class Flights Using American Airlines AAdvanatage Miles

Summary American Airlines AAdvantage provides excellent value for long-haul international first class tickets – when you can find availability.
British Airways is a great option for US AAdvantage members seeking first class travel.
Consider also Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways for luxurious first class experiences.
Everyone would love to travel first class – and using miles and points is a popular way to book tickets. Availability can be very hard to find, but represents some of the best value you will find in the loyalty world.
American Airlines AAdvantageis one of the best programs for booking first class tickets. To be clear, we are talking here about long-haul international widebody first class products, not North American-style domestic first class. There are first class cabins still on offer extensively with several oneworld airlines, plus with partner Etihad Airways.
Using American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book American Airlines
We start with the most obvious choice, but far from the best value. American Airlines AAdvantage miles can, of course, be used for American Airlines flights. And at least for the moment, the airline still operates long haul first class. It has confirmed it will phase this out, however – in line with other major US airlines. The focus now is on offering a good business product rather than the extras of first class.
Related How To Spend American Airlines AAdvantage Miles Flying on American Airlines, oneworld airlines, or other partners is the best way to spend miles – but there are other possibilities.
Flagship First is American’s long-haul premium first class offering. It is still offered on several transcontinental US routes, plus international to Europe, South America and Asia. Not all flights will offer first (it is only available on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft), and the availability will continue to decrease as aircraft are reconfigured prior to discontinuation.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
The major drawback with American Airlines first class award flights (despite imminent discontinuation of them) is that they are priced dynamically. Like other US loyalty programs, AAdvantage prices flights on its own routes variably, based on the underlying ticket price. This is likely to be very high for Flagship First, and much worse value than you might find with partners which all use fixed prices. The advantage, however, is that availability is much better.
Starting rates are published based on route and cabin, but rates often increase well above this. For US to Europe routes, the starting rate for business or first class is 75,000 miles one-way. An example search for off-peak dates about two months in advance shows first class award rates much higher than this.
Photo: American Airlines
Using miles for British Airways flights
One of the best options for US-based AAdvantage members is to look for first class with British Airways. The UK-based airline offers first class on several aircraft – including the Airbus A380, some Boeing 777 aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 (but not the 787-8 or the A350).
Related Which British Airways Aircraft Have First Class Cabins? Despite having a large and diverse portfolio of aircraft, only five types in British Airways’ long-haul fleet offer a first class cabin.
Routes can change, but currently include:
All A380 flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Dallas, Washington Dulles.
Some Boeing 777 flights to New York JFK, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego.
Some 787 flights to Boston, Chicago, Houston, Newark, Seattle, Washington DC.
Photo: British Airways
All partner airlines are booked based through the AAdvantage program using fixed prices.
AAdvantage publishes these rates, based on origin and destination zone and cabin flown.
With fixed-priced awards, availability for each flight is determined by each airline – a flight is either available for miles or not.
Multiple sectors are permitted on one award. For a first class flight, obviously lower cabins can be mixed for connecting flights (with the whole award pricing based on first class rates).
For US to Europe flights with British Airways, a first class award in first class costs 85,000 miles.
Love learning about points and miles? Read more of our loyalty news and guides here .
Using miles for Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines to Asia
Travelers heading from the US (or Europe) to Asia have a lot of choice for first class routes. Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines all offer a first class cabin on US and European routes, British Airways also offers it on some London to Asia routes.
Photo: Jarek Kilian | Shutterstock
Both airlines offer first class on several routes (this can change).
Cathay Pacific only has first class on some of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The cabin is normally offered on flights to New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and some flights to San Francisco. It also operates to London and Paris, and on some regional flights in Asia.
Japan Airlines also has first class only on the Boeing 777-300ER. This currently operates US routes including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It is also found on flights to London.
Photo: Cathay Pacific
The fixed-price rates for first class awards would be:
US to Japan or Korea: 80,000 miles
US to rest of Asia: 110,000 miles
Europe to Asia (any destination): 90,000 miles
Within Asia, excluding Japan and Korea (Cathay Pacific offers some routes here): 32,500 miles
Japan or Korea to other Asian destinations: 40,000 miles
Find more news about Asian aviation here
Using miles for Qantas to Australia
Qantas now only offers a first class product on the Airbus A380. It currently flies this to Los Angeles, London, and Singapore.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
These routes can, of course, all be booked using AAdvanatge miles. Availability is tough however. The fixed prices would be:
US to Australia: 110,000 miles
Europe to Australia: 115,000 miles
Singapore to Australia: 50,000 miles
Discover more aviation news for Australia and Oceania here
Using miles for Qatar Airways
First class has been a changing offering from Qatar Airways. The airline used to offer it more extensively (as do other Middle Eastern airlines) but has scaled back. This could be changing now though, with a new cabin planned.
The airline currently operates first class on a small portion of its fleet – including 10 Airbus A380s and six Boeing 777-300ERs. It does not offer the cabin on any routes to the US. Instead, it can be found reliably on London routes, plus some other Asia and regional routes.
Related Which Qatar Airways Planes Have First Class Cabins? Just 16 of the airline’s 266 aircraft feature a first class cabin – which are they?
Using miles for Etihad Airways
In addition to all the oneworld airlines, AAdvanatge also allows earning and redeeming of miles on several non-alliance airlines. For first class offers, the most interesting of these is Etihad Airways.
Etihad offers an excellent first class product, on two aircraft types – the Airbus A380 and some of its Boeing 787 aircraft. These are quite different products. The private apartments on the A380 are some of the biggest and best on any airline (the exclusive Residence apartment style accommodation cannot be booked for points or miles with other loyalty programs, only using Etihad Guest miles.
Photo: M101Studio | Shutterstock
The airline operates the Airbus A380 from Abu Dhabi to New York and to London. The 787 operates several routes, including Abu Dhabi to Washington DC.
Etihad Airways can be booked for the same rates as other partners, and the same rules apply for additional connecting flights. The rates for first class would be:
Middle East to US: 115,000 miles
Middle East to Europe: 62,500 miles
The future of first class
There is no doubt that using miles for first class tickets represents some of the best value around (although business can also be excellent value). With the switch to dynamic and revenue-linked earning and spending of points and miles, this aspirational element of loyalty programs is reducing. For the time being, a fixed price and extensive program like AAdvanatge offers a great way to access first class awards. Its oneworld and other partners offer some of the best first class products available.
AAdvantage The American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer program was launched by the United States carrier on May 1st, 1981. It was the second loyalty program to be launched by an airline worldwide, and today it is the oldest still in existence.
However, first class these days does find itself in a challenging position. With the rapid improvement in business class over recent years, many airlines are left wondering about their future. When you have excellent business class products offering fully flat beds, good service and catering, and increasing seclusion and privacy, what is left for first class? This has led many airlines (including all the US main carriers) to drop the cabin, and concentrate on a solid premium business class offering.
Some still see a place for it though, largely catering to those wanting even more privacy, flexibility and better service. The Middle Eastern carriers certainly see it as in important offering on many routes, as do other airlines operating from major hubs. While total numbers and offering may continue to decrease (and with it quite likely the availability for points and miles use), in many ways, we are starting to see revivals with new cabins and offerings being developed.