An American Airlines plane waits at the gate at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on May 1, 2026.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
american airlines is set to join the ranks of airlines that allow customers to book with a combination of cash and miles, the latest change as the company looks to expand its lucrative points program.
American Airlines says customers will see a slider bar at checkout that allows them to combine miles from the AAdvantage program with cash for their tickets.
This option can be useful if the customer does not have enough miles to use for the entire ticket and wants to save some cash from the ticket price.
Other airlines, including American Airlines’ main rivals united airlines and delta airlinesNow allows customers to combine frequent flyer miles with cash. For example, a one-way ticket on United Airlines from New Jersey hub Newark Liberty International Airport to Paris during the first week of November cost 40,000 United MileagePlus miles plus $5.60 tax, $428.50 cash, or $369 plus 6,000 miles.
A slider bar that American Airlines plans to introduce in the coming days will give customers the option to use more miles to get bigger discounts.
American Airlines’ latest tools come as the airline’s battle for big-spending customers extends to new airport lounges, larger premium cabins and in-flight Wi-Fi.
