American Airlines Just Made Using Trip Credits Much Easier — What to Know

It just got much easier to redeem those American Airlines trip credits before their expiration date.

Travelers booking flights directly on American’s website or app can now start to see their eligible trip credits applied at checkout, the airline shared with T+L. This is a notable improvement, as trip credits were previously unavailable at checkout and difficult to locate without keeping track of the 13-digit code.

However, to ensure the trip credit is properly associated with the traveler, they must be logged into their AAdvantage frequent flyer account before making a reservation. The feature is already available to some members but will continue to be rolled out in the weeks ahead, an airline spokesperson confirmed.

At the beginning of this year, American Airlines updated its trip credit policy, among other loyalty program changes. For all trip credits issued after April 2, 2024, AAdvantage members’ credits will expire after 12 months, while non-members’ credits will expire in six months. However, since creating an American Airlines account is free, all travelers can easily gain 12 months of validity.

The airline actually issues three types of credits. A trip credit is distinct from flight credits and travel vouchers, as it’s provided for tickets canceled by the airline, compensation for significant delays, or any remaining balance after a flight change. 

Flight credits are given when a traveler voluntarily cancels their flight, while a travel voucher is issued when a traveler volunteers to be bumped from an overbooked flight. Of the three options, trip credits have the most flexibility as they can be used to book flights for anyone, not just the original credit holder. 

Besides saving emails for each newly issued credit, passengers can also find their eligible credits by visiting the “Account Summary” and “Travel Credit” sections. From there, they can copy the credit numbers and apply them at checkout, with the option to use up to eight trip credits for a single ticket.