It's simple to keep your miles from expiring. Each time you have qualifying activity in your account, you defer the expiration of all of your miles for 36 months. Qualifying activity is defined as earning mileage credit from any AAdvantage participant or redeeming miles for any AAdvantage award.

To keep your American Airlines AAdvantage miles from expiring in 2026, you must have some "qualifying activity"—either earning or redeeming miles—at least once every 24 months. The simplest way to reset your clock without flying is to make a small purchase through the AAdvantage eShopping portal or by dining at a participating restaurant in the AAdvantage Dining program. These activities generate miles that post to your account, extending your balance for another two years. Another high-value strategy is to hold an AAdvantage co-branded credit card (like those from Citi or Barclays); as long as your card account is open, your miles will never expire, even if you don't use the card frequently. For minors, AAdvantage miles do not expire until the member reaches the age of 21. If your miles have already expired within the last 24 months, American Airlines allows you to reinstate them for a fee (e.g., $60 for 5,000 miles), but the easiest "hands-off" method is to simply keep a small balance in a Bask Bank mileage savings account, which deposits miles monthly and keeps your account indefinitely active.