Starlux Airlines + American Airlines Partnership Series | Part 1: The American Airlines (AA) and Starlux Airlines partnership just moved forward. Here is why I think families should pay attention.
A few weeks ago, when the American Airlines and Starlux Airlines news started making the rounds, most of the attention was on the codeshare agreement. I understood why. It was the obvious headline. But as I read through the details, I kept coming back to one question.
Could this eventually give us another way to book Starlux Airlines with AAdvantage miles?
That is the part that caught my attention. If American Airlines eventually allows AAdvantage program members to redeem miles for Starlux Airlines flights, families could have another useful option for getting to Taiwan and other parts of Asia.
If you have ever tried to find three, four, or even six award seats on the same trip, you already know why another option can matter.
That is also why I am turning this developing partnership into a short series. I think families need answers to three practical questions.
- Week 1: Can we use AAdvantage miles for Starlux Airlines yet?
- Week 2: If not, what kind of miles should we use for Starlux Airlines right now?
- Week 3: While all of this is still changing, what points should our family actually be collecting?
I am starting with the first question because there has been an important new development. On July 20, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved the American Airlines and Starlux Airlines reciprocal codeshare authority.
But before you start moving points or applying for cards, there is something important to understand: you still cannot book Starlux Airlines with AAdvantage miles today. So let’s look at what has actually happened, what is still a prediction, and why I think families should care.
If you only have 30 seconds
| 1. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved the American Airlines and Starlux Airlines reciprocal codeshare authority on July 20, 2026. |
| 2. You still cannot use AAdvantage miles to book Starlux Airlines. |
| 3. I am paying much more attention to the possible frequent-flyer cooperation between the two airlines. If AAdvantage redemption eventually becomes available, families could gain another useful way to book Starlux Airlines. I just would not build a huge AAdvantage mileage balance based on that possibility alone. |
Now let me explain why.
What happened on July 20?
American Airlines and Starlux Airlines filed their reciprocal codeshare request with the U.S. Department of Transportation on July 10, 2026.
In simple terms, they asked for permission to put their airline codes on certain flights operated by the other carrier.
- Ten days later, DOT approved the requests.
- American Airlines received its codeshare authorization. Starlux Airlines received its authorization. DOT also waived the usual 45-day advance filing requirement.
- Those approvals became effective on July 20.
So the regulatory codeshare approval is no longer something we are waiting for. It happened. But I want to be careful with what that means for those of us who care about points and miles.
Does DOT approval mean I can book Starlux Airlines with AAdvantage miles now?
No.
This is probably the most important distinction in the whole story.
DOT approved the codeshare relationship. It did not announce an AAdvantage redemption partnership.
American Airlines has not published Starlux Airlines award pricing. We do not know what routes would be available with AAdvantage miles. We do not know how many Starlux Airlines award seats American Airlines members would see.
So if you see people talking about American Airlines and Starlux Airlines as though the mileage partnership is already live, we are not there yet as the time this post is published. For me, DOT approval is another sign that the relationship is moving forward. The mileage piece is still the part I am waiting for.
So what does “frequent-flyer cooperation” actually mean?
This phrase sounds more complicated than it is. Think of the partnership in two parts.
| PART | WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR YOU |
| Codeshare | American Airlines and Starlux Airlines can work more closely in selling and connecting flights. |
| Frequent-flyer cooperation | The miles and loyalty side of the relationship, such as earning miles, redeeming miles, or receiving certain loyalty benefits if and when those benefits are introduced. |
| The big question for me | Will we eventually be able to use AAdvantage miles to book Starlux Airlines? |
That last question is the one I keep coming back to. Ryan Lin, CEO at TripPlus noticed the same thing early in this story. His analysis focused not only on the codeshare, but also on the separate signals around lounge and mileage cooperation. That led him to start thinking about the possibility of AAdvantage award access on Starlux Airlines before any award chart existed.
The important caveat is that these consumer benefits are not live today. The codeshare is the development we can confirm. The mileage relationship is the part I am watching.
Why should a family care about any of this?
Let’s say you want to take your family to Taiwan next summer.
You have four people. You would love to fly business class if the miles and seats work.
Finding one award seat can be fairly easy. Finding four on the same flight is a completely different problem.
You may find a great mileage price through one program, but only one seat is available. Another program may have four seats, but the price is much higher. A third program may have access to inventory the others do not.
That is why I care when Starlux Airlines adds another mileage partner. For a family, another useful partner can mean another chance to put the whole trip together.
That is also why I do not spend much time asking, “What is the single best mileage program?” I care more about whether a family has enough options to actually book the trip they want.
Ryan’s later analysis moves in the same direction. Once Alaska Airlines, Etihad Airways, and potentially American Airlines are all part of the Starlux Airlines conversation, the answer depends on the route, award availability, and which points you already have.
We will get into that much more in Part 2. For now, American Airlines is still the piece we are watching.
What about the 70,000-mile Starlux Airlines Business Class everyone keeps talking about?
This is another place where I want to be very precise.
Ryan modeled what Starlux Airlines awards might cost if American Airlines eventually allows AAdvantage redemptions and applies its existing partner award framework.
One of the most interesting examples is U.S. to Taiwan in business class.
His projection is 70,000 AAdvantage miles one way.
That sounds fantastic.
It is also NOT a published Starlux Airlines award price.
You cannot log into American Airlines today, search Starlux Airlines Business Class, and book it for 70,000 miles.
Ryan has consistently treated this as analysis based on AAdvantage’s current partner pricing, not as an announced American Airlines and Starlux Airlines award chart.
I still think the number is worth discussing because it helps explain why people are excited. If that pricing becomes real, it could be very attractive.
But for families, price is only half the question. I care just as much about the number of seats
Suppose the 70,000-mile prediction turns out to be correct.
| TRAVELERS | ONE-WAY MILES AT 70K EACH |
| 1 person | 70,000 |
| Family of 4 | 280,000 |
| Family of 6 | 420,000 |
That is a lot of miles to accumulate around something that is not yet bookable.
And even if you had all those miles, there is another problem.
What if Starlux Airlines releases only one business-class award seat?
A 70,000-mile price does not help a family of four if only one person can book it. That is why one of the biggest things I will be watching is not simply the AAdvantage award chart. I want to know how many seats become available.
Ryan has suggested that Starlux Airlines redemption through AAdvantage could potentially launch with a meaningful batch of award inventory, based partly on what happened when Alaska’s relationship with Starlux Airlines developed.
I think it is an interesting possibility. I would not treat it as a promise.
We do not know how many seats might be released, on which routes, in which cabins, or whether any unusually good availability would last very long.
Should I start collecting AAdvantage miles for Starlux Airlines?
I would not do it just because of Starlux Airlines.
That does not mean I think AAdvantage miles are a bad idea.
If you already know how to use AAdvantage miles and you already have other trips where those miles are valuable to you, collecting more AAdvantage miles can make perfect sense. (if this is the case, check out the recent elevated offer on Citi / AAdvantage Executive credit card.
That is very different from building a 300,000 or 400,000-mile AAdvantage balance because we hope Starlux Airlines redemption will eventually launch at a certain price.
Ryan makes this distinction too. Someone who already uses AAdvantage miles has a reason to collect them regardless of what happens with Starlux Airlines. Someone who is collecting AAdvantage miles only because of this prediction is taking a much bigger risk.
That is where I land as well.
I want to be ready if the American Airlines and Starlux Airlines relationship turns into a great opportunity. I just do not want to put all of my points into one airline before I know exactly what I am buying.
Where American Airlines and Starlux Airlines stand right now
I am going to keep this status check in every article in this series because the situation is still changing.
| CONFIRMED | American Airlines and Starlux Airlines reciprocal codeshare authority. DOT approved it on July 20, 2026. |
| LIVE TODAY | — Starlux Airlines awards through Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. — Starlux Airlines awards through Etihad Airways Etihad Guest. — Starlux Airlines awards through Starlux Airlines COSMILE. |
| STILL WATCHING | Using AAdvantage miles to book Starlux Airlines; actual AAdvantage award pricing; award-seat access; route value; mileage and lounge benefits; whether a large initial award release happens. |
For now, these are the lines I do not want to cross:
- AAdvantage redemption is not live.
- 70,000 miles is a projection, not an announced Starlux Airlines price.
- A large initial release of award seats is possible, not guaranteed.
What would I do right now?
- I would keep watching.
- I would learn how the partnership is developing.
- And I would make sure I have options.
- I would not rush to build a huge AAdvantage mileage balance solely because of Starlux Airlines.
There is enough happening here for me to believe this could become useful. There are also still enough unanswered questions that I want flexibility.
For families, that matters even more. We are not trying to find one seat. We are trying to get everyone on the trip. Sometimes the program with the prettiest award chart is not the program that actually gets your family there.
Next in Part 2: Starlux Airlines is already bookable with miles. So which option is actually good?
While we wait for American Airlines, there are already other ways to book Starlux Airlines. Alaska/Atmos is one. Etihad Guest is now another. When Etihad became available, I thought, “Great, one more option.” Then I looked more closely at the mileage price and the cancellation policy. My reaction changed pretty quickly.
In Part 2, we will look at the ways you can book Starlux Airlines today, where Alaska and Etihad make sense, and where American Airlines could change the picture if AAdvantage redemption eventually arrives.
Having more options is good. But not every option is a good deal.
Three things to remember
| 1. DOT approved the American Airlines and Starlux Airlines codeshare on July 20. |
| 2. AAdvantage miles still cannot book Starlux Airlines, but the frequent-flyer relationship is the part worth watching. |
| 3. If AAdvantage redemption eventually arrives, it could give families another useful way to get to Asia. I would prepare for that possibility without building my entire strategy around it. |
Starlux Airlines + American Airlines Partnership Series | Part 1
Sources:
- U.S. Department of Transportation, Notice of Action Taken, Dockets DOT-OST-2009-0337 and DOT-OST-2026-2839, issued July 20, 2026.
- Ryan Lin / TripPlus in TripPlus YouTube channel.
- Travel And Tour World: Trans-Pacific Travel Set for a Major Shake-Up as American Airlines and Starlux Pursue Comprehensive Codeshare Agreement to Expand Taiwan-US Connectivity and Global Flight Options – Key Insights for Long-Haul Travellers, issued July 14, 2026
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