American Airlines just teased a change that's been a long time coming for AAdvantage members. The airline announced it'll introduce cash-on-miles ticketing, which is available at most of its key rivals. The announcement doesn't share a lot of detail right now, but there is enough precedent out there to give a fairly confident sense of how it'll actually unfold.

What American Has Confirmed So Far

The airline's messaging indicates that soon AAdvantage members will be able to mix and match cash and miles for travel within the continental U.S. Alaska and Hawaii are on the list for the initial rollout. American has sold this as a means of providing travelers greater flexibility in trip planning, and has noted that other routes will be added as time goes on.

In addition, American has not provided any pricing or redemption information or any word on how the math would work. Such an announcement is not uncommon among airlines they're likely to hype up a feature generously to get it ready for launch, before finalizing the details closer to the deadline.

The Facts Regarding the Effects of this are Not Quite Revolutionary

The issue is, American is late to this party. For years now, Delta SkyMiles, Southwest Rapid Rewards and United MileagePlus have all provided some form of cash and points redemption option. Instead of blindly assuming how American's will work, it is much more logical to see how the other programs are operating and what they will likely do, certainly when it comes to AAdvantage.

The idea of cash-and-miles bookings has never been about how to maximize value. Rather, it has to do with accessibility. Then you have 5,000 miles in your account, a far cry from being enough to pay for an award ticket, but enough to take a substantial bite out of the cash price. So that's the whole pitch; putting smaller mile balances to use rather than just leaving them stranded and unused.

The Value Question Nobody Should Ignore

That's where you have to keep your expectations in check. Cash and miles redemption is typically one of the least profitable options to use airline miles, and American is no exception. Typically, programs cap redemption values around one cent per mile and, in many instances, a mile will be worth less than that.

The compromise is convenience vs value and, of course these redemptions have always been on the convenience side of the equation. For those who try to get the most out of every mile, such as booking premium cabin awards on certain partner airlines, this new feature isn't going to make a huge difference. However, if you're a person who simply wants to make use of a small amount of miles without getting too caught up in the weeds, that might truly come in handy when it's released.

One Open Question Worth Watching

One interesting question that hasn't been answered yet is whether this new redemption feature will link in some way with America's co-branded credit cards. It's not hard to imagine that American may eventually go one step further by offering special privileges, or perhaps even redemption rates, on AAdvantage-branded credit cards.With airlines becoming more creative with credit card partnerships, to add extra value and special benefits to the cardholders, it's not too much to hope that American will eventually offer some kind of special privilege, or perhaps even redemption rate, on an AAdvantage-branded card.

So far, it's just speculation, as American hasn't indicated that there will be any card-specific advantages from this feature. More information will be available and it's a point to note if you already own a one with an American brand and may want to benefit in the future.

What This Means for AAdvantage Members

The takeaway from this for most of the AAdvantage members is pretty straightforward. People who have been frustrated with having short, unused miles balances put towards a flight will be thrilled by this new booking feature. Meanwhile, don't think of it as a new way to get great value out of your miles.

• The cheaper and the easier the better for cash and miles bookings, and they are best for people who don't have a ton of miles on their accounts but want to get a discount.
• The redemption rate is likely to be limited to about one cent per mile, similar to the rates of Delta, Southwest and United for comparable programs.

For those who have been saving up miles for big international awards or partner redemptions at sweet spots, this feature probably won't do much to alter your travel plan. However, the application of this feature may prove useful if one regularly has a few thousand miles and is unsure about how to get them used if American is able to figure it out.

The Bottom Line

American Airlines is adding a new way for AAdvantage members to use cash and miles to fly domestically, following Delta, Southwest and United in providing them. From the way these competing programs operate, it would be fair to assume that it's mainly for convenience, and redemption rates may be capped at one cent a mile or less. This is a great feature to use up smaller balances of miles, but it's not a way to get the best use out of your AAdvantage miles; save them for the best redemptions when you need them.