American Airlines Ranks Fifth in Points Guy's 2025 Airline Report: The Good and Bad
Only with Delta and United, American Airlines is one of the "Big Three" domestic air carriers, serving more than 200 million customers annually.
According to the latest annual Best U.S. Airlines report from popular travel website The Points Guy, American provided its passengers with a mixed bag of performance in 2025. The Dallas-Fort Worth-based company ranked at or near the top in some categories while noticeably lagging in others.
"American Airlines might've been our biggest "up and down" carrier in this year's report," writes The Points Guy's Sean Cudahy.
What to know about The Points Guy's rankings
This is the 10th year of The Points Guy's Best U.S. Airlines study, which grades domestic airlines across four weighted categories:
- Experience (20%)
- Reliability (30%)
- Loyalty (25%)
- Costs and reach (20%)
"The aviation industry has gone through one of the most challenging years on record," said The Points Guy founder Brian Kelly in a press release to Men's Journal. "From operational challenges to evolving traveler expectations, airlines have had to adapt quickly. Our Best Airlines Report cuts through the noise to provide travelers with a data-driven look at which carriers are delivering the best overall experience, helping consumers book with confidence and choose the airline that best fits their needs."
Delta Air Lines won the top spot for the eighth year in a row, with United and Southwest gaining ground. American Airlines came in fifth out of eight companies.
Here are the full rankings:
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- Alaska Air Group (Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines)
- American Airlines
- JetBlue
- Allegiant Air
- Frontier Airlines
American Airlines: The good and bad
On the positive side of things, American ranked first in loyalty, thanks to its AAdvantage miles program, and came in second for cost and reach, largely due to having the "most robust domestic network," per Cirium, a major aviation analytics firm.
American also came in fourth in overall experience, behind Delta, Alaska Air Group and United but still a credible showing. American's Admirals Clubs were also the top-rated lounges in the survey.
However, on the negative side, American recorded the industry's worst cancellation rate, coming in seventh for reliability. The carrier also posted the second-worst grade for mishandled baggage, ahead of only United.
Finally, American and Frontier, which finished dead last in reliability, combined to post more than 22,000 involuntary passenger bumps on the year.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 11:10 AM.