Checking in online with American Airlines

With American Airlines, online check-in opens 24 hours before departure, on aa.com or in the American Airlines app. On a flight within the United States it closes 45 minutes before departure, the same deadline as at the airport. On an international flight the two are not the same: online check-in ends 90 minutes before departure, while the counters stay open until 60 minutes before.

Below we set out what you need before you start, how the process runs on the website and in the app, where your boarding pass can go, and what is left to do once you get to the airport.

Online check-in opens 24 hours before departure, and it runs the same way on aa.com and in the American Airlines app. Closing is the part worth knowing, because it depends on where you are flying.

Within the United States, online check-in closes 45 minutes before departure. The airport counters close at the same time, so checking in online does not buy you any extra time.

On an international flight, the two do not line up. Online check-in ends 90 minutes before departure, while the counters stay open until 60 minutes before. That leaves half an hour in the middle when your phone is no longer an option but an agent at the airport still is.

Airports with earlier check-in deadlines

American Airlines publishes a list of airports with earlier airport check-in deadlines. Most are outside the United States, at 75 minutes. Four are in the United States or its territories:

• San Juan (SJU): 60 minutes

• St. Thomas (STT): 90 minutes

• St. Croix (STX): 90 minutes

• Tampa (TPA): 90 minutes, but only at the Consolidated Rental Car Center

If you are not checked in by the deadline for your flight, you may lose your seat.

When to get to the airport

American Airlines recommends arriving at least 2 hours before a flight within the United States, and at least 3 hours before a flight leaving from another country.

There are two separate things to get ready: the details that open your booking, and the ID you carry to the airport.

Finding your booking

Have these to hand before you start:

• the passenger's last name, as it appears on the booking;

• their date of birth, which the form asks for as a security measure;

• the confirmation code, six letters, or the ticket number, 13 digits that start with 001.

Your confirmation code is on your confirmation email and on your boarding pass. Your ticket number is in your email as well. Either one opens the booking, so you can still check in if you only have the other.

The date of birth is chosen from three menus, month, day and year, rather than typed.

The ID you'll travel with

The details above open your booking. What you show at the airport is a separate matter, and checking in online does not change it.

To fly within the United States, you need a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, or another accepted form of ID such as a passport or a U.S. military ID. Cards that comply usually carry a star at the top. If you are not sure whether yours qualifies, your state driver's license agency can tell you.

For an international flight you need a valid passport, along with a visa or any other document your destination requires.

The steps are the same whether you use the website or the app. What differs is how the boarding pass reaches you at the end.

How to check in online with American Airlines:

1. Open Manage trips / Check-in on aa.com, or open the American Airlines app.

2. Leave Find trip selected. The option beside it, Find travel credit, is for a different purpose.

3. Enter the last name, choose the date of birth from the month, day and year menus, and enter the confirmation code or the ticket number.

4. Select Find your trip and work through the steps to the end.

5. Get your boarding pass. Where you get it depends on whether you checked in on aa.com or in the app.

The website and the app deliver your boarding pass in different ways. Here is what happens with each.

Checking in online gets you a boarding pass. What is left to do at the airport depends on your bags. With a carry-on only, you can head for your gate. With a checked bag, you need to check it first.

Where your boarding pass can go

Your boarding pass can travel four ways:

• in the American Airlines app;

• in your digital wallet, on an iPhone or an Android phone, which also brings your flight updates there;

• by email, through the link you open on your phone;

• printed, at home or from a self-service kiosk at the airport.

Whichever you pick, the whole barcode has to be visible on the screen when it is scanned.

Checking bags, kiosks, and curbside check-in

Most airports have self-service kiosks, and some also offer curbside check-in. If you need to check in at the airport, check the options available at your departure airport.

Curbside check-in is open to you if you have an electronic ticket that can be scanned from your phone.

There is also a limit on how early you can check a bag, and it changes from airport to airport:

• 4 hours before departure at a list of airports that includes Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle;

• 6 hours at Honolulu (HNL) and Orlando (MCO);

• 8 hours at Newark (EWR).

If you get there before that, you will not be able to hand over your bag yet.

Getting to your gate on time

Being checked in is not the same as being at the gate on time. American Airlines asks you to be there and ready to board:

• 15 minutes before departure on a domestic flight;

• 30 minutes before departure on an international flight.

The doors close at least 10 minutes before departure. If you are not at the gate in time, your seat may be given to a standby passenger.

Your boarding group is on your boarding pass, so you can check it before you get to the gate.

You checked in on time, your booking was confirmed, and you were at the gate when you were meant to be. A delay, a cancellation or an overbooked flight can still get in the way of your plans.

What you can claim depends on where the flight starts.

Flights within the United States come under Department of Transportation rules. There is no cash compensation for a delay or a cancellation. You are owed a refund if your flight is canceled or changed significantly and you turn down what is offered in its place. There is compensation if you are denied boarding because the flight was overbooked. Our guide to US air passenger rights sets out the detail.

Flights leaving an airport in the European Union are covered by EC 261, whoever operates them. If the airline is responsible, you may be owed up to $650 per passenger, depending on how far you were due to fly. American Airlines is not a European airline, so the rule runs one way only: Paris to New York is covered, New York to Paris is not.

To find out what your own flight may be worth, start with our American Airlines compensation page.

Keeping an eye on your flight

With check-in behind you, the rest is waiting. It is still worth watching the flight, particularly if you have a connection to make or someone meeting you at the other end.

American Airlines publishes flight status without asking you to open your booking, so a quick look tells you whether the departure time has moved. You can also sign up for flight status information, which covers gates, delays and departure reminders. For weather and other events affecting the cities on your trip, the airline keeps a travel alerts page.

If your boarding pass is in your digital wallet, updates land there as well.

There is also the free AirHelp app, which does one thing more: it checks whether a delay, a cancellation or denied boarding entitles you to compensation, and tells you when it does.

With the AirHelp app you can:

• receive real-time notifications about delays, cancellations, gate changes and baggage claim;

• scan your boarding pass to add your flight quickly;

• share your flight status with whoever is picking you up;

• find out automatically when you are owed up to $650 in compensation;

• start your claim straight from the app, with no paperwork.

The app is free and available on iOS and Android.