Simple. Easy. Convenient.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight even more now with cashless cabins. As of June 1, we've streamlined your experience to make it quicker, easier, and hassle free.

On all American Airlines flights within the U.S. and between U.S. and Canada, we’re keeping it simple by eliminating the need for you to carry small bills and change onboard to pay for small snacks, alcoholic beverages, light meals, or headsets. Please note that cashless cabins will not be implemented onboard American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights - only cash will continue to be accepted. As always, American Airlines flight attendants will continue to carry onboard secure handheld devices to ensure your payments with credit or debit cards are recorded safely. And of course, a receipt for any in-flight purchase will be available upon request. For in-flight purchases, we will accept most major credit or debit cards. No more waiting for the flight attendant to return your change. No more hunting for small bills. No more waiting for your beverage or snack while the person in front of you fumbles for change. For frequently asked questions regarding payment onboard upcoming flights within the U.S and on flights between the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about how you can optimize your onboard experience, check out information about our Entertainment and Dining options. You may also want to do a little shopping! Frequently Asked Questions Why has American switching to cashless cabins? When will American implement cashless cabins What routes are cashless? Why are Canadian markets cashless, but Mexico markets are not? Can travelers still pay for purchases with cash? What credit and debit cards are accepted? What about customers who don’t carry a credit card – how will they be able to pay? What is the technology that flight attendants use to do inflight transactions? What is the benefit to American to go cashless? When will barcode scanning be implemented onboard? What is barcode scanning? What kind of feedback did you receive after implementing plastic payment options in 2006 and testing cashless cabins in 2007? What products can customers purchase onboard? When did American start its Food for Sale program? Are credit cards accepted on American Eagle and AmericanConnection? Why aren’t you accepting credit and debit cards on American Eagle and AmericanConnection? Does American Airlines accept Interac debit cards? Why has American switched to cashless cabins? American tested cashless cabins in June 2007 and customer feedback indicated that plastic payment options are a great way to conserve cash, while being able to purchase items available on American Airlines flights. As we are consistently exploring ways to improve the overall customer experience, the convenience of cashless cabins aligns with what our customers have said they value. When will American implement cashless cabins? On June 1, American implemented cashless cabins on flights within the U.S. and flights to and from Canada. What routes are cashless? Cashless cabins encompass all domestic (each of the 50 U.S. states) and Canadian markets. Why are Canadian markets cashless, but Mexico markets are not? Our focus at this time is our domestic markets (each of the 50 U.S. states).  We are looking at how a cashless system will work transborder and for this reason we selected the small number of Canadian markets to begin evaluating the transborder cashless system.  Can travelers still pay for purchases with cash? No, as of June 1, for in-flight purchases on affected routes, American Airlines will accept major credit and debit cards only. What credit and debit cards are accepted? We accept American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, and JCB credit and debit cards for inflight purchases. What about customers who don’t carry a credit card – how will they be able to pay? We anticipate that most of our customers will be prepared for cashless cabins as the vast majority of our domestic tickets are purchased with credit cards. What is the technology that flight attendants use to do inflight transactions? Flight attendants use a hand-held device called an Onboard Sales Recorder (OSR) to charge credit and debit cards. The airline has been using these user-friendly devices on all fleets since May 2006. What is the benefit to American to go cashless? Cashless cabins streamline the purchasing process for both customers and flight attendants, providing greater convenience during inflight purchasing and selling from both a customer and flight attendant perspective, respectively. American has invested in the OSR technology to enhance the customer experience by streamlining the way customers are able to purchase products inflight. Other technological enhancements to the OSRs, including barcode scanning, have been implemented to further streamline the process. When will barcode scanning be implemented onboard? Barcode scanning was implemented in March 2008. What is barcode scanning? Barcode scanning enables a flight attendant to transact a product for purchase by simply scanning the barcode on a product instead of manually entering the product information into the OSR. Barcode scanning is available for all onboard products for purchase except headsets and wine splits as these items do not have a scannable barcode readable by the OSR. What kind of feedback did you receive after implementing plastic payment options in 2006 and testing cashless cabins in 2007? American’s passengers view plastic payment options as a way to conserve cash while still having the ability to purchase items inflight. What products can customers purchase onboard? Headsets, liquor, snacks and fresh light meals are available for purchase. Items for purchase onboard may vary by market, aircraft and time of day. Snack items available for purchase on flights over two hours in length departing before 10 a.m. include Saile & Sabga Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookie for $3, premium nut blend for $4 and cheese and cracker snack tray for $4. On flights two hours or longer and departing after 10 a.m. Lay's Stax® Potato Crisps and the Saile & Sabga Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookie are available for $3 each, as well as a cheese & cracker tray and premium nut blend for $4 each. Fresh meals are offered on flights three hours or longer. Choices on domestic, Caribbean, and Mexico flights currently include a breakfast offering before 10 a.m. and a Boston Market sandwich with Miss Vickie's® chips for $10 after 10 a.m. A Boston Market salad with SUNCHIPS® is an additional offering on transcontinental and Hawaii flights, for $10. When did American start its Food for Sale program? American launched the Food for Sale program on Feb. 1, 2005, with the goal of providing quality food items for purchase in the main cabin. The Food for Sale program is available on domestic flights longer than two hours. Are credit cards accepted on American Eagle and AmericanConnection? Not at this time. Why aren’t you accepting credit and debit cards on American Eagle and AmericanConnection? American Eagle and AmericanConnection are evaluating this technology but have not yet made a decision. Does American Airlines accept Interac debit cards? No, at this time American does not accept Interac debit cards.