Originally Posted by 777 global mile hound

Welcome to Flyertalk ^
My apologies for some of the tough love here in the tone of some of the posters.
There is a culture with some Flyertalkers especially the more savvy program users that rules are never to be broken and no exceptions should be made.I don’t happen to be in that group. I look at every case individually and have stepped in to help other posters in the past in a variety of situations over the years.And I hope American might too.

Many of the folks are highly experienced program users on FT and for some time.
They know most of the rules backwards and forward in their sleep.Unfortunatley they can't put themselves in the shoes of someone first getting the details/rules in order of the program and learning most of them. I still make mistakes and learn in the AA program regularly and I have been a member since 1998 and hit three million miles in the program earlier this month.
In fact many American Agents on the elite line quote inaccurate information on the phone too.Even they find knowing all the rules a challnge and some have been there for many years........

If I were you I would be try the approach of asking nicely at Advantage Customer Service at American
(any reservations agent can put you through to that dept)
Tell that individual you plan to make an enormous effort to utilize the program and airline over all others if they would reconsider their actions and consider reinstating them.
The worst they can say is no and you aren't out very much IMO.

You can also consider taking a Visa card with Citibank and earn 20,000 to 25,000 in a little over a month if you really need to get back on track. Of course it would be nice to have those lost miles back too.

Good luck and keep us posted on your outcome. And thanks for your post! It’s a good reminder too for other new folks coming into this forum and also may be caught in a silmilar situation.
Happy Holidays