AA Buy miles 30 % bonus and 15 % off

 
Old Apr 2, 2013, 12:44 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,882
AA Buy miles 30 % bonus and 15 % off

Got an email today. AA buy miles and get 30 % bonus miles. Also get 15 % off the purchase price till April 5.

So buy 41000 miles + get 12000 bonus @ $ 958.

With the 15 % discount that comes to 53000 / $ 800.

About 1.5 cents per mile. Looks like good value ?
HMPS is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 12:55 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 794
Came out to be roughly 1040 for 40k+12k after all tax and fee. 15% mentioned, but not taken off even at the last step.
5DMarkIIguy is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 12:56 pm
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,882
Originally Posted by 5DMarkIIguy
Came out to be roughly 1040 for 40k+12k after all tax and fee. 15% mentioned, but not taken off even at the last step.
Thanks. Forgot the omnipresent taxes !
HMPS is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 1:02 pm
  #4  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SFO, SIN, PVG
Programs: UA, AA, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 303
Originally Posted by HMPS
Thanks. Forgot the omnipresent taxes !
it is still 2 cents per mile.
kunk00 is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 2:13 pm
  #5  
koi
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 282
so, is this a good deal? I thought I saw a cheaper cost per miles in the beginning of the year
koi is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 2:18 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLT
Posts: 1,467
The offer is tricky as it is not a 30% bonus offer unless we buy 20,000 or 40,000 miles.

The bonus miles are constant (12,000 miles) for buying miles of 40,000 - 60,000.

If you buy 60,000 miles(i.e. total 72,000 miles including 12,000 bonus), the bonus is only 20%.

CPM comparizon

-buy 40K(total 52K including 12k bonus) : 2.00 ( at $1040.13)
-buy 60k(total 72K including 12k bonus) : 2.14 (at $1542.69)

previous 50% bonus offer
-buy 60k(total 90K including 30k bonus): 2.01 (at $1808.75)
supergrandslam is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 2:19 pm
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,882
Originally Posted by kunk00
it is still 2 cents per mile.
Originally Posted by koi
so, is this a good deal? I thought I saw a cheaper cost per miles in the beginning of the year
I bought 50 K with 50 K bonus from US Air last week for about 1.8 CPM.

Figured the two programs will merge anyways....
HMPS is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 2:31 pm
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLT
Posts: 1,467
By the way, this is an identical offer AA exactly did one year ago.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...les-promo.html

There are a few minor differences between the two offer.

- the transaction fee was increased to $35 from $30 during last year
- maximun miles for purchase/year was increased to 60k from 40k

Again, be careful if you buy the full 60K(72k) miles, this offer is just a 20% bonus.
supergrandslam is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 4:23 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA PltMM, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 82
If you read th fine print, you can buy up to 60,000 miles per year (bonus miles do not count towards this total) and you may do multiple transactions. So, you could buy 30,000 miles, get the 8,250 bonus miles and then do it again. Total bonus would then be 16,500 against a purchase of 60,000, so 27.5%. Of course, you have to pay an extra $35 fee. But the total comes out to .0206 cents per mile, all in.
wrigleyville is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 4:45 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA PltMM, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 82
Originally Posted by 5DMarkIIguy
Came out to be roughly 1040 for 40k+12k after all tax and fee. 15% mentioned, but not taken off even at the last step.
The price shown includes the discount for all mileage purchases over 20,000. If you look, 19,000 miles actually cost more than 20,000 because they incorporate the discount at that point.

The price is 2.75 cents per mile for less than 20,000.

The price per mile (excluding any bonus mileage, tax or fees) is 2.34 cents per mile (15% less) for amounts at or above 20,000.

As I referred to in my other post, you can get 76,500 miles for $1,577.68 including tax and fees (paid twice for 2 x 30,000 miles).

That comes out to a price per mile (all in) of 2.06 cents per mile for 60,000 vs. 2.00 cents per mile if you buy only 40,000 and take the 12,000 bonus miles.

So, what's it gonna be? Maximum miles at 76,500 (27.5% bonus) or maximum value per mile at 52,000 (30% bonus)???
wrigleyville is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 6:37 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 109
Smile Thank you!!

You are all such geniuses!! I was just reading my email and wondering if this was a good value and thought I will go check out flyertalk!! YEAH! you already had discussed this. I did not read the fine print so didn't see the $35.00 transaction fee, and didn't even think about the difference in the bonuses.

I don't fly like I used to but want to go to Europe. Holy cow!, the fares are high! I am in Costa RIca now and it ran $900 RT from LAX on Delta. WAY more than I expected! So, I was thinking buying miles might make sense if I was going to spend the $1500 anyway....

How about if you buy 40,000 miles for $935 and get the full bonus of 12,000 (30%), then purchase another 20,000 miles for $467.50 and get a bonus of 5,000 (25%). With 2 TA fees of $70 total, ... what do you think about doing it that way??

Now, how do you buy a coach ticket and use miles to upgrade to business or first class I know you know how.....

Last edited by hot2trot; Apr 2, 2013 at 6:48 pm Reason: left a comment out
hot2trot is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 7:09 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: US
Programs: (PM)AA SPG (Marriott), Hilton
Posts: 1,040
Originally Posted by hot2trot
Now, how do you buy a coach ticket and use miles to upgrade to business or first class I know you know how.....
Start here: https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/r...radeAwards.jsp

If you won't fly unless you get upgraded, check availability first as these upgrades are capacity limited.

You book your flight, then call AA right after, give them the reservation information, and if there's a seat, they take the points, charge your credit card, and you're in the pointy part of the airplane.
reft is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 7:09 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4,396
I'm with hot2trot here; I think we maximize the bonus miles if we do one transaction of 40K miles (+12K bonus miles) and 20K miles (+5K bonus miles) for 17K total bonus miles, rather than 2 separate 30K mile transactions for 16.5K total bonus miles.

Am I missing something?
drzoidberg is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 10:27 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 367
Originally Posted by reft
Start here: https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/r...radeAwards.jsp

If you won't fly unless you get upgraded, check availability first as these upgrades are capacity limited.

You book your flight, then call AA right after, give them the reservation information, and if there's a seat, they take the points, charge your credit card, and you're in the pointy part of the airplane.
Wouldn't you first need to book a refundable (more expensive) ticket? And do you check upgrade availability by the remaining seats in the higher classes, or is there another method? Thanks
st.exupery is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2013, 11:14 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
Programs: UA 1K M, AA 2 MM PREM, AVIS First, HYATT Explorist, Marriott Lifetime Platinum., Hilton Gold.
Posts: 645
Got the offer but no-go

Got the offer but no go as I had previously purchased miles. The limit per year is 60K so once I hit that limit - no go for the rest of the year :-(
ACC2008 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.