Programs: hhilton mypoints alaska airlines american airlines
Posts: 3
Help! AA took away my miles (consolidated)
Is it to late for me to try to get them back? I was unaware they were expiring. It was only 16,774 but it was hard to get them! I have over 40000 in alaska airlines (debit card, and airline we use to fly) and over 180000 in Hilton (saving for Hawaii) so I was going to transfer the AA and now they are gone!!'
Thanks in advance for any advice?
Ps * i tried searching before posting but got no where)
Programs: AA EXP-1.6MM, Hilton Diamond, ManU & Chicago Bears #1 Fan
Posts: 9,797
Quote:
Originally Posted by hylynn
Is it to late for me to try to get them back? I was unaware they were expiring. It was only 16,774 but it was hard to get them! I have over 40000 in alaska airlines (debit card, and airline we use to fly) and over 180000 in Hilton (saving for Hawaii) so I was going to transfer the AA and now they are gone!!'
Thanks in advance for any advice?
Ps * i tried searching before posting but got no where)
Heather
Better pay attention next time. It's possible but it will cost you.
Can I reactivate all of the miles that expired from my account, even if they expired at different times?
A: As long as the miles expired on or after December 31, 2002, then there's no limit to the number of miles you can reactivate. It doesn't matter if your miles expired at different times. You can reactivate your entire expired mileage balance or just the portion you need. The cost to reactivate miles is $50 for every 5,000 miles, plus a $30 per transaction, per account processing fee.
Help!? C'mon, it's been public for years that after a certain period of time, they go buhbye. AA did not take your miles away. You gave them away by not having any activity in your account for quite a while.
To be somewhat charitable, AA did recently retroactively change the miles expiration from 36 months to 18 months. Even though it doesn't really affect me (and I guess benefits me to some extent by getting rid of miles which could theoretically be competing for award space), I still think it's reprehensible to do this retroactive change (even though all the other airlines are doing it too doesn't mean it's the right thing to do).
Location: Phoenix, AZ USA, CO Plat, NWA Plat, BMI Gold, Hilton Honors Diamond, Hertz #1 Gold, Priority Club Ambassador, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 10,468
Since you were looking to transfer them (which usually costs), it would probably be a waste to have to pay to re-activate your account. While I doubt it would hurt to call on it, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Also, be careful with your other plans, as some will nuke the miles after just a year of inactivity.
Programs: hhilton mypoints alaska airlines american airlines
Posts: 3
Much thanks to those who nicely responded. As with all things in life, some are more experienced and schooled on certain things. Unfortunately I am just learning about airline miles. When I first started saving them traveling anywhere was just a dream. I got those aa miles using the Kellogg miles over 3 years ago. I live in Wa. and Alaska is the airline that took me and my 3 kids to Disneyland twice and me and my husband to Vegas since then. I also have a debit with them so expiration isnt a thing I have to be concerned with. Today, I learned a BIG lesson about reading up on each expiration details.
Since I was going to have to pay to transfer them it probably isn't worth paying to get them back. Thanks again
Programs: AAdvantage Superstaaa. My views are my own.
Posts: 226
Quote:
Originally Posted by hylynn
Is it to late for me to try to get them back? I was unaware they were expiring. It was only 16,774 but it was hard to get them! I have over 40000 in alaska airlines (debit card, and airline we use to fly) and over 180000 in Hilton (saving for Hawaii) so I was going to transfer the AA and now they are gone!!'
Thanks in advance for any advice?
Ps * i tried searching before posting but got no where)
Heather
This is exactly the situation that someone who is not loyal at all finds themselves in when a loyalty program dumps the baggage.
No one took your miles away. You threw them out because you forgot this was a "frequent flyer program". Now days, flying isn't even required. And nothing about your participation was frequent, was it?
How is it possible that you were "unaware" that your miles were expiring? Not only is your expiration date on every summary that you are emailed, it's on your account at AA.com, it's retrievable via phone and AA sent out three mass mailings this year with regard to the new expiration policy. Not to mention the bogus mailings Miles for Mags sends out. You state here that you earned those miles over three years ago, which means that under the old policy your miles were due to be expired anyway.
There are over 500 partners of AA that do not require any travel at all to keep miles and to add to them. There are small things you can do to keep miles active (ie. Miles for Kids, Make A Wish). You can earn through shopping, dining, flying, hotels, etc..shoot, you could have posted your HH stays in both Hilton and AA, double dipping there too. There was much discussion on websites, news and around the coffee pot about AA's new policy. I would bet you didn't keep your email or mailing address up to date either?
AAdvantage is a frequency program. A loyalty program. An incentive for you to use the airline. By your very admission, you never intended to use the airline, you are going to move your miles to HH for a mere $25.00 on redeemaamiles.points.com.
Although you plead ignorance, your lack of attention makes many customer service agents job frustrating and subsequently they spend a lot of time arguing with people who "didn't know" when they should be spending time on the true loyal members, elite's and those who truly want to be part of the program and work hard for the miles they have. This program, as so many infrequent user's find out, requires management on your part and if you don't, well, this is what you get.
Call AAdvantage Customer Service. I confidently bet you dollars to donut's they will give you an option to get your expired miles back without you having to pay a reinstatement fee, as long as you do it quickly.
Call me mean, call me intolerant..whatever. But it's your responsibility to treat your AA account as an asset. You didn't and you lost it, rightly so.
I'm proud of the AAdvantage program. It was the first of it's kind and I still believe it's the best one out there. I take pride in being part of it and it frustrates me that so many members have no idea..no idea..what the program is about.
__________________
"Please read the rules before inquiring"
Last edited by trinity_in_texas; Dec 22, 07 at 9:53 pm.
Reason: more more more
Programs: AA EXP, NW Plat, UA 1K, CO Plat, LH/BD/OZ*G, Hyatt Dia, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Sixt Dia, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,447
Quote:
Originally Posted by trinity_in_texas
This is exactly the situation that someone who is not loyal at all finds themselves in when a loyalty program dumps the baggage.
AAdvantage is a frequency program. A loyalty program. An incentive for you to use the airline. By your very admission, you never intended to use the airline, you are going to move your miles to HH for a mere $25.00 on redeemaamiles.points.com.
I dont agree with this in all parts.
You said yourself there are tons of ways to earn miles without flying.
The time where the FF programms are just used for keeping people at the airline are over in my eyes. Maybe the op even flew AA a few times and credited to Alaska.
I know several people who never set foot in a Starwood Property but still have alot of points in their account due to the SPG AMEX.
@ OP:
How comes that you suddenly noticed that the miles were gone? When did you check the account balance the last time?
One problem might be aa.com doesnt show the expiration date of the miles anymore, but still the date of the last activity
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Help! AA took away my miles (consolidated)
