FlowerChild- yes I was told the same thing today by AA on the phone. And after she told me that, she said "you know what? let me check with my supervisor just to make sure" and came back and said "yes" that is correct.
The confusion I am having is how to claim the certificate by combining miles. I was told if I do it via phone there is a $50 charge so I should use the tear-off on my statement. But on the tear-off there is no way to make clear to AA that you want to *combine* miles from US for the AAward. I read and re-read the info online and still am not clear. I must be missing the obvious.