Originally Posted by
dmfchamp
What you're stating is what AA stated.
However, if you purchase an item for $110 with a $10 coupon, would you tender $110 or $100?
Since the 10% rebate was available immediately upon redemption, a transfer should not have been necessary
But you didn't have a coupon; you had a rebate, which only posts after you pay full price for the redemption. Those are the rules of the game; if you don't like them, you don't have to play.
Assuming that this was a roundtrip and not a one-way, you could have booked the outbound for 55K miles first, gotten a 5,500-mile rebate, and then just transferred 3K miles -- instead of 8K miles -- to purchase the return trip.
Why you waited until after it was too late to help you before posting an inquiry here on FT is a mystery.