Originally Posted by
xolinlevh
Why did you ever think you could reserve a flight if you didnt have the miles in your account first?
Well, AA lets you put award flights on hold for 5 days, and you don’t need the miles in your account.
Why did you ever think youd be able to convert skymiles back to Amex?
Most businesses have some type of refund policy.
Neither assumption is completely absurd, but
caveat emptor as they say; the OP clearly should have done more homework.