Last week I was looking to book two award tickets for my in-laws to fly with us to Las Vegas in mid-October (they will usually travel with us to watch the kids, and I will be there for work so I may not be around too much anyway). Because of our schedules, only one set of outbound/return flights seemed to fit the bill (PHL-LAS). The cost for each award ticket was 48,000 miles each (for a total of 96,000 miles). I saw this midweek (Tuesday/Wednesday). Since the cash price for each ticket is ~$630, I didn't see this as too bad a redemption.

I was just a few thousand miles short, so I bit the bullet and did a Marriott partner transfer. Like always, the transfer took around 48 hrs. When I rechecked the flight, the miles needed increased to 67,000 miles each (say what?!) So now this redemption will cost 134,000 miles for both tickets -- an increase of 38,000 miles in total. I rechecked nearly every day and the miles cost didn't budge.

My question is this -- is it likely that this will decrease? I know I am many months out but I just wanted it squared away as soon as possible. For those of you experienced with AA, is there a "sweet spot" for redemption? Thanks!