Originally Posted by
AJNEDC
I had similar happen to me with its partner AA. Although nowhere as many points as you had. At the end of 2019, I had made gold with AA and had accumulated 73,000 points over two decades. Then COVID happened and I had no inclination to travel right after the "all clear' was given. AA did send me a notice that I needed to fly by end of 2021 or could be early 2022. I did not feel comfortable doing so and refused to fly. This year is when I finally felt comfortable getting back on a plane again. All miles and status were gone. AA advised me I could get the miles back by paying for them, but status could not be returned. I believe they quoted $500 for the reactivation. I had accumulated these organically by business trips or a trip down to the Caribbean when other carriers were not available. Given it took me over 20 years, I didn't see the value in paying to have just the miles reinstated. Win some lose some I guess...
AA gave multiple extremely generous offers (to the point where many in the AA forum were upset) about extending status, including one that included spending $15,000 on an AA credit card from 7/21 to 11/21. That would have been your way to keep status without stepping on a flight.
You could have used the AA shopping portal and paid $1 for a toothbrush to extend your miles.