I'm the OP and didn't mention that it was an award ticket I was purchasing (because I didn't think it mattered — I mean, why should it? It's basically a simple credit card transaction). I'll keep that in mind for the next time I cash out miles (which I rarely bother with since they've become so devalued).

RE the comment about bailing on AA because of this: I was being sarcastic. I've already switched most of my flying to DL. About 5 years ago, after status became based on money paid vs miles flown, I abandoned its pursuit. Now I just buy F on whichever carrier best meets each trip's criteria — cost, routing, times, etc.. It just happens that sometimes that's AA.