I'm trying to avoid expiry of about 60k miles in my wife's account (deadline Nov 14). We're based on London and don't intend to travel before then.

I have 3957 orphan miles in my AP account. Does any of the following qualify as account activity?

1. I transfer ("share") minimum 1000 miles from my account to hers and pay the $20 fee.

2. She purchases the minimum miles allowed.

Reading the AP website doesn't really suggest that the above qualifies, but I'd like to hear from the experts with proof here.

As a last resort I would redeem the miles - any suggestions for the most bang for the buck globally?

Thanks in advance.