Jenbel

Guys, I've got 16k orphaned AA miles which are due to expire in November, unless I do something to reactivate them. Any ideas what's the best way to go? From using the mileage converter, I can see a couple of options

a) get some miles into the AA account before November. Problem is, I've changed my earning over into BA for oneworld, so most of my miles are going there, particularly since I have a 241 miles voucher to spend, so am collecting miles like mad to get the best deal on it... long term, I think I'm better off dropping AA.
b) convert into HHonors for 30k. I'm gold in HHonors, have about 17k points in there already, and do occasionally stay in Hilton properties.
c) convert into Priority Club for about 11k points, through points.com. I've seen points.com mentioned, but don't know about it, I'd have to pay for the conversion, and don't really know if it works for British residents as it does US residents (e.g. the mypoints British fiasco ) OTOH, if they go into PC, they will be status earning, and PC is my main points collection for hotel chains.

Just for info, the other programs I collect in are LH for * and KLM FD for Skyteam.

flipside

The best place to ask about AA miles would be the AA forum.

I'll go ahead and move this there.

Regards,

Flipside

ijgordon

All you need to do to extend the expiration date of your miles (for another 3 years) is accrue some miles in your AA account. There are lots of ways to do this with various partners: http://www.aa.com/content/AAdvantage...ers/main.jhtml

I might particularly suggest making an online purchase at one of the partner merchants:
http://www.aa.com/apps/AAdvantage/Vi...nerType=Retail

nako

IIRC, negative activity will also extend the account by three years as well. AA has a few charities listed on their site that will accept mileage donations.

Mike

yul2005

Perhaps not the best option for someone living in the UK. Delivery charges are often outrageous, and most of the vendors use words like "miles may not apply for addresses outside of the US" (most will work, but it is almost impossible to verify ahead of time).

The AA terms and conditions say that pretty much anything that credits miles will extend the period by 3 years. www.points.com will give you 25 miles just for joining and it credits pretty quickly.

olimaspecto

The HHonors choice would be my preference. Or, if you want to extend them as Nako said, just redeem a few.

X3Skier

Most of my mileage is in AA and DL. When I get close (6 Months or so) to the 3 year expiration in others like UA, I change the airline partner for a hotel stay or rent-a-car for one trip so they get the action in the other account. Next trip, I switch back to AA or DL.

ffay005

My suggestion:

Go to airmilesmart.com. Use the site to book hotels (travelocity for instance). Hotel bookings work even if you don't live in the US. You get 1 airmilesmart-mile for 1 dollar spent. When you have 500 miles, you can convert them to AA miles. You obviously travel a lot, so that shouldn't be a problem.

When you get 4000 miles, you have 20k which is enough for a roundtrip in Europe (eg on BA).

IceTrojan

iDine? Opinionplace.com?

Quite a few places out there to earn free/cheap miles.

Spiff

Send Spiff flowers.

Jenbel

OK. I'm UK based. Some of you have noticed that, and adjusted your advice accordingly. Thank you.

The problem is, it isn't really worthwhile redeeming miles within Europe, as the surcharges are so high, one can usually fly on a LCC for the same cost as the surcharges Or if not, then the fares are so cheap, it's just not worth it. Hence my desire to bail from AA - since I'm so far from using the AA miles in any way which is cost effective (it's not worth for example IMO, spending £2000 to get the 4000 miles to get me a flight which costs £150, of which £50 is surcharges ), my oneworld miles are going towards BA, where I do have a significant mileage total. If I wanted to, I know exactly how to reinvigorate the miles... I'd put a BA ET N class trip into AA that I'm doing in September, as the miles I'm going to earn will be negligible, regardless of which programme I put them into.

Apologies if this wasn't clear, unfortunately the thread got moved from where I'd originally posted it, hoping to get more general help on the logistics of doing the miles transfer. I do appreciate the help and suggestions you have been giving though

Mateo4321

Consider one of the Special Mileage Rewards?

http://www.aa.com/apps/AAdvantage/Vi...artnersContent

You can redeem an award for 15K + a copay for anywhere in the U.S/Canada or to the caribbean at certain times.

krug

Good suggestion.

Jenbel www.opinionplace.com is a good way of getting free AA miles to extend them - if you are assiduous you can add around 1000-2000 AA Miles per annum this way, for no cost.

You will need an address/zip code in the US (eg a hotel pref in an urban area...), and it helps to be a young upwardly mobile professional on a mid to high income who smokes, drinks and but=ys lots of insurance......

This will help you qualify for a survey most weeks.

There are also a few fee free AA visa credit cards you can get in the UK, good for keeping the miles ticking over.

Jenbel

well, the transatlantic ones are only 20k.. hadn't realised that OTOH, the page doesn't make it clear - is that for a one-way or return flight?

nako

With regard to the Special Awards, the quoted price is for a return ticket.

Mike