Reactivating Miles - Worth It?
 

My grandma is 89 years old, and she forgot about her AAdvantage account. While visiting, I logged on to see how many miles she had, as we have helped her book flights for her sister from NJ to come visit. 0 miles. Through a credit card signup bonus and additional spending, she accrued over 85,000 miles. Now, zilch.

What is the math on the miles? Would it be worth spending $400 to re-instate 75,000 of those miles? I'm fairly certain it's not worth $600, as it's only 10,000 miles more. If so, I will keep a much closer eye on her account. Thank you for your time.

You can surely use 75,000 AA miles for award ticket(s) worth more than $400, can't you?

Depending on how far back the miles have expired, she might apply for a re-engagement challenge. I think it was $30 or so, and she had 2 or 3 months to fly on AA/US and credit to her account in order for the other miles to be re-activated. She also needs to sign in to receive emails from AA as well. I checked AA.com and do not see this mentioned, not sure if they no longer do this, but I did this last June on behalf of a friend of mine who lost about 25k miles, she managed to get 18k back. Might need to call AA and check on this, also you need to take in consideration if your grandma will travel.

Is it worth it to pay the money to activate it? Only you can answer this question. Will she be the one using the miles? maybe some family member could certainly take advantage of an award trip on her behalf. If that is the case, then see how much a "dream" trip would cost, then see how much it will cost in miles, who knows, it might be worth it.

75k miles can get you almost 2 award trips to Europe in Mile Saver Economy, or 3 domestic trips in Mile Saver Economy. Personally, yes, it is worth it if you plan to make use of it.

Thank you both for your reply.

Data point:
AAdvantage Customer Service said the possibility of reinstating miles does not expire when paying for them. That said, I imagine the price could raise in the future as it has in the past. The challenge is available for 5 years after the miles expiration date. The challenge you receive depends on how many miles you would like to reinstate.