Last edit by: Prospero
Preventing AAdvantage Miles and Accounts from Expiring:
What can I do? Alternatives for miles use and discussion.
To check your miles expiration date: Look for the Wallet link on the website or in the app.
AAdvantage members who are under 21 are not subject to mileage expiration if their birthday is associated with their account.
But note:
ANY account activity, earning or using miles, will extend the expiration date of all AA miles by an additional 18 months.
When days count, be aware: it's the transaction date, not the posting date, that counts to extend miles' validity. It can take some time for miles activity to fully post, including the new expiration date. But, read on. Be aware of some vendors’ delayed posting, however.
For other relevant threads and resources see:
aa.com and Others:
Using or getting rid of miles
FlyerTalk:
Here are some suggestions from members on how to prevent miles from expiring easily and/or automatically. Please post your suggestions here.
For previous posts on this topic, please see ARCHIVE: Prevent AA miles / account from expiring / alternate use of miles
Nov 12, 2020 - Formatting % font size
What can I do? Alternatives for miles use and discussion.
To check your miles expiration date: Look for the Wallet link on the website or in the app.
From AAdvantage Terms and Conditions: "AAdvantage members must have mileage earning or redeeming activity once every 18 months in order to retain their miles. If your account has no qualifying activity in any 18-month period, all miles in the account will expire. Qualifying activity extends the expiration date of all unexpired mileage credit in your account for 18 months from the date of the qualifying activity. Qualifying activity is defined as redeeming any AAdvantage award or accruing mileage credit on any eligible American, American Eagle® or AAdvantage airline participant as well as accruing mileage credit with participating hotels, car rental companies, credit cards, telecommunication providers and other service providers offering AAdvantage mileage credit." Gufting or donating miles, doing anything that will cause an increase or decrease in the number of award miles in an AAdvantage account resets the expiration clock by 18 months.
But note:
Pausing AAdvantage® mile expiration through June 2021
You’ve worked hard to earn your AAdvantage® miles, and we recognize you may need more time than usual to keep them active. We’ve paused the expiration of miles through June 30, 2021. If your miles are scheduled to expire on or before June 30, 2021, they will now expire in July 2021, if there’s no additional activity in your account before then. You can find the expiration date of your miles in the Wallet section of your AAdvantage® account.
You’ve worked hard to earn your AAdvantage® miles, and we recognize you may need more time than usual to keep them active. We’ve paused the expiration of miles through June 30, 2021. If your miles are scheduled to expire on or before June 30, 2021, they will now expire in July 2021, if there’s no additional activity in your account before then. You can find the expiration date of your miles in the Wallet section of your AAdvantage® account.
When days count, be aware: it's the transaction date, not the posting date, that counts to extend miles' validity. It can take some time for miles activity to fully post, including the new expiration date. But, read on. Be aware of some vendors’ delayed posting, however.
"Activity date" is how the airline sees it, but beware that the date as reported by the shopping portal vendor can be a "gotcha." From my own experiences of various online vendors, the "activity date" reported can be the date you placed the order, OR the date your order was "received", OR the date your order was "processed", OR the date a transaction "hold" was placed on your credit card, OR the date your credit card company actually approved the transaction, OR the date your order was shipped, OR the date it was picked up (if in-store, for example), OR...etc., etc. And, don't forget time zone differences, too, if your cutoff date is very close (is it the time zone/date of where you ordered, or the vendor's website server, or the vendor's physical store, or...?) In other words, each online vendor may define and report the activity date to the airline in ways you didn't expect. I have seen an instance, for example, where the reported activity date was almost 2 weeks past the actual date I placed the order, simply because a part was on back-order, thus the full order was not "completed" and therefore the credit card not billed until later. Another example is flower delivery, especially if the flowers aren't scheduled for delivery until much later. Buyer beware -- the airline will refer you to the vendor for clarification.
aa.com and Others:
- Link to AA restricts expired miles reactivation within 18 months of expiration (2019) thread
- Link to How to Reactivate / Restore Expired Miles – Reengagement Challenge thread
- Link to Miles for Opinions surveys - not many miles, but it resets the clock.
- Link to Car Rental partners
- Link- Business and Financial: Earn AAdvantage miles when you buy, sell, or move your home with American HomeMiles by SIRVA, BankDirect, Fidelity, Lifelock, Network Solutions, PreFlight parking, Regus, etc.
- Link Buying, Gifting, Sharing AA Miles (Points.com)
- Link- Charities: Contributing Money (Earning Miles): Susan G. Komen, National Cancer Research Foundation, USO
- Link- Financial and Business: Earn AAdvantage miles when you buy, sell, or move your home with American HomeMiles by SIRVA, BankDirect, Fidelity, Lifelock, Network Solutions, PreFlight parking, Regus, etc.
- Link - Home and Health: DIRECTV, Energy Plus, Everything Energy, because Energy, Reliant, Spafinder Wellness 365
- Link to ALL Hotel partners
- Links to Hotel Bookings via pointshound.com, rocketmiles.com and Kaligo.com
- Link - Retail And Dining: AAdvantage eShopping Mall, AAdvantage Dining Program, FTD, Teleflora, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Vinesse Wine
- Linkaa.com - Reactivating expired miles (for fee)
Using or getting rid of miles
- Redeem Miles:- Link
Includes Hotel rooms and auto rentals, Newspapers, Gift Cards, Lifelock.
Includes link to Link to Use AA Miles: (redeem for car rentals and lodging) - Link - Charities: Donating Miles Miles for All Who Serve, Miles for Kids in Need, Miles of Hope.
Here are some suggestions from members on how to prevent miles from expiring easily and/or automatically. Please post your suggestions here.
- Sign up and register a credit card with AAdvantage Dining, go dine at an enrolled restaurant. (Sign up with your email address for notifications for 3 miles per dollar spent instead of one mile; dine 11 times in one year and earn 5 miles per dollar.)
- Make any purchase through https://www.aadvantageeshopping.comthat earns AA miles.
- Another easy/cheap route is ordering photos from Walgreens.com. It specifically says in the terms "photo orders picked up in-store are eligible." Prints are as cheap as US$0.29, but I'd purchase at least $1 worth to make sure you get your miles (2miles/$1).
For previous posts on this topic, please see ARCHIVE: Prevent AA miles / account from expiring / alternate use of miles
Nov 12, 2020 - Formatting % font size
Prevent AA miles / account from expiring / expiration & spend for other than flying
#64
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Park, Metropolis
Programs: AA LT PLT 3MM, Hilton/Marriott/SPG/Club Carlson GLD, IHG PLT
Posts: 4,608
Cool, see how simple it is!, as for the portal pruchase, just like the AS miles postings, it takes time. My suggestion was more on a 2 sided way to protect/prevent miles from expiring. The main thing is to create the earning activity PRIOR to the expiration. Glad that there was no need to contact AA to re-instate the miles. Now, as I mentioned to you previously, set yourself a reminder for 16 months to credit soemthing to AA, thus preventing you from doing some last minute activity. Sometimes crediting a car rental works as well too. Enjoy.
#65
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
I had a USDM account, now merged with AA. I have around 200K miles / points, expiring in Jan 2016. I understand from reading other posts in this thread that these miles can be extended for another 18 months if I make a donation of 1,000 miles - this is one simple solution if I don't have any planned trip to use the miles yet.
However, I have some questions:
1. Can I redeem miles by making flights booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016, but for flights after this date? Say, booking in December 2015 for flights in December 2016?
2. Do I have to use up all the miles in the booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016? Or, can I just use what I need, and the balance of miles will be extended for another 18 months?
Thank you in advance!
However, I have some questions:
1. Can I redeem miles by making flights booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016, but for flights after this date? Say, booking in December 2015 for flights in December 2016?
2. Do I have to use up all the miles in the booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016? Or, can I just use what I need, and the balance of miles will be extended for another 18 months?
Thank you in advance!
#66
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I had a USDM account, now merged with AA. I have around 200K miles / points, expiring in Jan 2016. I understand from reading other posts in this thread that these miles can be extended for another 18 months if I make a donation of 1,000 miles - this is one simple solution if I don't have any planned trip to use the miles yet.
However, I have some questions:
1. Can I redeem miles by making flights booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016, but for flights after this date? Say, booking in December 2015 for flights in December 2016?
2. Do I have to use up all the miles in the booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016? Or, can I just use what I need, and the balance of miles will be extended for another 18 months?
Thank you in advance!
However, I have some questions:
1. Can I redeem miles by making flights booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016, but for flights after this date? Say, booking in December 2015 for flights in December 2016?
2. Do I have to use up all the miles in the booking before the expiry date in Jan 2016? Or, can I just use what I need, and the balance of miles will be extended for another 18 months?
Thank you in advance!
Yes, you can encumber the miles for a future trip. They'll show as minus activity in your account. I'm not aware of what could happen if youmredeposited those miles. But it's so easy to extend - buy something through the AA shopping portal, dine, etc. it's probably not necessary if you don't have anything planned.
#67
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 973
Any activity - e.g. enroll a credit card in Reward Network's AAdvantage Dining, dine or drink even once annually, and all your miles' expiry is extended by 18 months. As the wiki says, ANY account activity. .
Yes, you can encumber the miles for a future trip. They'll show as minus activity in your account. I'm not aware of what could happen if youmredeposited those miles. But it's so easy to extend - buy something through the AA shopping portal, dine, etc. it's probably not necessary if you don't have anything planned.
Yes, you can encumber the miles for a future trip. They'll show as minus activity in your account. I'm not aware of what could happen if youmredeposited those miles. But it's so easy to extend - buy something through the AA shopping portal, dine, etc. it's probably not necessary if you don't have anything planned.
#68
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,815
Click on Aadvantage, click earn miles, scroll down to specialty. That will take you to the page listing the charities where you earn miles for making a donation.
#69
Join Date: May 2007
Location: ORD, DEL
Programs: AA (Plt Pro; 1.5 MM)
Posts: 6,185
As JDiver said, any activity in your AAdvantage account will do it. AS you live in the UK, one possibility is that if you ever take a BA domestic flight, credit it to your AA account.
#70
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
#71
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: ORD | Chicago O'Hare
Programs: UA-LifetimePremierGold, PLT: Bonvoy, IHG, GLD: Enterprise, Budget
Posts: 247
Have used miles to buy a subscription, and that extended the expiration date.
I tried extending miles by having car rental agencies apply credits to my AA account. Have noticed a delay in geting these posted (compared to other airlines). How long does it typically take to see car rental miles posted ?
I tried extending miles by having car rental agencies apply credits to my AA account. Have noticed a delay in geting these posted (compared to other airlines). How long does it typically take to see car rental miles posted ?
#72
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Have used miles to buy a subscription, and that extended the expiration date.
I tried extending miles by having car rental agencies apply credits to my AA account. Have noticed a delay in geting these posted (compared to other airlines). How long does it typically take to see car rental miles posted ?
I tried extending miles by having car rental agencies apply credits to my AA account. Have noticed a delay in geting these posted (compared to other airlines). How long does it typically take to see car rental miles posted ?
#73
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 845
Do you know how long it takes for the miles to post after making a donation?
#74
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,815
#75
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
You are correct; date of transaction, not date of posting, is what counts. Also stated in the wiki at the top of the page.