I called AA and spoke with 2 Supervisors, they said all miles and bonus miles will count towards gold and plat for life

(1) Yes, all AA miles from all sources count towards Lifetime levels. What the fine print means is that these miles don't count as 2010 EQM for those qualifying for Gold/Plat the regular (annual) way. That's normal.

(2) The primary mechanism that Marriott members convert out air miles - through the Travel Packages - is specifically excluded from this offer. :td:


My first reaction upon opening the email today ("This is huge - it's a last hurrah for Marriott members!") was unfortunately wrong.

It will be interesting to see the "posting" date for all those Wyndham Rewards points from Discover America converted to AA.

I've been trying to figure out a way to get my American Express Membership Rewards points over to AA with this promo, and not get completely reamed.

The best I can find is to go to SPG points, take those in increments of 20K, and in the end I get 562 AA miles for every 1,000 MM points.

Here's my math:

1,000 MM = 333 SPG

333 SPG x 1.25 (assuming redemptions in increments of 20K) = 416.25

416.25 x 1.35 (current promo) = 562 AA miles

Not the greatest deal. But I might do some of these to top-off my SPG account at the next 20K miles level if I need them.

Shame I only have ~12,000 Hilton points after a recent award. Even with this generous offer from AA, it hardly seems worth transfering them to get 1,875 miles.

I just called AA with that question, since the T&C refers to the transaction being "completed" between 6/14 and 6/30. I was also asking because we will have enough SPG points to do a 20K conversion near the end of the month, but it would not post until after 6/30. She said that the "completed" word is confusing, but it means the day the CUSTOMER completes the conversion. Since I initiated the conversation of Wyndham Rewards points right after receipt from Discover America program means that they will not be enjoying the 35% premium even if they hit my AA account between 6/14 and 6/30, but the SPG points will be, even if they hit my AA account after 6/30, as long as I do the conversion betwen the dates.

Hoping someone will tell me I'm wrong about the Wyndam Rewards points. Please.

Would appreciate thoughts on this.....

To buy 20,000 SPG points costs $700.

So, 20,000 SPG points converts to 25,000 AA miles.
Adding the 35% premium adds 8,750
Putting the charge on SPG Amex adds 875 miles (converted later),
For a total of 34,625 AA miles,

At a price of $700, or 2.02 cents per mile.

Did I get that right? Anyone think that's worth doing?

Too expensive for me. I paid that much earlier this year by using my AA Citibank Visa in lieu of my Schwab 2% cash back Visa, and I still regret it.

What I really can't believe is that I didn't do the Wyndham Discover America deal - that was a great way to get some cheap miles!

Don't beat yourself up. There were very limited amounts and they were gone in about 3 minutes.

Thanks for pointing this out. That was my first reaction, too. I was wondering if I should pay next year's MVCI maintenance fee now and get the points for a travel package redemption. With this exclusion, I don't have to consider it anymore. I have literally decided to give up achieving LT status and just convert my points into Alaska in the future, which gives me better redemption rate on CX's J and F.

Isn't that the Marriott will stop offer travel packages soon?

I haven't read anything about it. I did a quick search and didn't come up with anything. If this is true, it will be a HUGE :td:.

Marriott will continue to offer travel packages.

However, the ability to transfer those Marriott points to American Airlines miles will end after June 30, 2010.

After June 30, if you take a Marriott travel package (hotel stay + airline miles), you will have to assign those miles to another frequent flyer program (and not AA).

False alarm. It only affects AA. If you want AA you will need to initiate your redemption before June 25 to allow enough time to process it.

Thanks Stoughton. I'd dumped the AA e-mail. Funny, I'll read FT, but not AA. Just moved 40. wj