jerryhung

I'm surprised you didn't know about it already, being in "Award booking service" category, it's something you could also suggest clients

Use a random address, or simply change your country
You transfer AP --> USDM, which will merge with AA, hopefully 1:1

In 2016, USDM is gone, nobody knows what Points.com will do. We can hope for 100:84 AP:AA, that'll be cool

Just FYI: BMO World Elite isn't good for churning, so you will NOT get welcome bonus (again), but possibley FYF again

But yeah, funny how BMO has enough cards for you to switch around, ha ha
Personally, I wouldn't sign up anything unless it's 1500~2000 Air Miles, FYF (like AMEX Air Miles Platinum)

Cerenity

i called recently to try to "sidegrade" from No Fee CashBack to No Fee Air Miles for the 500 AM bonus and was told it is for new customers only.

i guess sidegrades are a bit of a YMMV as in the past I had no issues upgrading to a premium card from the regular ones & getting the bonus.

flyertalker00156

Knew about this for US clients however since this is not technically legal I would not suggest it to Canadian clients incase it back fires....

grandgourmand

Some math that might interest those eyeing Asia trips...the AP to USDM conversion is really only a good gamble if you intend on flying F, not so much in J. And the gamble is better if you want to travel to Japan/Korea and not Souteast Asia.

I'm talking from a position that thinks AA will eventually devalue the miles. Here are my numbers using one-way rates (I think they work):

Southeast Asia (listed as HK and China on the AA grid)
If I take 75k AP to fly J one-way to the region, multiply by 84% = 63k USDM/AA points. That's 15% higher than the 55k AA points it costs to do this trip. I look at that as the "devaluation" percentage of AA point that would make me ambivalent between the two (ignoring YQ, for now).

For F, AA points would need to "devalue" by 31%.

For Japan and South Korea
J devaluation "tolerance" is 26% while F is 41%.

In my opinion, the chance of seeing a 15% devaluation of AA points (for J to HKG for example) is pretty decent. 41%...not so much.

Does that make sense?

Another consideration is obviously YQ. If you're not paying YQ on the AA partners, then you should be more tolerant of potential devaluation. Other than EVA, YQ is high on AC, OZ and NH.

Then there's the carriers...CX/JL vs. NH/BR/OZ. A few more options out of Star Alliance, but quality-wise I think I'd be ok with any of them.

Just something to to think about. I've got a bunch of AP points, so I'll probably transfer 100k. I really have my eye set on JL in F. Was considering doing it one-way using Avios, but that devaluation really killed it as an option.

And...also a good way to top up or start an AA balance, especially if you're also looking for a place to park/convert some Avion points.

Preacher7

You've gotta do what works out best for you, for sure. But I've got to throw this in too: Using AA miles for long-haul F redemptions on Etihad and J on Qatar are over the top good. Knowing how difficult it is to get AA miles in Canada, I see this as a chance that will quickly end, but could get you a truly aspirational redemption. I fly DFW-AUH-CAI in Etihad Suites (to AUH)/J to CAI (there is no F cabin on this leg) in April, and it cost me $7 plus miles. Seven!

Or...if you're more into simple domestic redemptions, using AA miles to book one way direct to Canada from the US will cost you $5.60. That's a lot less than Aeros for the same redemption!

jerryhung

Key point - It's very hard to earn AA miles in Canada other than flying
This is the only way I know of to earn it (at decent rate)

For domestic, AA miles is still more than the king-of-short-haul Avios, so I'd only use AA for Premium long-haul cabins

LGA/JFK/ORD/DCA/CLT-YYZ is only 4500 Avios + $6 USD also, less than AA miles + $6

pokee

Interesting, because what I did was essentially a sidegrade. We'll see if I get the 500 AirMiles! I am not too fussed because I am really waiting around to see if I can get the World Elite with FYF + bonus again...

Preacher7

Very true about the domestic use of Avios on single leg flights. I will say this, though: AA miles can also be a good use for US to Canada flights that involve multiple legs. The amount of Avios needed for multiple leg flights are often more than 12.5K AA one way. And, of course, the taxes and fees are still much cheaper with AA than AC in this scenario.

But sure, the best use of AA miles is long haul F redemptions. Redemptions going TATL to Asia/Africa through the Middle East in F are only 90K one way, with no YQ. Can't beat that!

tommy99

Has points.com changed the conversion rate - this is what I am getting:

84,000 miles
US Airways Dividend Miles®
114,710 Miles
Aeroplan®


73,228 miles
US Airways Dividend Miles®
100,000 Miles
Aeroplan®

crimsona

They charge a portion for taxes if you have a Canadian address. Change it to a US one

tommy99

Ahh, our lovely taxes.

Johnnyrotten33

Been following this forum for a while, I have learnt so much Thank you! I have never used points.com when I try to add my Aeroplan account it works perfects however I have just signed up or a US Airways account and when I try to add the # with my postal code it says it cannot be found!? Any idea what I am doing wrong? Thanks again!

I should add it says: 'that my # is not a valid US Airways membership or account number'

flyertalker00156

Welcome to FT. Make sure your postal code is correct. Also delete and retry, should work

Johnnyrotten33

Still not working. Do you know if I have to have points in before I can add the account?

jerryhung

No you don't

If you signed up for USDM today, maybe wait until tomorrow to try for data sync? Although it shouldn't matter