Ms. TPOL’s miles were set to expire. I skimmed OMAAT’s post on The Easiest Way to Prevent Your AA Miles from Expiring.
Here were the options:
- Buy AA Miles: The cheapest option was around $100. Get lost.
- Transfer AA Miles: 1) I’m selfish. 2) Pay money? Get gone.
- Dining Program: 1) Tahiti Diet 2) No idea what restaurant qualifies here nor am I part of the program. Too much effort.
- eShopping: OMAAT says it takes a week to post and I don’t shop. Not an option.
- Spend on AA card: Her Citi AA card was in storage and trying to get it sent to Puerto Rico, my new home, proved to be an impossible. (Dear Citi, Puerto Rico is part of the US. You can send the card here.) Would have been the best option but even if I had the card, I waited so long that my statement date would have come after the miles expired. My fault for being lazy.
- Charity: 1) 1000 mile minimum 2) TPOL is not a miles philanthropist.
I went with the cheapest and most immediate option: I redeemed a magazine subscription for 400 miles. I was able to keep Ms. TPOL’s miles from expiring and mess with my sister by gifting her a subscription to EatingWell. What a nice brother I am!
AA miles expire after 18 months of inactivity This never was a problem before Citi enacted its stupid churn rules. It also wasn’t a problem when we didn’t live in Puerto Rico and actually had a desire to travel. Life is tough.
 I'm selfish. 2) Pay money? Get gone. ){kind=link}
>eShopping: OMAAT says it takes a week to post and I don’t shop. Not an option.
When I needed to extend some AAdvantage miles I spent a dollar on a throwaway Groupon through the shopping portal. The transaction posted within a few days and (importantly) was backdated to the date of the purchase.
Oh good to know but I don’t know if I would’ve risked it.
Didn’t work for me. I did a mag purchase 2 days before and, while I do receive the magazines, AA still took all my miles. CS has been useless so I gave up trying to get them back.