Help me figure out what to do with AA miles

September 10, 2011 10:47 AM

What do I do with 15,000 American Airlines miles? I have 120,000 British Airways miles - and the two airlines are part of the same network - but I don't think you can transfer miles between the two. I don't want to waste the 15,000 miles when they expire next year, but I don't see how I can use them. I am not interested in using credit cards or travel to build the account up to the magic 25k mark. Any ideas what I can do with the miles?
posted by Yunani to Travel & Transportation (11 answers total)

They were transferable for me. I used British Airways miles on an American Airlines flight booked through British Airways' site.
posted by theraflu at 10:58 AM on September 10, 2011

Response by poster: theraflu, they are transferable in that I can book on either airline with the miles, but the problem is I only have 15k which is not enough to do anything as the minimum fare costs 25k for a domestic ticket in the U.S.
posted by Yunani at 11:10 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You can redeem miles for magazine subscriptions. I've subscribed myself (and friends, as gifts) to guite a few publications with no problems at all.
posted by GatorX3 at 11:48 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: According to the AA website, you can use the miles to rent cars or get hotel rooms. The rates for a car rental in Tampa in October, for example, seem to run around 3,000 miles per day.
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:49 AM on September 10, 2011

As johnny says, use them in their marketplace. I've only done this with Delta, where I rented a car for one day, which cost around 6000 miles.
posted by cabingirl at 11:56 AM on September 10, 2011

Best answer: You can use 12,500 miles for a one-way award ticket. What's a better gift than a one-way ticket out of town for someone you don't like?
posted by foodgeek at 12:07 PM on September 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I'd either use them for a one-way ticket, or sign up for AAdvantage Dining, and buy a drink or a meal at a participating restaurant to extend your expiration date.
posted by grouse at 12:17 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the great answers. Never thought about using the miles for a one-way ticket or car rentals. Will likely do that.
posted by Yunani at 12:19 PM on September 10, 2011

If you think you will ever fly on AA at a later date, you could also buy something really inexpensive from their shopping portal or get a single magazine subscription to keep the miles active. Otherwise, I think people have pretty much covered the options.
posted by Lame_username at 12:57 PM on September 10, 2011

Tip: it's possible to buy a single iTune through the AA store, generating one mile and enough to keep the account active.
posted by scolbath at 4:14 PM on September 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

I've also heard something about being able to donate miles to charity/military but I am not sure how that works or if AA does that. But if you really have no immediate need for them, it might be a good way to donate, since you're doing something good but you don't actually have to give up something tangible like money.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 10:42 PM on September 10, 2011