Can I do anything useful with a small number of soon-to-expire US Air Miles?
I have a small but not negligible stash of US Airways miles that are about to expire. I do most of my flying through other airlines, so earning more to avoid expiration (or using them on an upgrade) is not a reasonable option, and I don't have enough to redeem them for a flight.
As I understand it, my only options are to donate these miles to charity (however, they are not tax deductible, which significantly reduces the appeal of this option), or to trade them in for a fairly large number of magazine subscriptions which I do not want.
Is there any way to convert these miles into anything else, whether it be points with a partner loyalty program, some sort of cash equivalent like gift cards, or crappy skymall grade merchandise?
Or must I resign myself to paying for 7 years of Wired Magazine?
Best Answer
You don't say how many points you have or what airlines you normally fly with, but...
Firstly, keep in mind that US Airways is likely to merge with American Airlines at some stage in the not to distant future. At that time, the miles for the two programs will merge into one - so if you collect AA miles then these miles would suddenly become useful to you!
Unfortunately US do not appear to let you redeem miles for gift vouchers/etc. They do allow redemption for newspapers and magazines as you say, which is probably your best option if you want to spend them all.
However rather than spending them, there are numerous ways to extend the expiry - which could be a better option if you expect you will ever fly US again, or if you have AA miles to merge them with in the future.
There's basically 3 ways to extend the expiry of the miles - use some, earn some, or pay a fee.
The easy one first - pay a fee. For $9, you can extend your miles for another 18 months. This should show as an option in your account when the miles are within the last few months of their life.
Next, earn some. Earning even a single new mile will extend the life of all of your miles for another 18 months. In addition to the obvious method of flying, there are numerous other ways to earn miles, such as rental cars/hotels, Dividend Dining, or numerous other options. A Google search will find you many other options here - and remember you only as little as one mile and you're good!
Lastly, Spend some. Maybe you don't want 7 years worth of Wired - but buying even 1 years worth will extend the remaining miles for another 18 months. In addition to magazines, you can also get a newspaper subscription, or even donate 1000 miles to charity.
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What to do with expiring United miles?
As of August 2019, United Airlines miles no longer expire. That's right \u2014 United flyers don't have to worry about losing miles because they didn't keep their United MileagePlus account active. The quick answer is United miles don't expire as long as your United account is open and in good standing.How do I keep Air Miles from expiring?
Open an American Airlines credit card One of the benefits of opening an American cobranded credit card is the fact that your miles don't expire so long as your account is open and in good standing. If you already have one of the airline's credit cards, that's simple enough.Is it worth it to reactivate American Airlines miles?
Reinstating your expired miles can be worth it, depending on the fee, number of miles and how you plan on redeeming them. If you think you're going to get more value out of the miles than you're paying to reinstate them, then go for it. But before paying any fees, call the airline and see if they'll waive it for you.Can I use old Air Miles?
So long as you're earning and redeeming Air Miles, your miles will not expire. However, your Air Miles will expire if your Air Miles account becomes inactive for 24 consecutive months. That is if you don't earn or redeem any miles for 24 consecutive months.Air Miles: How customers fought back and won (CBC Marketplace)
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