Can You Prevent US Airways Miles From Expiring By Flying On American?

TPG reader Faryn has some US Airway miles expiring soon, but is wondering if flying on American Airlines is enough to keep them active. Here was her question:

"I have some US Airways miles that are set to expire in April. I am flying American this weekend. Will that prevent my US Airways miles from expiring, or do I need to do something else to keep my miles?"

One of my least favorite things is hearing stories about people who let their miles expire, as it's really easy to keep them active. There are many ways to do so: obviously, flying is one, transferring points from credit cards is another, spending on a card or even buying something through a shopping portal is another cheap, easy and fast way tot do so too. However, you must make sure to keep an eye on your account, as many programs have different expiration dates, and as long as you are aware, you can prevent them from expiring.

I also have a bit of good news for Faryn. The answer is yes, as of January 7, American and US Airways announced reciprocal earning and redeeming of miles on each other, and in fact, now through March 2, when you take a flight on American and credit it to your US Airways account, you will actually earn 50% bonus miles (not elite-qualifying miles, though) and vice versa. However, just make sure when you fly American that you put your US Airways Dividend Miles number on that reservation. You should be credited shortly after your flight. Also keep in mind that sometimes with partner airlines it can take awhile for miles to post, so try not to cut things too close. In Faryn's situation, her miles don't expire until April, so flying this weekend should ensure that her miles should be posted in time.

That being said, if you find yourself in a situation where you are cutting it close and your miles from flying a partner airline haven't posted, just buy yourself something from a shopping portal. It's much easier than dealing with the expense and hassle in aftermath of trying to get your miles back after they expire.

If she doesn't have any flights coming up soon enough, Faryn could easily buy something from the US Airways Storefront and keep her miles active that way. Or, she could sign up for the US Airways Dividend Dining, attach one of her debit or credit cards, head over to a participating restaurant, and within a week or so she would have miles posted into her US Airways account, therefore resetting the expiration clock on her miles.

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So aside from Faryn's question about being able to earn US Airways miles on American now, she actually has a ton of options out there to keep her miles from expiring, and crediting miles flown on an American flight to your US Airways account is just one way to do it.

Let me know if you have any other questions by messaging me on Facebook, Tweeting me or emailing me at info@thepointsguy.com.
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