Request: Need to spend AA Flyer Miles

I have over 80k flyer mile that are set to expire this September. I am thinking of taking the family to an all-inclusive resort (Beaches) in Jamaica. I am planning to go in May 2011 so I have plenty of time to book the accommodations, I just need the flight tickets nailed down. My questions:

1 When is the best time to book the resort? aka... When can I get the best deal???

2 Does anybody have any other vacation ideas? I am not entirely sold on Jamaica yet but it needs to be kid friendly. My kids will be 3 and 7 at the time of travel.

Thanks

If you are making trip just to use miles, there are easy was of renewing expiry of your miles (e.g. buy flowers from one of the participating vendors). Sign up for AAdvantage Emall (no purchase necessary). As long as you have one transaction that gives miles, miles will renew for 18 more months.

For me, Orlando works better with kids of that age.

If you are looking for the best deal, go during low season. For most Carribean destinations, that typically starts in the May / June timeframe. In general, travel deals are offered ~ 90 days out, when hotels, airlines begin to analyze available inventory, make promitional decisions. As the economy improves, people are traveling more, making deals fewer, not as hot - and you may end up paying more if vacancies are low.

While we are all different, I do not understand how people can spend $$ to take small kids on resort vacations - no fun, relaxation for the parents, kids often run out of things to do. We would only take our kids on trips to visit relatives, tour special places, leave them with family when mom and dad needed to get away.

80k miles won't go too far for flights to the Carribean, Mexico; better off staying in the US, find someplace in Florida or even Arizona.

bippie said:

Also, listen to the advice about extending your expiration date. Send the spouse some flowers - that should pay multiple dividends!

(Anyone care to provide advice about the best way to extend my miles on United?)

Umm..send your spouse some flowers? United has a mileage mall where you get miles for shopping just as AA does.

Or i have done the same thing at points.com Sign up and get 50 points but extend your Total expiration date by about a year and a half.

tiggla01 said: The least expensive way to extend your miles on United, it to go to the United Mileage Plus mall, and go to BarnesandNoble.com from there.
> Buy an e-book that costs more than $2 (this is the min purchase needed to get Mileage plus credit)
> an example is the title - Changing a Troubled Ship's Course. This costs $2.39 (The way their search function is set up, it can take a while to find a title that costs more than $2 because they have hundreds of books that cost less than that. If you don't care about what you buy, use this title.)
> Make sure to buy after getting to the site from the Mileage plus mall
> the miles should post in about a month. I did this last month and the miles have credited to my account.

Thanks - that's exactly the type of low-cost tip I was hoping for. I just purchased this eBook and will watch for my United miles.