Question
When I was an AOL customer I had (and still have) an AOL VISA card from FirstUSA. AOL points and AA AAdvantage miles are now supposed to be 'the same currency'. Does this mean that the AOL VISA, which has no annual fee, will effectively earn AAdvantage miles? Where are AOL/FirstUSA points kept? Is there an account somewhere that is separate from both AOL and AAdvantage? The FirstUSA phone representatives don't seem to know and since I am no longer with AOL itself I can't get the information from them. Anyone know? Like the Sheraton and Hilton AMEX cards, this may be another way to get AAdvantage miles without having to pay tribute to Citibank. The foreign exchange fee may also be lower. Anyone know any other fee-free credit card that give AAdvantage miles?
Answer
I remember reading on the AOL/AAdvantage site that 1 AOL Reward point = .76 miles
Answer
I have a AOL Visa card and I earn points that are strictly convertible to making payment against the AOL ISP service charges. One AOL Visa point equals 1 cent toward the payment of an AOL ISP service charge. You earn an AOL Visa point for each dollar charged to the credit card (effectively a 1% rebate). The AOL Visa points have nothing to do with the AOL Rewards points (although I wish they did). The initial reason I got the card was because I could write up to three $10,000 cash advance checks transaction free at something like 3.9% interest for 6 months. Over the 6 month period I wrote 3 checks and earned $300 worth of AOL ISP services. I paid off the $10,000 balance every other month. Afterwards I saw an Article in SmartMoney written by Andy Tobiasz that identified this technique. I think First USA has since closed this loophole.