American and USAir have just notified their frequent flier program members (AAdvantage and Dividend Miles) of more detailed plans for merging the two plans, including a date: 2nd quarter of 2015, as well as details of the merger plan.
All USAir Dividend miles will become AAdvantage miles, one-for-one. Flight segments and elite-qualifying miles will also transfer, meaning that USAir elites will keep their status in the merged program. Some people with two accounts that are not elite may now find they have enough combined to make it into elite status.
All the details, at least those that have been announced, are on AA’s website.
For those of you who, like me, scrounge for miles: this would be a good time to get the Barclay’s USAir MasterCard; its current offer is 40,000 USAir miles and some other benefits, including free checked bag and priority boarding. There’s an $89 annual fee, but the bonus comes after your first purchase. In a few months, there will be no more USAir miles to be had, so you might want to get these into your account now! Here’s the OFFER
Finally! I’ve been hanging on to my measly 5,000 USAir miles by buying something through their site every 18 months and must again by January to keep them. It’s ok as I only buy things I would anyway. The problem is remembering to go through the USAir site to do it. Last time, whew!