When was the last time you saw a 50,000-mile bonus offered for anything but a credit card sign-up? Never, probably. But they do exist, and this DirecTV offer is an example.
Offer Details
For a limited time, members of American’s AAdvantage program can earn 50,000 bonus miles for purchasing a new DirecTV package.
Eligible packages start at $50 a month, plus taxes and fees, for the first year, increasing to $90 a month for the second year. A two-year contract is required.
Related:
There’s no published end date to the offer, so it could be terminated or downgraded at any time.
Deal or No Deal
With its two-year minimum contract, and potentially hefty monthly annual fees during that period, a DirecTV plan is not a commitment to be taken lightly. The fact that such contracts are notoriously loaded with niggling taxes and fees adds to the caution that consumers should exercise when contemplating this and any such offer.
On the other hand, those caveats apply whether there’s a mileage bonus associated with the plan or not. So if you’re in the market for TV service anyway, and DirecTV meets your needs, the miles are icing on a cake that you would have bought anyway.
After 20 years working in the travel industry, and almost that long writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
This article first appeared on SmarterTravel.com, where Tim is Editor-at-Large.
Be careful with the AAdvantage/DirecTV 50,000 miles offer.
I signed up for DirecTV on 4/15/17 after receiving an email from American Airlines AAdvantage on 4/12/17 that said “Act now and earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles when you switch to DirecTV”. I signed up for a qualifying package (Choice) with a two year contract. A few days after installation, I received an email from DirecTV that said I am getting only 25,000 miles. When signing up for service, I was careful to say which offer I received (50,000 miles) and never heard anything from the representative that I would get fewer miles than what was in the offer.
Once I got the email that stated I am only getting 25,000 miles, I started a chat with DirecTV. The chat rep said that the offer was “up to 50,000 miles”. Nowhere in the offer email does it say anything about “up to 50,000”; it just says “earn 50,000 miles”. I ended up having to call because the chat rep could not handle this type of problem. When I called, the rep did not say anything about why I might receive only 25,000 miles but she supposedly entered an “escalation ticket” and that I should hear something in a few days. I am not holding my breath and don’t know if there’s anything I can do if they choose to screw me out of 25,000 miles. I probably wouldn’t have signed up if the offer was for only 25,000 miles.
I got the same email stating that I was only getting 25K and then 50K posted. Not sure if that’s the case for you, but definitely check your balance. Hope it works out for you. Cheers!
How long did it take for you to get the 50k miles? I had service installed on May 6th and have not seen any miles post to my AAdvantage account as of June 17th. I got the email on May 9th telling me I will receive miles in my account “within 1 week”. I have passed the 30 day requirement for the account being active. American Airlines tells me it’s up to DirecTV to make good on posting the miles. It doesn’t seem as though they can help much. DirecTV claims to create these “escalation tickets” but I think they say that just to get me off the phone at this point.