AA 50x Miles: Charity first, points second.
American Airlines is offering 50x AAdvantage miles on donations to Stand Up to Cancer when using an AA Mastercard, but the cost per mile is nearly 2 cents, well above the 1.4 cent redemption value. The 25x rate is even worse at almost 4 cents per mile. Plus, the IRS values the miles at 3 cents each, which likely wipes out any tax deduction on donations over $75. Unless you're already planning to donate to the cause, this is a poor way to buy miles.
the play
Only use this if you want to support cancer research; for earning miles, skip it.
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This drop was reframed from a real reader question asked around the web. Written with the assistance of a language model in the voice of Vanessa Bloome.