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You can get 7,500 American Airlines miles for test driving any new Cadillac, and you might not even have to do the 10 minute test drive.

From the promo page:

Right now, AAdvantage® members can earn 7,500 AAdvantage miles when you test drive any Cadillac* vehicle, including the striking 2015 CTS sedan with available adaptive cruise control and available OnStar 4G LTE with Wi-Fi®**. The available Wi-Fi® hotspot works inside your CTS and up to 50 feet away as long as your vehicle is on, while the 4G LTE allows you to use your laptop or tablet as a mobile office with a reliable connection.

Contact a Cadillac Concierge today at 844-469-2234 to schedule an appointment and participate in this exclusive limited time offer. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your AAdvantage miles.

*At participating dealers only.  Must have an AAdvantage account and be 21 years or older with a valid U.S. driver’s license.  Employees of General Motors are not eligible. Retail value: $221.00. Test drive lasts approximately 10 minutes.  Offer valid while supplies last.  Limit one test drive per person.  Allow 4-6 weeks for miles to be awarded after confirmation that test drive has been completed.  Offer is nontransferable, nonnegotiable and not redeemable for cash.

I value 7,500 American Airlines miles at about $133. If the test drive takes “10 minutes” and registering and driving to/from the dealer adds up to an hour total, that’s quite a return on my time.

  • How can you avoid the test drive and high pressured sales pitch and still get the miles?
  • What is this “Retail value: $221” nonsense? Are you going to get taxes on the miles?
  • Why should you NOT call to sign up for this promotion right now?

Do You Even Have to Take the Test Drive?

Points with a Crew reports having done 7-8 similar test drives in exchange for cash, and he says he’s only had to actually drive one of the cars.

They usually would ask a few questions, like if I was in the market for a new car.  I’d say “not really”, and then they go in the back and come back after 5-10 minutes with my validated postcard.

I never felt any kind of sales pressure, and only once (out of 7-8 times I’ve done this) did I even have to drive a car.  I think most of the salesmen appreciated my not wasting their time, so they could focus on people that were actually interested in cars.

If you can even get out of the test drive, I really see no downside to picking up these 7,500 miles. Report in the comments whether you’ve had similar success getting the reward without even having to drive a car on similar promos in the past.

(I want to take the test drive. I’ve never been to a car dealership and want to see what the process is like in case I ever buy a new car.)

Will You Get Taxes for $221 Worth of Miles?

I’m not a tax professional. See a tax professional for tax advice.

American Airlines lists the value of the miles at $221, so they will not 1099 us for the miles, since that threshold is $600.

I consider these miles taxable income, but I don’t consider the value to be $221. Miles earned from credit cards are a rebate on purchases, not taxable income.

Don’t Call Right Now

Yesterday people were reporting long hold times in this View from the Wing comment thread when calling 844-469-2234 to schedule a test drive.

Perhaps this issue has been resolved, and you can get through now without a wait to schedule a test drive. If there is a hold time:

  1. Wait a few days until the hoopla has died down.
  2. Use GetHuman for a callback from Cadillac as Gary suggests.
  3. Use Cadillac.com chat as Jean suggests. (“i was on hold for quite a bit, with a phone battery slowly dying I logged onto Cadillac.com and hit the “chat” button. While it took a while back and forth with the live Cadillac agent, I’m all signed up at my local Caddy dealership next Monday. Easy Peasy.”)

Bottom Line

If you live within a half hour of a Cadillac dealership, I think this is a promo you should participate in. I value 7,500 American Airlines miles at $133, though I expect my valuation to drop in 2015 when American Airlines and US Airways combine their frequent flyer programs and release a new award chart.

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With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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