Free Amazon Kindle 3G, Courtesy American Airlines

I’m as giddy as can be.

Here's something fun

Download this FREE PDF poster and hang it on your wall to remind yourself each day: YOU'VE GOT THIS!

A few days ago I received an email from American Airlines, notifying me that my AAdvantage miles were about to expire. I shrugged. I haven’t flown American for years (read: I just had three kids in a row). Plus, I had tried cashing out my airline miles before for a free ticket, seat upgrade, hotel discount, etc, but found it VERY frustrating. It seemed every option had so many strings attached that it was never worth it.

Nonetheless, I went to their site to see if there was anything I could do. They suggested I pay them $69 to add 1000 miles to my account and extend the expiration date by a year. Uh-huh. But then I saw a banner ad about Points.com. It teased about being able to cash in your AAdvantage miles for other items, so I checked it out.

To my surprise, my AAdvantage miles could be cashed in for an Amazon.com Gift Certificate. I was thrilled. My wife will testify to the fact that I’ve bought into the Amazon Kindle hype and have wanted to have one ever since the latest generation was released. But at $189 shipped, it was out of our monthly budget…which is why this was a blessing—as an unexpected gift certificate would bring the price down.

So I cashed in my miles and told them I wanted the maximum Amazon.com Gift Certificate I could get.

They sent me $189. Exactly.

My new Amazon Kindle 3G ereader just arrived, thank you American Airlines.

Do you have a Kindle? What’s your favorite thing about it?