Q: AOL Username to Apple ID

The emails and their help page only refers to AOL usernames being affected, if you are using an email address then they aren't affected.

Have you ever used your AOL username to log into the iTunes store, and have you bought anything with that account ? If you have then log into that username account and convert it into an Apple id - if you do have purchases and you don't convert it by the end of March then you will lose access to those purchases.

If you have purchases and/or a balance on your username account then yes, you will have to convert it into an email address - if you don't have another email address (you won't be able to use one that is currently being used as an account's primary email address) then you will have to create one (you can create free email accounts via http://gmail.com or http://hotmail.com). If you don't convert the username account by the end of March then you will lose access to that account

I was concerned about this too. I think Apple needs to clarify their knowledge base article on this subject and I sent in feedback about it.

King, I got the email from Apple telling me to convert or be killed. I think I'm in the same situation. I use an AOL email address as my Apple ID login. However, I do not log in with just a "user name" leaving off the "@aol.com". If I log off iTunes and log back on, I get no prompt. Apple needs to clear this up! I'm being nice about this and don't want to be. I've been using Apple since 1982 and .......... not happy.

To follow up, this is what I see when I'm logged into my iTunes Store account:

So, if I understand you correctly, IF I was affected by this change then it would read as "Apple ID:  ROMAD"?

If you were affected then you'd be be logging into the account with just the username, without the '@aol.com'

Email address accounts are not affected, only username (without the '@aol.com') accounts are. You won't be prompted to convert if you log in with your AOL email address, only if log into an AOL username account

If you got the email then that implies that you've used your aol username with iTunes at some point in the past. If you have, and if you want to maintain access to any purchases or balance that you have on that account, then it will need converting by the end of this month.

King, I did get the email. and I do use the entire email address, not just the user name. When I log in it says Apple ID on iTunes. Do I just need to change my email address? It seems like people might lose their stuff all over their email domain. Should I speak with someone from customer support to make sure of the status of my account? Will they want to charge me for this, after all the money I've spent on iTunes and the APP Store?

The iTunes account that you access via your @aol.com email address (i.e. you type in the full email address when logging int) is not affected, it's only accounts that people access via their AOL username (so not using the '@aol.com') who are effected. The full email address and AOL username are two separate iTunes accounts.

If you got the email then you must have accessed the store via your AOL username at some point in the past (or iTunes thinks that you have). If you don't have any purchases on that account, nor a balance, then you don't have to convert it to be an email address instead.

Correct.

If your account ends in @aol.com, you are not affected.

King, this is helpful, thanks.  I only/always login with my @aol.com Apple ID, yet I continue to get the advisory email from Apple.  From your post that means at one point I must have used just my AOL Screen Name to login.  I'd like to confirm that by logging in with just my Screen Name, and seeing what, if any, purchases I may have made with that ID so I know whether there is anything I need to preserve.  But how do I do that?  I do not see an option to sign in with an AOL Screen Name anywhere...

Log into it in the same way as you do with your email address account - if already logged into an account then log out of it first via Store > Sign Out menu option.