The Supreme Court has refused to let a company continue to buy and sell American Airline frequent flyer points while the airline is suing to stop the practice.

The high court on Monday refused to lift a temporary injunction against Frequent Flyer Depot, Inc. A lower court judge had banned the company from working with American Airlines AAdvantage points while the airline's lawsuit against the brokers was going through the court.

American Airlines says Frequent Flyer Depot's practice of getting American's passengers to sell them their frequent flyer points is illegal. The brokers would then use the points to buy tickets for people who did not want to deal directly with American Airlines.

American says the AAdvantage program prohibits the selling of its frequent flyer points.

The brokers say buying an airline ticket from them is cheaper than buying it from American. They also say that the AAdvantage program is not a contract under which the airline can sue.