Holiday Airline Portal Bonuses
One of the best ways to juice up mileage earning is by participating in various shopping portal promotions. This year we have seen a ton of them, especially from United. Now in time for early holiday shopping, the Alaska, American and United portals are each offering a very nice bonus. Let’s take a look!
Alaska MileagePlan
The Offer
Be merry. Shop and earn up to 3,000 bonus miles.
Key Terms
- Promotion runs from 10/31/16 through 11/20/16 at 11:59:59 pm ET (the “Bonus Period”).
- Member will earn a one-time bonus of up to 3,000 Mileage Plan™ Shopping bonus miles on qualifying purchases, in addition to the standard Mileage Plan™ Shopping miles earned from shopping online through the Mileage Plan™ Shopping mall.
Earning Structure
- 500 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of at least $150.
- 1,500 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of $500 or more.
- 3,000 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of $1,000 or more.
You can find the full details and terms of the promotion here.
Analysis
Unlike the American and United bonuses, this Alaska bonus only pays 3X bonus miles per dollar at the middle and highest spending tier. Overall I think Alaska miles are a bit more valuable, so this might be worth pursuing. With that said, always make sure to compare payouts including the bonus to make sure you are getting the best return for your money.
AAdvantage eShopping
The Offer
Bonus miles are stacking up. Accumulate up to 5,000 AAdvantage bonus miles on your holiday shopping through November 20.
Key Terms
- “Holiday Bonus” bonus campaign runs from 10/31/16 through 11/20/16 at 11:59:59 pm ET (the “Bonus Period”).
- Member will earn a one-time bonus of up to 5,000 AAdvantage® miles on qualifying purchases, in addition to the standard AAdvantage® miles earned from shopping online through the AAdvantage eShopping. mall.
Earning Structure
- 500 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of at least $150
- 2,500 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of $750 or more
- 5,000 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of $1,500 or more
You can find the full details and terms of the promotion here.
Analysis
This is a great deal and one that gives you an extra 3.33 miles per dollar spent through the portal. I always recommend comparing rates, but make sure to add the normal payout through the AAdvantage portal to the 3.33X bonus to see if it makes sense to shop through AAdvantage shopping. Obviously you want to stay as close to each spending tier as possible or your return per dollar is diminished.
United MileagePlus Shopping
The Offer
More miles, more merry. Earn up to 5,000 bonus award miles when you shop through November 20..
Key Terms
- “Holiday Bonus” bonus campaign runs from 10/31/16 through 11/20/16 at 11:59:59 pm ET (the “Bonus Period”).
- Member will earn a one-time bonus of up to 5,000 MileagePlus® bonus award miles on qualifying purchases, in addition to the standard MileagePlus® miles earned from shopping online through the MileagePlus® Shopping mall.
Earning Structure
- 500 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of at least $150
- 2,500 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of $750 or more
- 5,000 bonus miles for qualifying purchases of $1,500 or more
You can find the full details and terms of the promotion here.
Analysis
This bonus works the same as the AAdvantage one and is a max of 3.33 bonus miles per dollar spent. Make sure to compare payouts and do your best to hit but not go over the spending tier of your choice and you should do pretty well!
Southwest & Delta?
Both the Southwest & Delta shopping portals normally run holiday promotions and both are run by the same company as these three. I expect we might see bonus promos from them, but as of now they have not been released. If they do come out with bonuses, I’ll make sure to cover them for you as well.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is opportunity to earn a lot of miles when participating in these holiday shopping bonus promotions. Happy shopping!
HT: Doctor of Credit
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[…] all of the major airline portals have had bonuses this year, United has by far had the most. Earlier in the holiday season they held a bonus promotion and now they are back with a deal that gives the highest bonus payout per dollar I have seen in […]
Do these deals work with gift cards?
Would the portal work if I shop at Walmart with a gift card?