Earn More Miles with 2 Valentine’s Day Shopping Bonuses

If you’re planning to shop at any of 800 online retailers between now and Valentine’s Day, two of the largest airline programs are offering bonus miles for purchases made through their online mileage malls.

American AAdvantage

Through February 13, AAdvantage members can earn up to 1,000 bonus miles when shopping at the AAdvantage eShopping site, as follows:

• Earn 500 bonus miles after spending $125
• Earn 1,000 bonus miles after spending $250

United MileagePlus

Through February 14, MileagePlus members can earn up to 1,000 bonus miles when shopping at the MileagePlus Shopping site, as follows:

• Earn 500 bonus miles after spending $125
• Earn 1,000 bonus miles after spending $250

Deal or No Deal

If you’re not earning miles by shopping at the airlines’ mileage malls, you should be.

There’s no reason not to; the prices are the same. And by making your purchases through the airline’s portal, you’ll be earning miles—typically between one and 10 miles per $1 spent—that you don’t get when dealing direct through the merchant.

Making a good deal even better are the periodic bonus promotions, like these, that amp up the mileage-earning. Those promotions generally proliferate around Christmas and other heavy buying periods, although recently the airlines have used back-to-school shopping and other recurring events as the hook to hang their promotions on.

So, if you’re going to be shopping online anyway, it always makes sense to do so through an airline’s mileage portal, to earn miles for the purchases. And when there are extra bonuses in place, it makes even more sense.

Reader Reality Check

If you’re not shopping through an airline’s mileage mall, why aren’t you?

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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.