Earn More Miles with Shopping Bonuses from Alaska, United

If you shop at any of more than 800 participating online merchants, there are miles to be earned when making your purchases through the airlines’ online shopping portals. Here are two limited-time shopping bonuses, from Alaska Airlines and United.

Alaska Airlines

Through April 12, Mileage Plan members can earn up to 1,000 bonus miles for purchases made at the Mileage Plan online shopping portal, as follows:

• Earn 300 bonus miles after spending $150
• Earn 1,000 bonus miles after spending $350

United Airlines

Through April 14, MileagePlus members can earn up to 1,000 bonus miles for purchases made at the MileagePlus Shopping portal, as follows:

• Earn 300 bonus miles after spending $150
• Earn 1,000 bonus miles after spending $350

Deal or No Deal

With the exception of a slight variation in the end dates, the promotions are identical. Pick the program you’re most in need of miles in, or take advantage of both offers.

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. Such offers 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.

As always, when shopping via an airline’s mileage mall, you must first stop at the mall’s landing page to log in with your loyalty-program credentials. Thereafter, purchases at any of the mall’s hundreds of participating merchants can be tracked and credited to your account.

Shop on!

Reader Reality Check

You do earn miles for online shopping, don’t you?

More from SmarterTravel:

• Better Credit Card Terms? Just Ask!
• Biggest-Ever Sign-Up Bonuses for 2 Hilton Credit Cards
• PreCheck Travelers Unhappy with Long Security Lines

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.