Earn More Holiday Miles with Online Shopping Bonuses

It’s that time of the year, when retailers compete extra hard for your holiday shopping dollars. Which means more online shopping bonuses from the these four airlines.

American

Through December 17, AAdvantage members can earn up to 1,500 bonus miles for purchases made at the AAdvantage shopping portal, as follows:

• Earn 500 bonus miles after spending $150
• Earn 1,500 bonus miles after spending $300

Alaska Airlines

Through December 17, Mileage Plan members can earn 500 bonus points for purchases made at the Mileage Plan shopping portal totaling $150 or more.

Delta

Through December 17, SkyMiles members can earn 500 bonus miles for purchases made at the SkyMiles shopping portal totaling $150 or more.

United Airlines

Through December 17, MileagePlus members can earn up to 1,500 bonus miles for purchases made at the MileagePlus Shopping portal, as follows:

• Earn 500 bonus miles after spending $150
• Earn 1,500 bonus miles after spending $350

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?

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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.