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How to Shop Your Way to Free Travel

For years I didn’t shop through my airline advantage shopping portal thinking that it wasn’t really worth it. I figured that I would collect only a few points, so why bother. Now, I realize that I lost the opportunity to accumulate enough travel points to travel for free. About a year ago I started actively shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping Mall and the miles started adding up.

In fact, I collected enough points to get to Bonaire. What’s better than travel? Well, free travel of course!

5 tips to maximize award miles when shopping online

1- Shop through your favorite airline shopping portal

Why not get the things that you would normally buy anyway through the airline shopping portal? You would need to buy it, so might as well get a few extra miles as a bonus. Here, I’m not saying to just buy stuff to get award miles, that would be counterproductive!

2- Sign-up for the newsletter to find out when there are promotions

I get regular emails with a list of promotions to see where and when I can earn more than 1 mile/$. Some of the offers can be quite good. Sometimes it’s even 10 miles/$ spent. That’s a pretty good deal, wouldn’t you agree? I regularly buy stuff at Macy’s through the AAdvantage eShopping Mall because on top of my usual promos and discounts I also get extra miles.

3- Wait for good promos

Sometimes being patient is worth it. When you see something you want you don’t have to buy it right away. Put it in your basket, make a note of it, put it on your shopping list, and wait for the opportune moment to get it.

For example, I coveted the iPad Pro for a long time, but since I wasn’t in a rush to get it, I waited and a kept an eye out for a good promo. Eventually, I saw an offer I could not pass up. I could get 10 miles on each dollar spent at Apple through the AAdvantage portal. It was worth the wait as I got 10 times the miles on my purchase! Woo hoo!

4- Use the right credit card to get the most miles

Another thing I do is pay with an award credit card. On top, of getting extra miles for shopping through the portal and getting the store’s discount on sale items, I also get award miles or points for using the right credit card. Some reward cards also let you sign up for offers and promotions on the same items giving discounts or additional points. Sort of like triple-dipping!

5- Don’t forget about hotels and car rentals

Even things like hotels and car rentals that have their own points programs can be bought through the airline e-shopping portal to get additional miles. These high-priced items which you would buy anyway make the extra miles really add up.

Conclusion

Keep an eye on this shopping portal trend as more and more offers and options become available. Now, the difficult part will be to decide where to go with all these extra miles!

Planning Your Dream Trip…On Your Own!

By Nathalie

Avid Traveler and Master Scuba Diver
Sharing stories, photos and insights about the places I’ve visited. Simply sharing my experience and giving travel tips to help others plan their own dream trip and travel independently.

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