MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.
United, American, and Southwest are all offering bonuses for shopping through their portals. The bonuses are in addition to what you’d already be earning by shopping through the portal. Shopping portals allow you to earn miles by making your normal online purchases through your favorite online stores. Just by starting at the loyalty program’s portal and using its link to your favorite online retailer, you can get extra miles for your purchases.
With each holiday shopping promotion, the more you spend, the higher your return is. If you have any online shopping to do whatsoever, check to see if your desired retailer is categorized as a holiday shopping retailer as a multitude of brands are.
United
Tiers
- Spend $150, earn 500 miles
- Spend $750, earn 2,500 miles
- Spend $1,500, earn 5,000 miles
The bonus offer expires November 19 at 11:59 pm ET.
Southwest
Tiers
- Spend $150, earn 500 miles
- Spend $500, earn 1,000 miles
- Spend $1,000, earn 3,000 miles
The bonus offer expires November 20 at 11:59 pm ET.
Tiers
- Spend $150, earn 500 miles
- Spend $600, earn 2,000 miles
- Spend $1,200 earn 4,000 miles
The bonus offer expires November 19 at 11:59 pm ET.
Condition for All Offers
- You must spend money online at the designated “holiday” retailers. Common retailers include Apple, Under Armour, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Bose.
- You do not have to meet the spending threshold for the bonus with one purchase. As long as you spend the required amount before the offer expiration date, it can be with as many separate purchases necessary.
Choosing a Portal to Shop Through
Which portal to choose depends on how much you plan on spending, with what retailers, and how much you value each mile. For reference, this is how we value each of the above miles:
- United = 1.6 cents each
- Southwest Rapid Rewards = 1.4 cents each
- American Airlines = 1.5 cents each
Specific retailers through specific portals also offer further details and promo gifts, so consider those factors as well when running numbers.
Of course, none of those numbers may matter if you have an upcoming redemption that requires just a top off of miles. In that case, 1,000 more of any mile could be a lot more valuable than 3,000 miles you have no plans for.
Bottom Line
If there are purchases you were already planning on making online, making them through shopping portals is a super easy way to rake in extra miles for almost no effort. Retailers offer varied bonuses per dollar spent all year long, not just for the holidays. Back-to-school shopping (late summer/early fall) is another time to look out for lucrative portal bonuses. If you ever have a large online purchase planned, always check a site like evreward.com to compare options and see which portal you should use.
At the moment, you can earn 2x to 3.3x miles (on top of the standard per dollar spent bonuses) by doing “holiday” shopping through United, Southwest, and American’s shopping portals. I’m sure we’ll see Delta’s holiday shopping portal bonus announced soon, and possibly one from Alaska as well.
Have miles on the verge of expiration? Shopping portals are also a way to stir up a little activity in your account, re-setting your miles’ lifespan.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.