How to Use the American AAdvantage Shopping Portal to Boost Your Miles
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Need a few AAdvantage miles to top off your account in preparation for your next award flight? You’re in luck: there’s a super easy way to earn additional miles for shopping you’d probably do anyway!
This article will tell you everything you need to know about using the American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping Mall.
Table of contents
Table of Contents
How to Log in & Basics of Using Program
You can see the potential bonus miles available at various retailers without logging in, but you will need to log in to your account in order to earn miles through AAdvantage eShopping.
If you are already a member of the AAdvantage frequent flyer program, all you need to do is create a separate login for the AA shopping portal. If you are not yet a frequent flyer member, you will need to join that program first.
Once you are logged in to AAdvantage eShopping, you can easily search for retailers you want to shop with and see how many bonus points are being offered. When you’re ready to shop, just click through their link to complete your purchase!
Let’s say you need to do some back to school shopping for your kids at American Eagle Outfitters. At the time of writing, you could earn 2 extra AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on purchases at American Eagle Outfitters online.
In order to earn bonus points, you’ll need to click “Shop Now.” You’ll be redirected to the American Eagle Outfitters website where you can start shopping!
Special AA Shopping Offers
Sometimes American hosts special shopping offers where you can earn even more bonus points. These don’t happen all the time, but they are worth keeping an eye out for.
Here are some recent offers that were available:
- November 2018: Earn up to 4,000 bonus miles (expires November 18). 500 when you spend $150, 2,000 when you spend $600 and 4,000 when you spend $1,200.
- Spring 2017: 1,500 bonus miles for spending $50 or more in 3 separate transactions
Miles from these special shopping offers are earned in addition to any other bonus miles you will accumulate by shopping through the portal.
Example Retailers
The number of miles available and participating retailers in the AA Shopping portal change regularly. At the time of writing, here are some of the top earning rates that were offered:
- Sephora: 5 mi/$1
- bareMinerals: 8 mi/$1
- eBags: 7 mi/$1
- Macy’s: 5 mi/$1
- glasses.com: 7 mi/$1
- XFinity: 35 mi/$1
- …and many more!
The AAdvantage eShoppingSM Button
American Airlines AAdvantage has jumped on the bandwagon of Google Chrome extensions by recently introducing the AAdvantage eShoppingSM button.
Essentially, this button helps forgetful shoppers earn more miles. This extension notifies you anytime you’re are on a website that could earn you AAdvantage miles via shopping. Simply click the button to activate your miles.
Plus, it’s free to download!
Hot Tip: To find the best deal for any particular store, use a site like CashBack Monitor to keep track of all the different shopping portals, including the American AAdvantage portal.
Using Credit Cards To Earn Extra Points
Since you’ll be earning bonus miles by shopping through the online portal, you should also make sure you’re earning as many miles as possible through your points- or miles-earning credit card.
If your main focus is on AAdvantage program miles, you should use credit cards that earn them directly.
You won’t have many category bonuses to consider if you are only using the cards mentioned above, but it’s worth considering what category your chosen retailer falls under if you have other cards that earn category bonuses.
Below you’ll see the credit cards that earn American Airlines miles. Most of these include a sign-up bonus but will include an annual fee. However, the benefits outweigh the costs when used correctly!
American Airlines AAdvantage Cards
Want more information about AAdvantage credit cards? We’ve covered American Airlines credit cards extensively and highlighted the major differences between all the options you have!
Marriott Credit Cards
You can earn Marriott points and transfer those to American Airlines at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 AAdvantage miles bonus.
Recommended Marriott Cards
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card - Earn 3 Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after qualifying purchases, plus 10x total points on eligible purchases in select categories. Get automatic silver elite status each account anniversary year; and a free night award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. Plus, earn up to 17X points per $1 at over 7,000 participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, and 2X points per $1 on all other purchases. Annual Fee is $95. |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card - Earn 30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. Earn up to 14X points per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, earn 2X on other travel purchases, then 1x on all other purchases. A solid card for Marriott loyalists looking for a no-annual-fee card offering Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status. |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card - Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Plus, earn up to $200 in Statement Credits for eligible purchases at U.S. Restaurants within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Earn 6x per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels plus 3x at U.S. restaurants and flights booked directly with airlines. Annual Fee is $450. Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Bonvoy Brilliant card, click here. |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card - Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 of eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn up to $150 back in statement credits on eligible purchases made on your new Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. This is a solid card for business owners who will get complimentary Marriott Bonvoy silver elite status. Annual fee is $125. Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card, click here. |
Final Thoughts
If you use the American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping portal for your online shopping, you will be able to easily earn more American Airlines miles for very little extra work. Even better when you combine it with their dining program.
Through these portals and using a couple of other options, it’s possible to earn up to 100,000 miles in just a few months.
Those bonus miles will quickly add up to get you much closer to your next vacation. For even more info on the best ways to redeem your AAdvantage Miles, check out what you can do with 100,000!
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, click here.
I have been so far unsuccessful in getting miles credited for an Apple bonus miles purchase. There are a lot of miles involved as I purchased 2 computers.
I verified numerous times that I was on the portal and had no other windows open ( even used a different browser) . I have a case # but now have had no response from any agent for 3 weeks. I am thinking that I should just return the computers to Apple ( have not opened because of this issue) and hold off for another offer by a different airline . Any ideas how I can escalate this would be appreciated. Thank you
Hi Linda,
I would contact the appropriate AA department to get this handled ASAP. You can also request to speak to a supervisor if the front-line rep is not being cooperative. Just keep trying to pester them. If the miles mean a lot to you, you can decide to return the laptops as well. Thanks for reading!
The flaw in AAdvantage Shopping is that there is no way to verify what points you will earn and when or if they will arrive. AAdvantage Shopping offers no direct contact phone number so its up to their online customer services as to if and when they will respond. In my case, AAdvantage Shopping said it was up to the store to report the miles earned, but Macy’s customer service knows nothing about any of this other than they have heard similar complaints from others.
I am also having problems with getting points credited for purchases made through the online shopping portal. I booked hotel rooms, through the portal, in January and again in March but have not been able to get any help from AAdvantage Shopping to get the associated points credited to my account. It is very frustrating.
Hi Mary, sorry to hear you’re having issues. First, let me say that **we are not American Airlines, nor are we affiliated with the AAdvantage Shopping Portal in any way** other than the writing of this review.
It’s very possible that your points won’t be awarded until your stay has been completed… Additionally, have you read the listed “mileage terms” for each hotel you’re booking?
For example, here are the terms the portal lists for Marriott Bonvoy: “Please note these terms & conditions: Rooms offered at specially negotiated rates, where the customer is required to be affiliated with or employed by a particular company or organization to receive the special rate (e.g., corporate rate, government rate or the Marriott employee rate) are not eligible. Rooms offered at specially negotiated rates for Marriott Bonvoy™ members (e.g. Marriott Bonvoy™ offer discount, Marriott Bonvoy™ offer package), with the exception of Marriott Bonvoy™ Member rates are not eligible. Rooms that are booked or upgraded and paid for using redeemed Marriott Bonvoy™ Points are not eligible. Rooms booked at the brands Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, Design Hotels, Bulgari, Atlantis, Autograph Collection, Bulgari Hotel, London, Joshua G.E. Medical Corp. Conference Center, Jesse Jones Rotary Conference Center, Marriott Ranch, Protea Hotel Amani Beach, Protea Hotel Mbweni Ruins, The Ritz-Carlton London, U.S. Postal Service Conference Center, Four Points by Sheraton Havana, The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, Autograph Collection are not eligible. Not eligible on purchases made with coupon or discount codes that are not found on this site. Not eligible on gift cards, gift certificates or any other similar cash equivalents.”
That seems like a lot of instances where a stay would be ineligible to earn the bonus points to us… you just want to be sure you aren’t booking under any circumstances that would void the bonus points!
Do they deduct miles for returns?
Hi ST,
Yes, if you return the item, then the miles will likely be deducted from your account.
Thanks for reading!
My frequent flyer miles is about to expire and I have almost enough to get a ticket.
Is there some way to keep from loosing my miles?
Joyce Hamilton
Hi Joyce,
Redeeming or earning American miles will reset the expiration date of your miles. Some of the easiest ways to extend the expiration is to book flights on American or its partner airlines, use the American shopping portal, or use an American Airlines credit card.
I have booked a flight for this summer on AA but I’m still getting emails from American saying I have miles expiring March 25. This contradicts what is said above by Michael McHugh.
In order to keep miles from expiring, you need to earn or redeem miles. Did you purchase the flight with an American Airlines credit card or use American Airlines miles for the flight?
I used the Eshopping for the first time. I signed up, did what I was supposed to do and I have not received my miles. I just received a long winded email from Advantage Eshopping rep and she basically lied about everything and was trying to tell me I must have made my purchase through the email offers American Airlines sends out frequently. Also, I was told that I need to settle it with the company I made the purchase with. It seems I am not the only one who has trouble getting promised miles posted!
I’ve tried using the shopping button and the website shopping version, experienced headaches with both versions. Miles do not post consistently, about 20% of the time they post even when the app shows green checkmark. The process to report missing miles is arduous. Post 15 days after purchase date, submit documentation fill out forms and attach receipts. Only 20% of these transactions are posted within a few weeks, then you need to follow up every 2-4 weeks, some miles are credited some never post. AA will escalate with the vendor but it’s up to the vendor if they honor the miles. This process has gotten worst over the past year. Recently deleted the button since it doesn’t work and hurts web engine performance. The AA Dining program works flawlessly every time.
I bought a phone at best buy, the points show online in the aa eshopping account but have not posted to my account. I also see a 1,000 point bonus that did not post to my aa advantage account. anyone have this issue?
AAdvantage Shopping is terrible. There is always some reason why you don’t get the point you earned. Their customer service is rude and unhelpful and unfortunately you’ll be talking to them a lot. It’s pretty much a joke.
The AA shopping portal is a joke, and a con! Merchandise can be found usually at a third of the price elsewhere. All one is doing here is buying miles, not getting a deal. As for their customer service, forget about it if you have a problem. There is no telephone number, so this is equally frustrating. While I hold an AA card, I gave up on the shopping. Totally misleading!
Peter, When you use an airline shopping portal, the airlines do not set the prices. If you want to buy something from Best Buy, then the AA portal simply redirects you to the BB website, where BB charges whatever BB charges. What part of this do you find misleading? For the millions of people who already shop online at Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Kohls, Best Buy, Walgreens, Dell, GAP, FTD, etc., the airline portal simply offers an opportunity to earn FF miles while making the same purchases they are already making. If your preferred vendor is not among the 950 stores listed on the portal, then you should certainly skip the portal and go to your store directly. However, aside from Amazon and Ebay, you would be hard pressed to find any retailers who are not on the airline shopping portals, and they all charge the same prices as if you went directly to their site.
I routinely use shopping portals from AA, UA, DL, and CUR. The offerings change daily, if not more often. I was just shopping for a $2,000 Dell computer, and the AA portal had the best offer at 5 miles/$. IMO, 10,000 bonus miles is a decent score. However, by the time I decided on a machine, the offer was back down to 2 miles. Since I do not need a new computer immediately, I will wait until somebody has a more generous offer. Over the past year, AA and US have had several offers at Dell of 8-10 miles/$. Typically, one airline will have the most generous offer at a specific retailer, and then they switch positions. I have always wondered who decides what the bonus will be. Is this decided by the airline, or by the individual retailer?
Hi Rocco,
I believe the decision is made by the airline, since they are the ones that are offering you points in exchange for shopping through their portal so they can get a cut of your purchase.
For those few airlines that still allow miles to expire, the shopping portals are an easy way to keep them alive. I manage the FF accounts for my extended family, about 20 people. One AA account had miles about to expire, so I used the AA portal to make a small purchase from Walmart. They offer free delivery for orders over $35, so I bought 100 lbs of cat litter for $38. (It was shipped via FedEx at a cost that I am sure exceeded the $38 price of the litter, but that is a separate issue that Walmart should address.) Anybody who needs some activity to keep points alive can easily stock up on $35 worth of household staples from Walmart. AA only offered 0.5 mile/$ from Walmart, but it was good enough to save 60,000 miles from expiring.