UPDATE 1/4 – American’s bonus has expired, but Alaska’s and United’s are still running through later this week (1/6 and 1/8)
In addition to paid travel and credit card sign-up bonuses, another great way to earn points is through shopping portals. For those of you who may not know, shopping portals give you additional points for buying products through them.
(SEE MORE: Earning Miles Through Shopping Portals)
Currently Cartera, the company that runs a bunch of shopping portals, is running bonuses on three of their shopping portal affiliates.
Alaska Airlines Shopping Portal Bonus
First up is Alaska, whose shopping portal bonus runs through January 8th, and has a maximum of 1,000 bonus points.
- Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles
- Spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus miles
American Airlines Shopping Portal Bonus
Next up is American, whose shopping portal bonus only runs until January 3rd, and also has a maximum of 1,000 bonus points
- Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles
- Spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus miles
United Airlines Shopping Portal Bonus
Last up is United, whose shopping portal bonus runs through January 6th, and, you guessed it, has the same earning structure as the previously mentioned programs.
- Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles
- Spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus miles
NOTE: it appears that Delta and Southwest are not participating in this promotion.
In theory, you could spend $300 at each portal, earn 3,000 bonus points, and any bonuses you would accrue from the particular store you buy from. Should you be in need of athletic gear, Nike is offering increased points per dollar:
- Alaska: 12 points per dollar x $300 = 3,600 points + 1,000 bonus points = 4,600 points
- American: 10 points per dollar x $300 = 3,000 points + 1,000 bonus points = 4,000 points
- United: 15 points per dollar x $300 = 4,500 points + 1,000 bonus points = 5,500 points
Or maybe you really like magazines, in which case, magazines.com would earn you:
- Alaska: 45 points per dollar x $300 = 13,500 points + 1,000 bonus points = 14,500 points
- American: 45 points per dollar x $300 = 13,500 points + 1,000 bonus points = 14,500 points
- United: 45 points per dollar x $300 = 13,500 points + 1,000 bonus points = 14,500 points
Not that I suggest spending $900 on magazines, but it is possible to earn up to 43,500 miles from this promotion. If someone does that, please let me know :-). Happy shopping everyone!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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