Key takeaways
- The American AAdvantage eShopping portal lets loyalty members earn additional bonus miles each time they shop.
- Individuals can earn miles through the portal once they join the American AAdvantage program and create an account login.
- While you’ll earn miles regardless of how you pay for purchases made through the portal, using a rewards credit card can multiply your efforts.
- Not only can members earn miles for award flights for shopping in the portal, but eShopping purchases also earn Loyalty Points toward elite status with American.
There are all kinds of ways to earn miles with your favorite frequent flyer program, and some don’t require you to fly at all. You can earn miles for each dollar you spend on an airline credit card, and you may even be able to earn a generous welcome offer, too. You can also rack up miles through an airline’s dining club or by using a program-related shopping portal each time you make a purchase online.
The American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping portal is what you’ll want to use if you’re interested in earning more miles in the American AAdvantage program. If you’re not flying a lot this year, or if you just want to boost your miles balance, keep reading to find out how the portal works and how to sign up.
What is the American AAdvantage online shopping portal?
The AAdvantage eShopping portal lets AAdvantage members earn more miles by shopping online, and using the portal is a breeze. Just log in with your AAdvantage account information, browse and click on offers and shop for items like you normally would.
A shopping portal only asks you to “click through” before you shop, but you’ll still head to the exact same retailer website you would be using otherwise. But by going through the portal, you’ll earn bonus miles on the purchases you’d make anyway.
You can use a debit card or any credit card to pay for purchases — it doesn’t have to be an American Airlines credit card. If you do use an American Airlines credit card, however, you’ll earn even more miles on your purchases to use for award flights later on.
SimplyMiles vs. AAdvantage eShopping
You may have also heard about SimplyMiles. It’s a card-linked program that allows you to link any Mastercard credit card, add offers and earn extra AAdvantage miles for spending at select merchants. You’ll earn either a number of miles per dollar spent or a set number for spending a certain amount.
It’s completely different from AAdvantage eShopping, though there is some overlap. First, with SimplyMiles, the number of merchants is much more limited. You also must add each offer to your account by clicking them individually.
With SimplyMiles, you have the opportunity to earn miles for in-person shopping, whereas AAdvantage eShopping is only for online shopping. That said, SimplyMiles is another way to earn extra AAdvantage miles, so it’s worth a look to see if any of the offers match your planned spending.
How to access the AAdvantage eShopping portal
Using the AAdvantage eShopping portal is easy. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Join the American AAdvantage program
To join the American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping program, you’ll first need an AAdvantage frequent flyer account. Joining the AAdvantage program is free, and you can enroll in the program on American Airlines’ website by providing information like your full name, address and phone number.
You’ll also need to create a login and password you can use to access your account.
Step 2: Log in to AAdvantage eShopping
Once you have an AAdvantage number, you can start shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping program by using that number to log in to your account.
Step 3: Consider downloading the browser extension
The AAdvantage eShopping program offers a browser extension, which is available for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. This tool will remind you to activate your AAdvantage shopping account so you can earn miles at participating stores when you shop. It will also alert you to promotional offers, automatically apply coupons at checkout and help you find the best prices online.
Step 4: Earn bonus miles on everything you buy
Once you’re ready to start earning miles, you can visit the AAdvantage eShopping program website (or click on the browser extension button) and check for available offers. There are more than 1,200 stores offering bonus miles through this program, and you typically earn anywhere from 1 to 5 bonus miles for each dollar spent.
All you have to do is make sure you’re logged in to your AAdvantage account, head to AAdvantage eShopping and “click through” the portal to a participating store before you make a purchase.
Benefits of the AAdvantage shopping portal
Here’s an overview of all the benefits you can get from shopping through the American AAdvantage eShopping program.
Earn miles on spending you’d do anyway
You’ll frequently see offers allowing you to earn anywhere from 1 to 5 miles by shopping with various retailers. Some offers also let you earn bonus miles. So, instead of earning 2 miles per dollar with a select retailer, you might be able to earn 4 miles per dollar (for a limited time) when shopping with that retailer.
The portal also runs special offers occasionally, such as seasonal promotions. These offers can help you earn more miles on eligible purchases in categories that change throughout the year.
Shop with over 1,200 retailers
American AAdvantage eShopping partners vary widely, but you earn bonus miles when you shop at more than 1,200 online stores. Shopping categories typically include home items, dining, entertainment, home office essentials, clothing, electronics and more. While the participating retailers can change from time to time, you’ll frequently find popular merchants like:
- Sephora
- Adidas
- Macy’s
- Apple
- Best Buy
- Staples
Because AAdvantage eShopping partners can change, your best bet is to occasionally to check for new offers and discounts. There’s nothing to lose by keeping an eye on this portal and maximizing it when you can, but you stand to miss out on a ton of miles if you ignore it.
Earn Loyalty Points toward elite status
Also note that eShopping purchases help members earn Loyalty Points toward elite status with the American AAdvantage program. This means you can use the shopping portal to earn more Loyalty Points toward elite status all year long, or to spend what you need to reach the next status tier.
AAdvantage Gold status — the lowest tier of American AAdvantage status — requires you to earn 40,000 Loyalty Points within a year. However, members who earn at least 15,000 Loyalty Points per year qualify for basic benefits like early boarding and five Preferred Seat vouchers.
Best credit cards for AAdvantage eShopping
Racking up more airline miles is easy with American Airlines credit cards. The following chart highlights top options to consider if you decide you want to earn even more miles.
| Credit card | Welcome offer | Rewards rate | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card* | Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. | 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases and grocery spending 1X miles on all other purchases | $0 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®* | Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days | 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, 1X miles on all other purchases | $99 |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®* | For a limited time, earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. | 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases 2X miles at gas stations and restaurants, 1X miles on all other purchases | $99, waived for first 12 months |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® | Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. | 4X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases. Earn 10X miles on hotels and car rentals booked through the airline 1X miles on all other purchases | $595 |
| Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®* | Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 within the first five months of account opening | 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, 2X miles on purchases with telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and gas stations, 1X miles on all other purchases | $0 |
How to maximize AAdvantage eShopping
There are some steps you can take to make the most of the AAdvantage eShopping portal over time. Consider these tips:
- Download the browser extension. The AAdvantage browser extension will remind you each time you visit a retailer that participates in the AAdvantage shopping portal. Download this button so you never miss out on bonus miles when you shop online.
- Make sure to check the portal frequently for special offers. Remember that participating retailers in the portal frequently change. Any time you make an online purchase, you should check to see if an AAdvantage shopping portal participant store offers the item you want.
- Don’t forget to check for non-retail bonus offers. Also, remember that you can earn bonus miles for some subscription or meal-kit services. For example, you may be able to earn bonus miles when you sign up for Disney+, Hulu or HelloFresh.
- Join American AAdvantage Dining, too. While the AAdvantage dining program is an entirely separate program, it lets you earn miles when you dine out at participating restaurants. By pairing it with the AAdvantage shopping portal, you can rack up more miles in yet another spending category.
- Pay for your purchases with a credit card that earns AAdvantage miles. You can earn even more rewards if you use an American Airlines credit card to purchase items through the eShopping portal.
Other key things to know
If you plan to use the AAdvantage eShopping portal to maximize your rewards, there are several important details to consider:
- Your cookies must be enabled. Your online purchases are tracked with cookies, meaning your cookies must be enabled for you to earn bonus miles.
- You won’t see your miles right away. According to the airline, it typically takes at least three to five days for miles earned through eShopping to post to your account. In some cases, you may even have to wait 15 days for your miles to show up.
- “Clicking through” the portal is required. You won’t earn bonus miles on eligible purchases if you don’t click through the AAdvantage portal before you shop. This step requires you to be logged in to the shopping portal and initiate your visit to a store website directly through it.
- Returns can reduce your bonus miles. If you return a purchase after you earn bonus miles, the AAdvantage eShopping portal can take a commensurate number of the miles you earn back from your account.
- You cannot redeem miles through the portal. AAdvantage eShopping is for earning bonus miles on purchases, but you can’t redeem miles here. Redemption options for the miles you earn include award flights with American and its Oneworld partners, seat upgrades, car rentals and hotel stays, to name a few options.
The bottom line
Shopping portals like the American AAdvantage eShopping portal can be valuable if you do a lot of your shopping online. After all, you can qualify for the exact same pricing you would be paying for your online purchases anyway. But this way, you can earn bonus miles to put toward your next vacation.
FAQs
*Information about the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card, AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.