Holiday Shopping Earns Frequent Flyer Miles

Did you know ….

I didn’t, but thanks to airfarewatchdog.com I am now a wizened internet shopper. No longer will I leave thousands of unearned frequent flyer miles on the seat back tray. I will go forth and shop my very fav shops and stores via links at the airlines’ Web sites.

I will upgrade to first class or fly to Paris with my airline flyer miles earned from my holiday shopping because, I am now a savvy consumer!

Let’s say I plan to buy a $3,000 iMac from Apple.com. Think twice, I tell myself. If I go to Continental Airline’s shopping site, I can earn four OnePass miles for each dollar spent at Apple.com (make that five miles if I charge the purchase using a frequent flyer credit card). That would mean I just earned 15,000 miles or a half a free round-trip domestic flight. A $5,000 purchase might get you enough miles for a free flight.

Hundreds of online merchants participate in these mileage offers. Here are some current deals from various merchants and airlines from airfarewatchdog.com. Just remember these offerings are subject to change so check the individual airline websites.

Delta Airlines
• 2 miles/$1 at Crate and Barrel
• 2 miles/$1 at the Container Store
• 3 miles/$1 at Starbucksstore.com
• 2 miles/$1 at iTunes.com
• 7 miles/$1 at Drugstore.com plus new customers get $10 off their first purchase of $50 or more
• 4 miles/$1 at Overstock.com
• 100 miles for a Costco membership

United Airlines
• 9 miles/$2 at Nordstrom
• 7 miles/$2 at Sephora
• 3 miles/$2 at Apple
• 4 miles/$1 at Avon
• 3 miles/$1 at Circuit City
• 9 miles/$2 at Brookstone

American Airlines
• 4 miles/$1 at Old Navy
• 2 miles/$1 at Walmart
• 10 miles/$1 at 800Flowers.com or 11 at FTD
• 5 miles/$1 at Drugstore.com

Continental Airlines
• 4 miles/$1 at Apple.com
• 8 miles/$1 at Target
• 20 miles/$1 at Godiva
• 6 miles/$1 at Gap
• 30 miles/$1 at Magazines.com

Everyday purchases, not just holiday gifts , qualify for miles, too. Do you regularly buy your contacts from 1800Contacts.com? Why not get 10 miles for every dollar spent? Are you a frequent buyer at Drugstore.com? If you buy via their site directly, you get no miles; get there via an airline shopping mall page and you might get as many as 10 miles per $1 spent. Same thing with purchases at Petco.com. And keep in mind that airline mall shopping is a painless way to keep your frequent flyer miles from going stale, since each purchase, even a 99-cent song at iTunes.com, extends your miles’ expiration date. MSNBC

I love this stuff! Now for a little shopping for this frequent flyer …