With the holidays around the corner, it’s a great time to give. While we’re all looking to save money, wouldn’t it be great to know that you can clean out your closet, make some money and restock it at the same time? That great deal is possible thanks to a company called Buffalo Exchange.

For more than 40 years, Buffalo Exchange has been providing quality clothing and helping people feel good about selling their old clothes and getting new ones. The company has 49 stores in 20 locations. RewardExpert spoke with Marketing Director, Stephanie Lew, about why it makes sense to save money, help the environment and get a new wardrobe at Buffalo Exchange. Lew said, “We give customers the chance to find current, like-new items for a fraction of the price.”

If you love buying holiday gifts at deep discount but hate dealing with Black Friday crowds, you’re not alone. According to an eBay Holiday Shopping Survey, 72 percent of shoppers start buying gifts early in order to find a better selection. However, 76 percent would still rather give something up—such as social media for a week (38 percent), sugar or carbs for a month (35 percent), or caffeine for seven days (32 percent)—than stand in line on one of the biggest shopping days of the year. One in four (26 percent) would even rather have a root canal than line up in the hopes of scoring a holiday bargain.

Shopping online for a new set of luggage, or surfing the web for a great buy on airfare or hotels? What if you knew a way to shop where you could save money and donate to your favorite cause at the same time? It doesn’t just sound too good to be true, it actually is, thanks to a company called Goodshop.

JJ Ramberg, co-founder and managing director of Goodshop, spoke with RewardExpert about how easy it is to find deals on just about anything, including trips and travel-related items, and in the process donate to a cause you’re passionate about.

Do you have a great website for your business, but are struggling with adding an online store?  What if you could add an e-commerce platform to your site in five minutes, even while you’re vacationing poolside in the south of France?  This summer, join over 1 million sellers in 175 countries by enhancing your website in minutes using Ecwid’s one-of-a-kind technology.

Unless you’re a road warrior with elite status, chances are you earn more points and miles through credit card spend rather than actually flying. Hopefully, you have one or two credit cards in your wallet that earn bonus points on dining, but there could be extra points you’re leaving on the table. In the points and miles hobby, the art of stacking is an advanced skill to accelerate your points earning potential, and it might even save you money.

If Southwest Rapid Rewards is your main frequent flyer program, you need to be aware of Rapid Reward Shopping as well. This online shopping mall acts as a portal to all of your favorite online retailers, from Kohl’s and Old Navy to JCPenney and Ulta Beauty. All you need to do to earn extra Rapid Rewards points is visit the portal and click on the store you wish to shop at. Then, once you make a purchase, you’ll be rewarded with a certain number of Rapid Rewards per dollar spent. It’s that easy, but we’ll step you through the entire process.

If you are a fan of online shopping and you’re a miles and points junkie, you have to get in the habit of using your favorite airline or hotel’s online shopping portal. Delta Skymiles Shopping is just such a portal, and we’ll show you exactly how to sign up so you’ll be rewarded with extra miles on purchases made through this venue. We’ll also show you how to spot deals at SkyMiles Shopping and how to know when to pass up that purchase.

If you’re not leveraging your favorite airline’s online shopping portal, you are leaving miles—and possibly points—on the table.

Sure, it might be easy to log in to your favorite retailer to buy that pair of sneakers for your kids, but if you go the extra mile and make one additional click at the airline portal, you’ll be rewarded with a certain number of miles per dollar spent—and that’s on top of whatever bonus your credit card offers you for making purchases.

Let us help you discover the value of online shopping portals. Today we’ll step you through American Airlines’ AAdvantage eShopping portal just in time for holiday shopping.

What Is the AAdvantage eShopping Mall?

Like most airline frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs, American Airlines offers an online shopping portal. The portal makes it quick and easy for you to earn valuable AAdvantage miles, which can be used to book award flights on American Airlines flights as well as on every single oneworld partner airline. You can earn miles whenever you purchase something online from one of the shops that belong to the AAdvantage eShopping online mall.

What Kind of Retailers Are Part of AAdvantage eShopping?

Some of AAdvantage’s most popular retail partners include Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Target, Kohl’s, The Home Depot, Nike, and JCPenney.

But, there are tons of additional shops to browse, including those in the categories shown below, which include everything from apparel to flowers and gifts to travel.

Online shopping advances include some hidden gems in the category list, so you really need to explore the offerings. Otherwise, you may miss out on potential miles-earning opportunities. For example, under the Books category, you’d expect to find the popular chain Books-A-Million. But, you’ll also find indie bookstore AbeBooks as well as The Scholastic Store for youngsters and Textbooks.com for college students.

Hundreds of online retailers participate in the AAdvantage eShopping mall, so you’ll want to check out the directory to see if the stores you love are available.

How to Earn Miles (& Points) By Shopping at the AAdvantage eShopping Portal

You will love how quickly you rack up the miles once you begin shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping mall. It’s really simple to get started.

1. Sign up to be an AAdvantage eShopping member.

While you are already an American Airlines AAdvantage member with a frequent flyer number, you’ll need to register with the shopping portal before you can begin to earn miles. Click the “Sign up” link on the home page. (Be sure to have your AAdvantage frequent flyer number readily available.)

In order to keep abreast of the mall’s special offers and deals, be sure to check the box at the bottom of the order form that adds you to the portal’s email list.

2. Log in to the AAdvantage eShopping online shopping mall.

The login link is at the top of the home page.

3. Search the store you want to make a purchase from. Let’s say you want to buy something at Sephora.

You’ll see a few offers from the store and a “Shop now” button. Click on the link that will take you from the portal to the store’s website. You must be logged in to your account when you click the link. Otherwise, your purchase won’t earn any points.

How to Find Deals and AAdvantage Shopping Promotions

While it’s great to earn a few miles per dollar spent on your purchases, AA eShopping portal also offers a variety of deals that can earn you additional miles. Here’s how you can find any special bonus offers:

Extra Rewards Deals

When you log in to your account, look for the dollar icon on the right top of the page. When you click on it, it will get you to a page with special deals and extra rewards offers. The deal usually means an increase in the number of miles you’ll receive per dollar spent at a retailer.

Offers

Click on the “Offers” tab at the top of the page, and you’ll get a menu that lists all of the current offers from every retailer that comprises the shopping portal. You’ll see deals for free shipping, gift cards, special holiday offers, and more.

Oh, this could be a boon for anyone that’s planning to spend at least $250 at Macy’s. You’ll earn an increased number of miles per dollar spent: 6 miles per dollar instead of the normal 3 AND you’ll receive 500 bonus miles if you spend a minimum of $250 at the store.

Seasonal Bonuses

If you’re shopping during holidays or love seasonal shopping, be sure to check the home page for a link with deals. It will lead you to all of the special deals that vendors are offering during a specific—and limited—time period.

RewardExpert is publishing this story during spring season so there are a number of deals to consider.

Which Stores Offer the Most Miles Per Dollar

Finally, it makes sense to review the list of participating stores in order of the store’s earn rate. You can do that by clicking on “Stores” at the top of the page and then “Stores by earn rate.”

Be sure to sort the list by the highest earn rates; click on the tab that says “6+.” The miles per dollar payout changes randomly so it’s always a good idea to review the list before you decide to purchase through the portal.

Which Credit Card You Should Use at the AA Shopping Portal

Whenever you shop online you’re faced with the decision of what credit card to use. When you buy anything through the AAdvantage eShopping portal, you’ll most likely want to use your Citi / AAdvantage credit card that rewards you with AAdvantage miles for every dollar you spend. That’s in addition to the miles you’ll earn for shopping through the portal.

Let’s look at an example. If you send flowers from FTD by clicking on the link at the AAdvantage eShopping portal, you’ll receive 20 miles per dollar spent. So, if your total before tax and delivery was $89, you’ll be rewarded with 1,780 AAdvantage miles from the portal.

Now, when you charge this purchase to your credit card you’ll earn more miles or points. If you use the , you’ll receive 1 mile for every dollar spent on your purchase. The flowers were $89 but with tax and delivery your total was $104.95. Citi will reward you with 105 AAdvantage miles for that purchase.

So, when all is said and done, you’ll receive 1,885 AAdvantage miles for your purchase (1,780 miles from the shopping portal and 105 miles from Citi for using its AA-branded credit card).

If you’re going to make purchases anyway, it’s a no-brainer to do so through the AAdvantage eShopping mall. You’ll earn a healthy number of miles each time you shop.

Best and Worst Deals on the AA Shopping Mall

An informed shopper is a smart shopper. Just because there is a “deal” at the AA shopping mall doesn’t mean it’s the best deal. You’ll need to determine if you’re best off making the purchase through the portal or elsewhere.

Money-Off Coupons

Sometimes you’ll receive a money-off discount code from your favorite retailer. Oftentimes, those coupons can’t be used in conjunction with an online shopping portal that rewards you with miles or points. You’ll need to read the fine print for each shop to determine if you can use a coupon that was sent to you. Otherwise, look for coupons and deals right at the AAdvantage eShopping portal. You may find the same, or better, options.

Fixed Rate Options

Most stores offer a certain number of AAdvantage miles for each dollar you spend. However, there are a few dozen retailers that offer a fixed number of miles for a specific purchase. For example, you can earn 25,000 AAdvantage miles for switching to Sprint through the portal. Or, you can earn 250 miles for buying a membership to AT&T TV NOW. You’ll need to look at all of your other buying options outside of the shopping portal to see if it makes sense or not.

Bottom Line

Once you get the hang of how the AAdvantage eShopping mall works, you’ll be earning miles on all of your online purchases. To find the best use of all those AAdvantage miles, use RewardExpert, a free service that will help you figure out the best partner airline to use American’s currency on based on where you want to go.

Black Friday officially launches the holiday shopping season, which is a great time of year to rack up tons of miles for next year’s travels. While the miles earned from the increased levels of spending are great, there are multiple ways that rewards can be increased using airline and bank shopping portals, Amex offers, and credit card bonus categories. You can even stack them. That’s right. You can combine these great earning opportunities to earn even more.

If you think you’ve mastered the world of maximizing points and miles, think again. Get ready for these great ways to double dip your earnings when you travel.

Earning miles can be challenging so letting them expire really shouldn’t be an option. There are plenty of ways to keep your reward accounts open by earning, redeeming, or buying miles. Here are some ways this can be achieved without breaking the bank.

With Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday behind us, you just can’t hide. It’s time to do your holiday shopping. For miles and points hounds, picking up stocking stuffers and more expensive gifts offers a lucrative opportunity to earn rewards.

Some people think that if they don’t fly or stay at a hotel often enough, they have no chance of earning enough miles or points for free travel. That’s simply not true. These days, loyalty programs are a business in and of themselves and offer a  myriad of ways to rack up miles from co-branded credit cards to online shopping malls. All you need to do is purchase items you were going to buy anyway through these portals to get bonus points.