There are many ways to earn miles in your favorite frequent flyer program, and some don’t require you to fly at all. With an airline credit card, for example, you can earn miles for each dollar you spend on your credit card, and you may even be able to earn a generous welcome offer, too. However, you can also rack up miles using a program-related shopping portal each time you make a purchase online and “double up” on miles by using a portal and paying with a credit card that earns airline miles.

The American AAdvantage frequent flyer program offers a shopping portal for its members, and you may be surprised at how easy it is to use. 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 American AAdvantage eShopping portal allows AAdvantage members to earn more miles by shopping online. You’ll simply log in with your AAdvantage account information, browse and click on offers and then 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.

Additionally, you can use any credit card to pay for purchases — it doesn’t have to be an American Airlines credit card. But if you do use an American Airlines credit card, you’ll earn even more miles on your purchases.

How to sign up for AAdvantage eShopping

To join the American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping program, you’ll first need an AAdvantage frequent flyer account. Fortunately, joining the AAdvantage program is free and easy to do. You can enroll in the program on American Airlines’ website.

Once you have an AAdvantage number, you can click on “Sign up” in the top-right corner of the eShopping homepage to create an AAdvantage eShopping account. Then, enter basic information like your AAdvantage number, first and last name, email address, ZIP code and password.

Benefits of the AAdvantage shopping portal

Earn miles on spending you’d do anyway

You’ll frequently see offers allowing you to earn anywhere from 1X miles to 5X miles by shopping with various retailers.  Some offers also let you earn bonus miles. So, instead of earning 2X miles per dollar with a select retailer, you might be able to earn 4X miles (for a limited time) by shopping with that retailer.

The portal also runs promotional offers occasionally, such as seasonal promotions. For instance, the program’s recent winter bonus, which ended Feb. 13, 2023, offered 500 bonus miles if you spent $200 or more.

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 and Staples, among others.

Since AA eShopping partners can change, your best bet is to log in to your account 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 lose a ton of miles if you choose to ignore it.

Use the AAdvantage browser extension

The AAdvantage eShopping program also 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’ll also alert you to promotional offers, automatically apply coupons at checkout and help you find the best prices online.

Best credit cards for AAdvantage eShopping

Racking up more airline miles is easy with American Airlines credit cards. The following chart highlights some of the 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®* Earn 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit when you spend $500 within three 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 bonus miles after making one purchase and paying the card’s annual fee in full 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®* Earn 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $2,500 within three 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 the first year
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* Earn 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
  • 4X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases. After spending $150,000 in a calendar year, cardmembers can earn a total of 5X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the calendar year.
  • 1X miles on all other purchases
 $595
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®* Earn 65,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 within four 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 the first year, then $99

How to maximize AAdvantage eShopping

There are some steps you can take to make the most of the AAdvantage eShopping portal in particular. 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.

The bottom line

Shopping portals like the American AAdvantage eShopping portal can be valuable tools 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.

*The information about the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®, AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.