Getting the Biggest Bang For Your Buck on Black Friday Online Shopping

With the internet, Black Friday is no longer limited to in-store deals only. You might even find some of the exact same deals in-store as you do online, and if that is the case – avoid the lines, make the purchase from home, and earn points and miles! Whenever you make a purchase online you should ALWAYS go through one of the online shopping portals – especially on Black Friday when many of the points/miles have been doubled, tripled, even quadrupled.

Using the online shopping malls is like a two-for-one – get the same good deal as in then store and then free bonus points/miles! There are many online shopping sites to go through, so it is important to figure out the best one for you and the store you are purchasing for. Almost all of the points and miles loyalty programs have online shopping sites. This is really easy and just involves is one extra step. So worth it for the FREE points/miles! Once you go to the online shopping site, search and select the store you are making a purchase at, and click the “Shop Now” (or similar) button. This will then take you directly to the store’s online site. Through internet cookies, the online shopping site will track how you accessed the site and then give commission to that source – in this case the commission is points and miles!

The key thing to know is that the shopping malls differ in the number of bonus points they give out for each store. It is important to take a look at and see which shopping site will give you the biggest bang for your buck. For example, the American Express Membership Rewards site gives 3x bonus at Best Buy, while American Airlines Advantage only gives 1x bonus at the same store. On Black Friday, however, many stores are really increasing their bonuses. Chase Ultimate Rewards site is giving 10x points at Best Buy. This means that if you purchase a $799 TV online, you will get an extra 7,999 Ultimate Rewards points – not too shabby for simply making an online purchase! I went through all of the online shopping malls today and did some research. I found that the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall is overall the best for bonus points followed by American Express Membership Rewards. For the airline specific programs American Airlines Advantage and Delta SkyMiles are the best.

Online Shopping Malls and Special Black Friday Point Bonuses

• Chase Ultimate Rewards: This program and shopping portal is limited to those who have a credit card with Ultimate Rewards access. There are a few credit cards within this program, but the more popular recommended ones include: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, and Chase Freedom. The Ultimate Rewards shopping program in general has been very generous lately with some amazing bonus points offer, so I would highly suggest looking into it if you are a big online shopper – like myself! Online Shopping Site link
• American Express Membership Rewards: This program and shopping portal is limited to those who have a credit card with Membership Rewards access. There are many credit cards within this program, but the more popular recommended ones include: American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card, Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express Open, and American Express Platinum. Online Shopping Site link
• American Airlines Advantage: In addition to the points received from the online shopping, you can also earn 500 bonus points when you spend $500 and 1,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000. You need to make sure to “opt-in” and register for this promotion. You must have an AAdvantage account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link
• Delta Airlines SkyMiles: You must have a Delta SkyMiles account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link
• US Airways Dividend Miles: You must have a US Airways Dividend Miles account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link
• United Airlines MileagePlus/Continental OnePass: Shop online with Mileage Plus Shopping and earn 1,000 bonus award miles when you spend $250 or more. Offer ends 12/31/11. You must have a United Airlines Mileage Plus OR a Continental OnePass account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link
• JetBlue TrueBlue: You must have a JetBlue TrueBlue account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards: You must have a Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link
• Amtrak Guest Rewards: You must have an Amtrak Guest Rewards account to use this shopping mall. Online Shopping Site link

Top Bonuses for Select Stores

• Best Buy: Chase Ultimate Rewards – 10x points on 11/25
• Target: American Express Membership Rewards – 5x points through 12/31
• Walmart: American Express Membership Rewards – 3x points
• Staples: Chase Ultimate Rewards – 5x points on 11/27
• Toys “R” Us: Chase Ultimate Rewards – 10x points on 11/24; Delta Airlines – 6x points on 11/24
• Macys: Chase Ultimate Rewards – 10x points on 11/26; Delta Airlines – 8x points
• Apple: Chase Ultimate Rewards – 10x points on 11/28; American Express Membership Rewards – 5x points through 12/31
• Sears: American Airlines, Delta Airlines – 4x points
• Groupon: American Airlines – 8x points; Delta Airlines – 7x points; Chase Ultimate Rewards – 12x points

Other Black Friday Related Posts:

• Reminder: Make Sure to Register for Small Business Saturday!
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday Travel Deals!
• Black Friday is Almost Here! Let’s Start with a Gilt City Deal!
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday Tips