Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
| Sorry, this deal is no longer available. Do you want to be alerted about new deals as they’re published? Click here to subscribe to Frequent Miler's Instant Posts by email. |
The Alaska Mileage Plan shopping portal is offering 10 miles per dollar at Staples today. If you have a card that earns 5X at office supply stores, you can earn a total of 15 miles per dollar. Additionally, the portal’s holiday bonus is in effect which makes it possible to get up to 3 more miles per dollar if you haven’t yet taken advantage of the bonus. That makes it possible to rake in a total of 18 miles per dollar!
The Deal
Three bonuses can be stacked together:
- The Alaska Mileage Plan shopping portal is currently offering 10 miles per dollar at Staples. We don’t know how long this with last. Often these deals only last 1 day.
- The Alaska Mileage Plan shopping portal is offering up to 1,500 bonus miles when you spend $500 through the portal, cumulative, through November 18th. If you spend exactly $500, that amounts to 3 bonus miles per dollar.
- Credit Card Bonuses:
- 5X: Three credit cards offer 5 points per dollar at office supply stores: Chase Ink Business Cash, Chase Ink Business Plus (no longer available to new applicants), and Amex Simply Cash Plus. If you pay with any of these cards, you’ll earn 5X points (with Chase) or 5% back (Amex).
- 10%: An Amex Offer on many business cards is for 10% back at Staples, up to $100 back. I’d take 10% back over 5X rewards personally! The best option would be if you had this offer loaded to your Amex Simply Cash Plus card so that you can earn a total of 15% back.
Quick Thoughts
It’s rare to see 10X miles available at Staples, so I’d jump on this even without the holiday bonus. I’d even strongly consider jumping on this without having a card that earns 5X or 10% back (via Amex Offers).
Keep in mind that gift card purchases are not supposed to earn portal rewards, but it’s always a good idea to check the Frequent Miler Laboratory for recent results showing what happens in practice. We know that Visa gift cards don’t result in portal rewards, but some 3rd party gift cards may. And Staples has a decent selection of those. If you’re buying a gift card of some sort, I always think it’s worth at least clicking through a portal even when you don’t expect it to pay out just in case you get lucky.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
It says it is not valid on third party gift cards made available through staples site. Will VGC purchases credit?
No. Greg noted in the post that we know that VGCs will not work, but some third party cards may.
Oh, oops, I missed that. Thank you!
Anyone having success in purchasing third party E GIFT cards thru Ultimate Rewards website?
Has anyone else had claw backs with buying third party gift cards lately? Had one recently with United but not sure if that’s a fluke or not.
Labs reports.failure on third party GC from.alaska portal to Staples. I’ve had AA work consistently and I see a new report for United working. Personally I’m not doing the Alaska portal gc experiment but if someone else does, please report it — much appreciated!
Do you think this promotion will last through the day? I left my Ink Cash at home today and won’t have it until after work.
Probably. I’d guess that midnight (ET?) would be the soonest that it would change. You never know, sometimes these last several days.