4x at Apple with AA + 1,000 Bonus miles promotion

Note: As per the portal terms, “newly released products may not be eligible for reward.” YMMV regarding what constitutes “newly released”.  Keep this in mind if planning a purchase of new equipment.

Today only, the American Airlines shopping portal is offering an increased payout of 4 miles per dollar at Apple.  This matches the highest mileage payout at Apple in the past 15 months:

This stacks on top of a current promotion running at the American Airlines shopping portal. Through March 17th, you can earn bonus miles based on your total cumulative spend between 3/7-3/17:

As you can see, spending $350 will yield 1,000 bonus miles.  If you were to spend exactly $350 at Apple, you would earn 2,400 miles in addition to your normal credit card earnings. Based on Frequent Miler’s Reasonable Redemption Values chart, that is worth about $33.60 — a return of about 9.6%. That is a pretty good return for Apple products.

Of course, that math depends on spending exactly $350 before tax.  You can only earn the shopping portal bonus once and it is cumulative.  The 1,000 mile bonus is available once per account.  I maximize promotions like these by making purchases separately from my wife’s account and my own.  While we primarily collect miles in one account, there are usually enough portal bonuses throughout the year to earn enough for a 1-way domestic saver ticket, so I think it is worth maintaining separate accounts for each person in the family.

Terms for Apple 4x:

Not eligible on purchases made with coupon or discount codes that are not found on this site. Not eligible on gift cards, gift certificates or any other similar cash equivalents. Rewards are issued by this site, not Apple. Apple AirPods are not eligible for reward. Newly released products may not be eligible for reward. Additional products not eligible for rewards are gift cards, gift wrap, One to One Membership, Bose products, and shipping. Apple sells and ships products to end user customers only; you may not purchase for resale. Eligible only to a customer for up to five (5) units per eligible product, except iPhone, in which case only two (2) units within a thirty-day (30-day) period are eligible.

AA Shopping Portal Spring Bonus terms:

*During the “Spring Bonus” bonus campaign, which runs from 03/07/17 through 03/17/17 at 11:59:59 pm ET (the “Bonus Period”), Member will earn a one-time bonus of up to 1,000 AAdvantage® miles on qualifying purchases, in addition to the standard AAdvantage® miles earned from shopping online through the AAdvantage eShopping^SM mall. This one-time bonus award will be determined using one of the following tiers, based on Member’s cumulative qualifying purchases made during the Bonus Period: Tier 1 bonus: 300 miles for qualifying purchases of at least $150; or Tier 2 bonus: 1,000 miles for qualifying purchases of at least $350 or more. “Qualifying purchases” do not include returns, cancellations, shipping and handling, taxes, gift card or other cash equivalent purchases, and certain products that are not eligible for bonus miles. Please see the AAdvantage eShopping^SM mall site for details on product eligibility and other restrictions. Please allow 8-10 weeks after the Bonus Period for bonus miles to post to your AAdvantage eShopping^SM account. The Tier 2 bonus provides the maximum number of miles that will be awarded. Void where prohibited by law.

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