United Introduces Chrome Extension to Earn Bonus Miles on Shopping
United is making it easier to know when you can earn bonus miles through its MileagePlus shopping portal. The carrier has introduced a new MileagePlus Shopping Button extension for Google Chrome, which allows you to activate earning miles when doing your online shopping.
Here's how it works. Once the extension has been installed, a notification will appear on screen when you visit an eligible MileagePlus Shopping website and there are miles to be earned from a purchase. Once you see it appear in the corner of the window, click the activate button to automatically enable the bonus mileage earning for your purchase. There, you'll also be able to see your mileage earning on all recent purchases.
In addition to the extension's ability to know when you're on a site that's eligible to earn you bonus miles, it will also let you compare bonus mileage earn rates when using a search engine. For example, if you Google "cookware sets," the results with retailers will automatically populate with the bonus mileage earning at that particular merchant. For example, it would tell you if Target, Macy's and Walmart are all offering 5 miles per dollar.
Alaska Airlines introduced the same Mileage Plan Shopping Button Chrome extension in February. If you're a frequent online shopper and interested in earning United or Alaska miles, these Chrome extensions could be worthwhile to install in order to maximize your purchases.
Online shopping portals are an easy way to earn extra miles for shopping. By logging in and just clicking through an airline or bank's shopping portal, you can earn anywhere from one, two or even dozens of extra miles per dollar spent. This is on top of the points you earn from your credit card.
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| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
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