Groupon has shared the details a new program allowing you to earn airline miles and hotel points when shopping through its website. This may sound similar to shopping portals that offer miles and points when shopping with certain retailers, but what separates this is that the functionality is directly built into Groupon's website and is powered by Points.com. This announcement comes on the heels of Groupon+, the company's program that doles out extra cash back for dining out.
The participating programs include Alaska Mileage Plan, American Airlines AAdvantage, Choice Privileges Rewards, IHG Rewards Club, JetBlue's True Blue, La Quinta Returns and United MileagePlus.
Earnings breakdown like this:
- Earn 5 airline miles or 10 hotel points per $1 spent on Groupon Local purchases
- Earn 4 airline miles or 8 hotel points per $1 spent on Groupon Getaways purchases
- Earn 3 airline miles or 6 hotel points per $1 spent on Groupon Goods purchases
To enroll click here, select your preferred rewards program and enter your membership number. You'll get a promo code to use during checkout. Once you make a purchase, you'll receive bonus miles. New Groupon customers can earn 1,000 airline miles or 2,000 hotel points on their first purchase of $30 or more, in addition to the normal bonus points.
Unfortunately, this will likely not stack with other cash back or Mileage earning portals, although it may be worth clicking through a portal to see if it does. You also can't use other coupon codes on Groupon with this offer. It's stated right in the terms and conditions:
"Cannot be stacked or combined with any other offers, sales, or promotions, including but not limited to any third party cash back and/or loyalty programs."
You may be better off using just a regular coupon, but if you're really focusing on earning airline miles, this is a great way to do it. Keep in mind you'll still receive points from the credit card purchase itself. For example, if you spent $100 on a Groupon Local purchase and wanted to get bonus Alaska miles, you'd get 500 miles for the bonus plus 100 miles if you used the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card. A total of 600 miles worth about $10.80 according to TPG's latest valuations, or an 10.8% return.
H/T: Frequent Miler
