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Shopping through online portals can be a great way to boost a loyalty account balance, save some cash, or to prevent a loyalty balance from expiring. Right now a number of shopping portals are offering improved earnings rates for purchases made with Apple so this may be a good time to buy any Apple products you have been considering.
I generally use the evreward.com site to check which sites are offering the best earnings rate at whatever store(s) I’m planning to shop at and this is what’s on offer right now:
Importantly, however, the 6 miles/dollar rate appears to be reserved for purchases of iPhones. iPad and Apple watch purchases are only boosted to 4 miles/dollar while Mac purchases will only earn 3 miles/dollar.
For the purposes of comparison, Rakuten is currently offering up to 2.0% cash back (6.2% on refurbished items) and TopCashBack.com (which evrewards doesn’t cover) is offering up to 4.2% cash back on a very limited number of items (6.2% on refurbished items).
The more important terms
The key thing to be aware of is the fact that not all Apple purchases will trigger enhanced earnings.
Per the terms and conditions (which you’ll find on the individual airline portals) the following items will not earn up to 6 miles/dollar (per the Alaska Mileage Plan store):
- Mac mini
- Apple Pro Display XDR
- Gift cards
- Gift wrap
- Apple Developer Programs
- AppleCare+ monthly subscription
- Shipping, handling & taxes
There are a few other restrictions you should know about too:
- You may not purchase products for resale
- Customers will only earn miles on up to five units per eligible product, except iPhone, in which case only two units within a thirty-day period are eligible.
- Using a coupon or discount code not found on the portal will invalidate the mileage earning
- Orders placed on the Government or Veterans and Military Stores are not eligible for rewards.
- Purchases made with coupons or discount codes not found on the shopping portal and purchases made using gift cards, gift certificates, or other cash equivalents are not eligible for the promotion.
Which credit card to use
By shopping through an online portal you’ll earn the miles that the portal is offering and you can earn more miles, points, or cash back by using a good credit card.
If you’re looking to earn a good rate of cash back, the Citi® Double Cash card is a good option as it earns 2% cash back on all purchases with no cap on the cash back you can earn (1% cash back when you buy and 1% when you pay for those purchases)
If you happen to hold one of the Citi ThankYou credit cards you can convert cash back earned from the Citi® Double Cash card (review) into ThankYou points at a ratio of 1:1.
If you’re looking to earn points, the best credit card to use will be the fantastic no-annual-fee Blue Business Plus® Credit Card from American Express (review) which earns 2 Membership Rewards Points/dollar on eligible spending (everywhere) up to an annual spending limit of $50,000 (1 point/dollar thereafter – terms apply).
Bottom line
These Apple points deals have almost never lasted for more than a day and that remains the case with all the portals tht I’ve checked confirming that the deal will be over when today ends so if you’ve been planning to make an Apple purchase (especially an iPhone purchase), now may be a good time to buy.
Note: Amazon often offers good deals on Apple products so make sure you’re not missing out on good savings by shopping with Apple directly via the portals (check Amazon here).
