One of my favorite ways to earn extra airline miles is to utilize apps and shopping portals for goods and services you are already planning to buy. What if I told you there was a way to earn miles from four different sources by making a single purchase? That is what I am going to share with you today. This is especially timely as back-to-school season is gearing up and those extra expenses will add up over the coming weeks. This will be a nice way to earn some additional miles towards your next flight.
The easiest way to walk through this process is to review each of the four components separately. The advantage of this is you do not have to quadruple dip if the credit cards and steps do not fit your current plan. You can choose to double dip, triple dip, or simply just see the potential methods for earning extra miles.
Before I go any further let’s review what the MileagePlus X app is and the benefits of it. The MileagePlus X app is a United Airlines rewards app that allows users to earn extra miles on shopping, dining, hotels and eGift card purchases. This can be a great way to earn United miles on purchases you are already planning to make. The focus for the quadruple dip will be on eGift card purchases.
Dip 1: Purchase an eGift card in the MileagePlus X app
The eGift card options in the MileagePlus X app are extensive and cover categories such as dining, entertainment and sports tickets, electronics and apparel. Anytime I have an online purchase I always check the eGift card section of this app to see what earning rates are for my specific purchase.
Sticking with the back-to-school theme, let’s say I need to buy a new pair of Nike’s for little Lance who outgrew his current pair over the summer. Currently the earn rate for a Nike eGift card purchase is 5 miles per $1 spent. For the sake of using round numbers I’ll say the shoes cost $100 so I purchase an eGift card for that amount.
Miles earned for Dip 1: 500 United Miles.
Dip 2: Miles and points earned from my credit card
The second dip is one we are all familiar with – swiping the plastic. Purchasing an eGift card with a credit card that earns miles is the easy dip in this process. Since this is a non-category spend purchase I recommend using a high earning non-category spend card. I’ll be using my Citi Double Cash card which earns 2x ThankYou Points on all purchases. I can then transfer my ThankYou Points to travel partners since I have a Citi Strata Premier.
Miles earned for Dip 2: 200 Citi ThankYou Points
Dip 3: Earn 25% bonus on MileagePlus X eGift cards with a United Airlines credit card
This step sometimes gets criticized as not being a “real dip” but I think it counts. This isn’t required, however it is nice to have if you do have a United Airlines credit card.
I have the United Airlines Explorer card through Chase. The card has a $95 annual fee, sometimes waived the first year. Some of the benefits of the card are:
Earn 2x miles on United Airlines purchases, dining, and hotels
First bag checked for free
Priority boarding
2 United Club lounge passes each year
It will be up to you to determine if this card makes sense for your wallet. Do not get this card just for the 25% bonus in the app. If you do have a United Airlines credit card you should take the time to add it though to make sure you are utilizing this dip.
One advantage of this perk is it is not required to pay for the eGift card with the United Airlines credit card. It only needs to be entered into the MileagePlus X app to earn the 25% bonus. This means you can pay for the eGift card with the credit card that makes the most sense at the time of purchase.
Miles earned from Dip 3: 100 United Miles. 500 from eGift card purchase X 25%.
Dip 4: Purchasing Nike shoes through a shopping portal
The fourth and final dip is spending your eGift card purchase by clicking through a shopping portal. I always use the shopping portal that has the highest earn rate at the time of my purchase. Today I can get 15x on Nike purchases through the Rakuten portal versus 4x through the United Airlines shopping portal in the MileagePlus X app.
Obviously I’ll be clicking through the Rakuten portal to purchase Lance’s shoes with my eGift card to earn 15x per one dollar spent. One perk of Rakuten is that you can earn American Express Membership Rewards points instead of cash back. When redeemed correctly American Express Membership Rewards can be redeemed for 2 cents per point or more. This is a great way to pad your American Express points balance.
Miles earned on Dip 4: 1,500 Membership Rewards points.
Final Thoughts
This quadruple dips is one simple method to rack up extra points and miles for a planned purchase. To recap all points and miles earned from purchasing shoes from Nike:
500 United Miles
200 Citi ThankYou Points
100 United Miles
1,500 Membership Rewards Points
This is a total of 2,300 points for one purchase! Depending on how you value these rewards 2,300 points could be worth $23-$46, or potentially even more.
The great aspect about this dip is you do not have to do all four dips. Do whatever makes sense for you and fits in with your wallet. I choose to earn the most rewards possible even if I’m earning points in various programs. If you are focused on earning United Airlines miles I recommend using a United Airlines credit card and clicking through the United Airlines shopping portal instead of Rakuten.
As you gain an eye for these types of multi-dip opportunities you will start to get the hang of what makes sense for your goals and fits into your budget.