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Airline shopping portals are a great way to double-dip on travel rewards for purchases you’d be making anyway, and they can be especially lucrative when they offer elevated earning rates through limited-time promotions. Starting today, one such promo is offering customers a generous bonus on purchases made through Gilt City.
Just as it did last summer, deals site Gilt City is partnering with Alaska, Delta and United’s portals to offer up to 30 miles per dollar. Unlike last year’s promotion, the earning rate isn’t the same for each portal — and the promo will be staggered throughout the month.
For those unfamiliar with the site, Gilt City offers discounts on a variety of experiences (from classes to restaurants) and purchases (from wine to skincare). You can view offers by your city (Gilt covers 13 major metropolitan areas) or browse national deals available to those who live elsewhere. Discounts usually start at about 25% off, though they sometimes go higher than 50%, so you can find some solid deals.
Here are the dates and earning rates for each airline:
As you can see, the everyday earning rates for Gilt City purchases through these portals are pretty underwhelming, but the opportunity to boost your earnings as high as 30 miles per dollar (through United MileagePlus Shopping) can get you very nice return. TPG values United miles at 1.5 cents apiece, so if you clicked through the airline’s portal before making a Gilt City purchase on August 23 or 24, you’d get a very healthy return of 45%.
Here’s a look at the miles and overall return you could earn by spending $100 through the site during the eligible promotion dates for each portal:
| Airline | Earning Rate | Eligible Dates | Total Miles | Value | Return |
| Alaska | 18 miles per dollar | 8/17-8/18, 8/22 | 1,800 | $32.4 | 32.4% |
| Delta | 20 miles per dollar | 8/23 | 2,000 | $24 | 24% |
| United | 20 miles per dollar | 8/16-8/17 | 2,000 | $30 | 30% |
| United | 30 miles per dollar | 8/23-8/24 | 3,000 | $45 | 45% |
Many Gilt City deals cost more than $100, so you can easily rake in more miles than the examples listed above. United’s portal offers the best return due to the high 30x earning rate, so if you’re looking to book a United or Star Alliance award, this bonus could help you move closer to desired redemptions. While Delta offers a higher earning rate than Alaska for this promotion, it still offers a lower return since TPG values SkyMiles at just 1.2 cents apiece compared to 1.8 for Alaska miles. Still, if most of your travel rewards are banked with Delta, it could make sense to go through the airline’s portal to boost your balance.
Here are some of the deals you can score during the time period of this promotion, along with the number of miles you’d get for each:
National
New York
Los Angeles
It’s also worth signing up for the Gilt Insider program. You’ll earn 500 points after joining, and subsequently you’ll earn 5 points per dollar on purchases through Gilt, Gilt City or the Gilt app. You can redeem points for discounts off your purchases, for brand gift cards or for other items through the rewards shop.
Bottom Line
If you’re interested in any of the deals available through Gilt City, this promotion is a great opportunity to earn some bonus miles for your purchase. Just make sure to check the eligible dates for the airline portal of your choice — and if you’re planning to go through United, it could be worth holding out till August 23 to nab the 30x bonus.
Source: thepointsguy.com