Shopping Portals: Frustrating Experience Getting Miles for my iPhone Purchase

In February, I purchased an iPhone 12.

Most of the shopping apps exclude bonus miles for new models of the iPhone, Air Pods, Apple Watch, etc. However, on a one day basis, two or three days per year, some of the shopping portals give bonus miles on these items (see, Today Only: Up to 4 Bonus Miles Per $1 on Apple Store Purchases)

February 1 was such a date. So, I went through the AAdvantage eShopping website in order to earn 4 miles per dollar for my iPhone purchase. However, I never received the bonus miles for the purchase. In March, I filled out forms and opened an inquiry. The process was slow as molasses. The AAdvantage Customer Care agents wrote me and said it was up to the merchant to verify the purchase. And then every two weeks or so, I received an apologetic letter from Customer Care saying they were still waiting on Apple.

Finally, last week, after countless emails, and almost 5 months after my purchase, I received an email from Customer Care saying my transaction was ineligible because I had supposedly modified my order.

Please be informed that Apple has concluded the research on the transaction and has notified us that the purchase is not eligible for rewards since it was cancelled or returned.

Please know that returns, adjustments, exchanges, and cancelled items are not eligible to earn rewards through our mall.

Please keep in mind that any adjustment – voluntary or non-voluntary made to an online order through a non-online channel can deem your order ineligible for rewards. It could also cause a reversal of a previously credited reward.

Regardless of why there were modifications made to your order, when the modification is not done online while being logged in to your AAdvantage eShopping account, rewards can be reversed or denied. . . . As always, we recommend that you review the merchant terms carefully every time you shop through our site.

UCH. I hadn’t modified or adjusted anything. This was ridiculous. I responded. My frustration was evident –

This is wrong – I bought the iPhone and never returned it. I specifically bought it on a day that you had a bonus for apple purchases – and relied on that.  This is unfair and there is something wrong that you can’t honor my genuine purchase.

And then, after all that I received a response that AAdvantage would honor my claim and award me the bonus miles even if Apple had deemed my purchase ineligible.

Although your order deemed ineligible by Apple, I understand that you had the good intention of shopping through our mall. Therefore, I reported the issue to my manager and we decided this time to honor the offer of 4 miles per dollar spent that was listed in our mall on the date of your order.

Please know that the expected 3444 miles were added to your account- Apple order #XXX. Please allow up to 3-5 business days for the miles to post to your shopping account.

While I was happy to ultimately receive the bonus miles that I was entitled to receive, the process was lengthy and exhausting. How many people would have just thrown the towel in and given up? I must say, infuriating situations like this are not uncommon. Just recently, the Discovery Card refused to give me a $45 statement credit for my purchase of a Sam’s Club membership. They refused to even investigate the matter. So, while chasing points and deals is admirable, sometimes I wonder if it is all worth the bother.

One thing I know is that you have to stay on top of these inquiries, take lots of notes and persevere but stay level-headed at the same time. Have you had similar experiences?

Note: today is one of those days when you can receive extra portal points or miles for qualifying Apple product purchases on many shopping portal websites. So, if you’re in the market for a new Apple product, today might be a good day for making a purchase. Just remember to dot all your i’s and cross all of your t’s.