First try at aadvantage shopping

I used aadvantage shopping for the first time today. After I clicked through the link from aadvantageeshopping.com, there was no indication that the store I was in 'knew' I had come from AA. Same was true on order confirmation page. Is this normal and I should just be patient and wait 4 - 6 weeks for my points, or did I screw up?

POH

Welcome to a wonderful way to gather AA miles.

If AAdvantage eShopping does not ask for your AAdvantage number before sending you on to the merchant, then that merchant has a direct relationship with AA and manages their own mileage program. In that case, you should see something on the merchant site that let's you know that you came from AA. At the very least, they will have some way to enter your AAdvantage info during checkout.

If you are asked for your AAdvantage number before leaving the AAdvantage eShopping website, then they have only an affiliate relationship with AA and you will not see any indication on the website that you came from AA. In this case, your visit is tracked by using cookies and the merchant will not ask for your AAdvantage info.

Hope this helps...
Jhereg

That helps a lot, Jhereg. Thanks. I was asked for my aa number before leaving the aa site. I guess I would like to have seen some kind of confirmation on checkout acknowledging that I came from AA.

Does it really take 4 - 6 weeks for miles to post to AA?

POH

Yeah, 4-6 weeks is about average posting time for the base miles. Bonus miles may be posted at a later date depending on the terms and conditions of the promotion.

Jhereg

I recently made a purchase thru AAeShopping with Eddie Bauer, and did not get the (840) miles I expected. After a frustrating canned response, AAeShopping concluded that in my research before the purchase I visited a site that deposited a cookie which established a prior claim on any rewards from Eddie Bauer. Though I went to Eddie Bauer through AAeShopping, and logged in with my AAdvantage number etc, and committed no other "sins" (like leaving and returning halfway through the transaction, etc.) the credit/commission for the sale went to the site that deposited the cookie (without my knowing it).

AAeShopping's solution for the future was that before doing any shopping, one should clear all browser histories, cookies, cached pages etc. just before entering their "store".

Oh... that's E-X-A-C-T-L-Y the type of thing I am concerned about. I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

*****

The above post happened two and a half years ago and nobody is carping about this since. There's searching and there's looking for trouble.

Don't worry about it. AA's eshopping works quite well and problems are rare. If there IS a problem, send them a copy of your receipt and explain that you went through their site and they'll probably fix it.

Yes, it is very important to clear all caches, browser history, etc., before going into eShopping.

Basically, the point of eShopping is to prevent people from shopping around because they worry about not getting the mileage credit. That gives the merchants a competitive edge, and offers them a reason for participating in the program.

So, what you should do is shop around for what you want, and once you are sure of the exact item(s), go out of the site, delete cookies and cache, then use eShopping to get back to the site, and then add the items to your cart and buy directly, without clicking on any external links or using forward or back buttons on your browser.

As stated previously, it will take 4-6 weeks minimum for the miles to appear. If you wish, you can arrange to receive an email informing you that the miles have posted.

AAdvantage eShopping works pretty well IME, and you have received (even before you requested it,) some pretty good advice from truly experienced and veteran eShoppers. Start your eShopping from the AA site you have logged in to, and if you have been visiting around (particularly any referral kind of page) be sure to clear your browser cache / cookies. (You can clear 'em all, or you can hunt them down if you can figure out which cookie they planted on your hard drive.)

As ricktoronto says, if it had been a major problem, we'd have many of these threads telling us so.

My experience, in the summer of 07, was smooth.

Logged into site, made purchase and a little over six weeks later got miles.
This was my second purchase, in this case from tigerdirect, and even though I bought drastically reduced items, the credit did come through.

one technique that works well for me: i use firefox as my primary browser (has all my bookmarks and is where i make all reservations/purchases/etc.) and explorer when i want to remain anonymous; after every session i use ccleaner (available free at cnet's download.com) to clear cookies, browsing history, etc.

ymmv. good luck!