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AAdvantage eShopping / Cartera Questions / Discussion / Vendors / Issues (archive)

Old Feb 18, 2015, 5:57 pm
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Last edit by: rrgg
AAdvantage eShoppping by Cartera Commerce
Using, earning miles, problems, etc. (Consolidated thread)


American Airlines is not the contact for Cartera / AAdvantage eShopping .

AAdvantage eShopping FAQs and an e-contact form can be found via the "Contact Us" link at the bottom left corner of the home page.

If you have trouble getting purchases to track, there's also a browser extension to help.

Cartera website: http://www.cartera.com

Cartera Commerce, Inc.
One Cranberry Hill
Lexington, Massachusetts 02421

Tel. (781) 541-6800 Fax: (781) 541-6801

For general inquiries, please contact [email protected] or 888.456.6255
MODERATOR GUIDEPOST (Please do not alter contents following)

This thread is the sole thread to address issues with AAdvantage eShopping (operated by Cartera Commerce). Other queries or complaints will invariably end up merged into this thread. All posts must comply with FlyerTalk Guidelines and Rules / TOS, or may be summarily deleted or edited by moderators.


A related article, highlighting an interview of Cartera Commerce CEO Tom Bercher, is "Secrets of Cartera Commerce Revealed: Inside the Company that Brings You Miles for Online Shopping" by Gary Leff on March 3, 2014. Link.

As described in this thread, AAdvantage Shopping now offers a downloadable button installable on your desktop (not mobile) device to facilitate e-shopping. Link.

Older posts may be read at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...or-consol.html



Notes about Giftcards.com:
  • A separate thread exists for discussing Giftcards.com and likely has more data points than this generic thread.
  • Purchases from giftcards.com earn miles on the first $2,000 spent in the named calendar month, meaning for example between March 1st and March 31st. [Note: as of Aug 2023, the $2k limit is per order, not per purchase]
  • Giftcards.com has had various limits over the years, and it was always by calendar month.
  • Some data points show the $2,000 monthly limit is not always enforced. [Note: as of Aug 2023, the $2k limit is per order, not per purchase]
  • In 2022, larger orders track more slowly, and you may need to wait a full month to see miles. Strong advice from the thread is to make multiple small purchases (say under $300) rather than large ones to avoid the dreaded "manual review"
(Copied from the LP thread wiki): Once you click through the AAdvantage eShopping portal to a vendor offer and make a purchase, you will eventually get the associated miles posted to your AAdvantage account as both redeemable miles and Loyalty Points. If the merchant advertises an increase in the miles per dollar spent, you'll earn the higher amount in both redeemable miles and an equal number of Loyalty Points. The same applies if a merchant advertises a higher fixed amount per purchase, rather than a per dollar amount. Examples of this would appear on the portal as, "Extra miles. Was 1 mile/$. Now earn 3 miles/$" or "Extra miles. Was up to 3700 miles. Now up to 6200 miles." However, if the website advertises a "Limited-time bonus offer" for "bonus miles" after meeting a spending threshold, that bonus will only post as redeemable miles and not Loyalty Points. If a bonus is offered for some site-wide activity such as 1000 miles for installing an extension, or 500 miles for enrolling in the portal, or 2000 miles for meeting a spending threshold across multiple merchants, the bonus will only post as redeemable miles and not Loyalty Points.

Some anti-virus software silently blocks tracking, and you may want to consider disabling it for your purchase.
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AAdvantage eShopping / Cartera Questions / Discussion / Vendors / Issues (archive)

Old Oct 22, 2014, 10:01 pm
  #31  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, National Exec, Hertz PC, Nexus
Posts: 403
I got my 1k as well. Transactions seem to be applying more reliably now. I've also used Cartera portals for some UA and AS transactions in the past few months and those have posted in a timely manner as well.
TropicalTripper is offline  
Old Nov 2, 2014, 10:35 am
  #32  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,546
New bonus offer. Targeted only. Spending threshold and bonus varies, the offer is personalized.

From 11/1/14 to 11/10/14 11:59 PM EST earn a one-time bonus of 500 AAdvantage miles from the AAdvantage eShopping mallSM. Spend a cumulative amount of $75 or more to earn 500 bonus miles.
From 11/1/14 to 11/10/14 11:59 PM EST earn a one-time bonus of up to 1,575 bonus miles from AAdvantage eShopping mallSM . Spend a cumulative amount of $275-$549 to earn 525 bonus miles; spend a cumulative amount of $550-$824 to earn 1,050 bonus miles; or spend a cumulative amount of $825 or more to earn 1,575 bonus miles.
_kurt is offline  
Old Nov 2, 2014, 11:13 am
  #33  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 1,938
Originally Posted by _kurt
New bonus offer. Targeted only. Spending threshold and bonus varies, the offer is personalized.
I figure we're about 3 weeks away from the deluge of winter portal bonuses that will be similar to these offers...and will be paid out with uneven results, if previous years are any indicator.
EkekoBWI is offline  
Old Dec 7, 2014, 9:36 am
  #34  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 743
Any one want to hazard a guess as to if and when we might see a Holiday promo for 2014? Been saving up my shopping waiting for one.
466SHH is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2014, 4:11 pm
  #35  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
Made a gc purchse at NM on 11/28 (12x) for $1000. Still waiting.
DaveInLA is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2014, 5:42 pm
  #36  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: FB Platinum, AA Plat/2MM, SPG Plat/LT Gold
Posts: 378
Originally Posted by 466SHH
Any one want to hazard a guess as to if and when we might see a Holiday promo for 2014? Been saving up my shopping waiting for one.
Personalized email promo today "Earn 525 miles for every $275 spent, up to 1,575 miles." However when I click through the pop up reads: "Your bonus has been activated! Earn 500 bonus miles when you spend $75."

Family members who never use the portal received emails for 500 miles for $75 spend.
miles4CDG is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2014, 9:02 pm
  #37  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
Originally Posted by DaveInLA
Made a gc purchse at NM on 11/28 (12x) for $1000. Still waiting.
It's been 2 weeks since my purchase. I usually don't have to wait so long for AA portal. NM says no payout on gift card purchases, but I didn't have a problem last year and all reports on FrequentMiler's Lab (except 1) got the miles. I'm wondering if the reason I haven't gotten the miles is because of the amount I bought ($1000). Larger purchases typically take longer, and I'm wondering if that's because they have to be manually reviewed by a person. If that's the case, perhaps he/she caught that this was a gift card purchases and didn't give me the miles. Maybe $900 would be OK? Last year I did $750 and it went through relatively quickly. If I lose out on 12,000 miles (12x), I'll be really disappointed.
DaveInLA is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2014, 11:25 pm
  #38  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
I purchased a $750 in physical gift cards from Saks when AA was 15x on 12/11 and already got the miles. Still nothing from 11–28 for NM.
DaveInLA is offline  
Old Feb 17, 2015, 8:48 am
  #39  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 78
This seems like a pretty dead topic/thread but just in case...

I only found the portal in November of last year, and as I was looking for luggage immediately joined, clicked through and bought two bags from eBags.com. About a $200 purchase, 5x miles IIRC, so pretty sweet.

Early this month (Feb) I noticed the miles had never posted, so I wrote in. I got a reply back a few days later from 'Hermes,' who said he could see that I made the purchase through the portal, but I needed to send in my order confirmation. What I had was an email from eBags, so I sent that in.

Two weeks later, nothing, so I wrote again, and heard, again from 'Hermes,' that he could see the purchase was more than 30 days ago (obviously!) and he would have to be in touch with the merchant, and I should expect the miles to post in 8-10 weeks. This completely contradicts what I'd been told earlier.

I suspect they are doing nothing, that they hope in 8-10 weeks I'll have forgotten about the whole thing. In the meantime I have made another purchase through the portal, from Lowe's, but I don't really expect to see much there.

BTW the screenname 'Hermes' is a wry joke as their service is anything but speedy.

Do people really find that the portal works reliably?
chicagoal is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2015, 5:19 pm
  #40  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, National Exec, Hertz PC, Nexus
Posts: 403
Originally Posted by chicagoal
Do people really find that the portal works reliably?
No, but it seems better than previously. I still use it sometimes and I always set Outlook reminders to check up on the miles. I'd say 1/5 of the time I have to contact Cartera to get the miles to post. I'm very persistent and I've been successful in all recent cases. I also use the Alaska Mileage Plan Cartera portal sometimes and have a similar success ratio.

I have been using Ebates and Mr. Rebates more lately. They have cash back rewards. If you figure the value of the miles and the % cash back it's often not hugely different. I've had 100% success with both of those sites and so has my wife and she uses them more than I do. The other thing I like is that even when I use coupon codes I get the cash rebates. That rarely happens when I go through Cartera. Ebates is more convenient since they will deposit rebates to PayPal. Mr. Rebates will only cut you a check once you've reached $10 in cash back. Big Crumbs is out there too, but I don't have much experience with them.
TropicalTripper is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2015, 6:33 pm
  #41  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
 
Join Date: May 2000
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Posts: 62,948
Older posts have been archived, and can be found at:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...or-consol.html


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JDiver is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2015, 10:27 pm
  #42  
Original Member
 
Join Date: May 1998
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Programs: AA- Lifetime Platinum; Marriott - Lifetime Platinum: Starwood - Gold; IHG - Platinum
Posts: 2,201
Hound them!

Originally Posted by chicagoal
This seems like a pretty dead topic/thread but just in case...

I only found the portal in November of last year, and as I was looking for luggage immediately joined, clicked through and bought two bags from eBags.com. About a $200 purchase, 5x miles IIRC, so pretty sweet.

Early this month (Feb) I noticed the miles had never posted, so I wrote in. I got a reply back a few days later from 'Hermes,' who said he could see that I made the purchase through the portal, but I needed to send in my order confirmation. What I had was an email from eBags, so I sent that in.

Two weeks later, nothing, so I wrote again, and heard, again from 'Hermes,' that he could see the purchase was more than 30 days ago (obviously!) and he would have to be in touch with the merchant, and I should expect the miles to post in 8-10 weeks. This completely contradicts what I'd been told earlier.

I suspect they are doing nothing, that they hope in 8-10 weeks I'll have forgotten about the whole thing. In the meantime I have made another purchase through the portal, from Lowe's, but I don't really expect to see much there.

BTW the screenname 'Hermes' is a wry joke as their service is anything but speedy.

Do people really find that the portal works reliably?
Sometimes with Cartera you have to hound them relentlessly! Never give up! Hold their feet to the fire!
paradocs is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2015, 10:31 pm
  #43  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: MDE
Programs: AA EP, CM PP, AV GM, UA Silver, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,002
I shop there frequently, and it is rare that I have a problem anymore. Many stores, however, exclude gift card purchases. Makes no sense to me.

"We will take your money that you may or may not spend in our store, but we aren't going to pay you miles for it. If we have to actually ship you a product, however, we'll give you the miles."

The only logic I can figure is that there are some stores which do give miles for card purchases, and while I won't name any names, spending those cards through AAdvantage Shopping earns miles once again.

As a business owner, I would see that as the customer sometimes getting the better end of the deal. That's good for customer relations, and there would still be enough who would never spend their cards to make up for it. Assuming they price their products profitably, that is.
KenInEscazu is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2015, 5:22 pm
  #44  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 78
Originally Posted by paradocs
Sometimes with Cartera you have to hound them relentlessly! Never give up! Hold their feet to the fire!
Thanks for the replies everyone.

To the barricades, comrades!

I heard from someone else at cartera yesterday, noting that:

"The merchant recently alerted us that this eBags.com order was approved. Please allow a few weeks for the posting of your reward."

So...we'll see. What's another few weeks after 2 1/2 months?

:- \
chicagoal is offline  
Old Feb 26, 2015, 8:45 am
  #45  
Moderator: Travel Buzz
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 3,090
Originally Posted by chicagoal
This seems like a pretty dead topic/thread but just in case...


I suspect they are doing nothing, that they hope in 8-10 weeks I'll have forgotten about the whole thing. In the meantime I have made another purchase through the portal, from Lowe's, but I don't really expect to see much there.


Do people really find that the portal works reliably?
It seems to either work great, or the points fall into a black hole void. There is no obvious reason for the glitches, but they are very slow to resolve any issues.

Suggestions: Escalate your Cartera claim, post a complaint on Twitter or Facebook, or file a claim with the BBB.
StartinSanDiego is offline  

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