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AAdvantage eShopping / Cartera Questions / Discussion / Vendors / Issues

Old Feb 18, 15, 5:57 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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/american-airlines-aadvantage-pre-consolidation/1656169-archive-aadvantage-e-shopping-cartera-questions-discussion-vendor-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.
  • Giftcards.com has had various limits over the years, and it was always by calendar month.
  • Some data points show the $2,000 monthly limit is not always enforced.
  • In 2022, larger orders track more slowly, and you may need to wait a full month to see miles.
(Copied from the LP thread wiki): Once you click through the AAdvantage eShopping portal to a vendor offer and make a purchase, you will eventually get the associated miles posted to your AAdvantage account as both redeemable miles and Loyalty Points. If the merchant advertises an increase in the miles per dollar spent, you'll earn the higher amount in both redeemable miles and an equal number of Loyalty Points. The same applies if a merchant advertises a higher fixed amount per purchase, rather than a per dollar amount. Examples of this would appear on the portal as, "Extra miles. Was 1 mile/$. 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.

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AAdvantage eShopping / Cartera Questions / Discussion / Vendors / Issues

Old Oct 10, 22, 4:24 pm
  #1666  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, SW A-List Preferred, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, IHG Diamond
Posts: 453
Have people managed to get Samsung miles? I placed a large order last week, and the items are being delivered tomorrow. AAShopping is showing I visited the store, but nothing is tracking. I took screenshots of every step of my order, including the final "Congratulations, you earned 6 points per dollar."
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Old Oct 10, 22, 5:19 pm
  #1667  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,059
Originally Posted by EQDsSUCK View Post
Has anyone seen a higher offer than the current 6200 miles for getting DirecTV stream for 90 days?
I haven't, but FYI it looks like you're locked into a 24 month agreement and not 90 days (with a $20 per month penalty for early cancellation).
ehallison is offline  
Old Oct 10, 22, 6:55 pm
  #1668  
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Henderson, NV, USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond; Hertz PC; AA Platinum; Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 126
Originally Posted by redtop43 View Post
Lately I've been ordering 2 at a time, targeting to do two orders about 2-3 days apart, 3x a month. Yes, that's over $2K. I haven't had any problem getting miles credited. Even though it was too soon for my regular cycle, I ordered 2 cards tonight.

Based on my personal experience, I would strenously suggest avoiding more than two transactions in every 2-3 days. You never know what will trigger a declination. (And unfortunately, BHN has no idea either, so they can't help you or give an intelligible reason.)
About how long from when the GC.com order is placed to when the miles and LPs show up in your account? Last time I did this, I vaguely remember it being just a couple of days, and mine is taking longer this time but maybe my memory is wrong.
GVR Bill is offline  
Old Oct 10, 22, 6:58 pm
  #1669  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: IND/NYC
Programs: AA EXP BA Silver SPG Gold HH GLD Hyatt GLB
Posts: 1,075
I think that I may dip my toe into giftcards and FIOS.
saltytheseagull is offline  
Old Oct 10, 22, 6:58 pm
  #1670  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: AA PP; Bonvoy SE
Posts: 264
Originally Posted by WannaTheater View Post
Have people managed to get Samsung miles? I placed a large order last week, and the items are being delivered tomorrow. AAShopping is showing I visited the store, but nothing is tracking. I took screenshots of every step of my order, including the final "Congratulations, you earned 6 points per dollar."
I got 12k from a fridge order. It took a while to track, but I don't recall if it showed in the portal. I don't believe anything hit until after delivery.
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Old Oct 10, 22, 7:05 pm
  #1671  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 9,755
Originally Posted by GVR Bill View Post
About how long from when the GC.com order is placed to when the miles and LPs show up in your account? Last time I did this, I vaguely remember it being just a couple of days, and mine is taking longer this time but maybe my memory is wrong.
2-4 days, assuming it tracks properly right away, and you have bought one card at a time (it should track on the website within a few hours).

If you bought more than one card at a time, about 3-4 weeks, and only after you appeal it.
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Last edited by nk15; Oct 10, 22 at 8:41 pm
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Old Oct 10, 22, 7:09 pm
  #1672  
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Programs: AA PlatPro, UA Silver, BA Gold, VS Gold, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,538
Originally Posted by saltytheseagull View Post
I think that I may dip my toe into giftcards and FIOS.
The FIOS offer didn't seem particularly good, unless you actually need to sign up for an ISP?
coleslaw is offline  
Old Oct 10, 22, 8:36 pm
  #1673  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: IND/NYC
Programs: AA EXP BA Silver SPG Gold HH GLD Hyatt GLB
Posts: 1,075
Originally Posted by coleslaw View Post
The FIOS offer didn't seem particularly good, unless you actually need to sign up for an ISP?
I do. How does the current offer compare in the big scheme of things?
saltytheseagull is offline  
Old Oct 11, 22, 3:13 pm
  #1674  
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: District of Columbia
Programs: AA ExecPl, AT Gold, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, National
Posts: 2,305
Has anyone else had trouble with giftcards.com not posting in the past few days since they reverted to 3x/$?

I've had many many orders over the past 6 months and placed two single $250 orders a few days ago, using the same browser and settings as always, and neither order has even shown up on the tracking page (though the store visits are there.) An order for $20 from the day before it went to 3x is showing and credited as normal.
chrisny2 is online now  
Old Oct 11, 22, 3:25 pm
  #1675  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: 32 16N/110 57W
Programs: Asiana Club Diamond (*G), AA PPro (OWE), Korean Air Skypass MC (STE)
Posts: 134
Originally Posted by chrisny2 View Post
Has anyone else had trouble with giftcards.com not posting in the past few days since they reverted to 3x/$?

I've had many many orders over the past 6 months and placed two single $250 orders a few days ago, using the same browser and settings as always, and neither order has even shown up on the tracking page (though the store visits are there.) An order for $20 from the day before it went to 3x is showing and credited as normal.
Been buying single $250 cards and all posting 2-3 days after as usual
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LittleBird is offline  
Old Oct 11, 22, 3:25 pm
  #1676  
 
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: TX
Programs: Alaska, AA, Marriott
Posts: 938
Originally Posted by nk15 View Post
If you bought more than one card at a time, about 3-4 weeks, and only after you appeal it.
This, exactly. Lesson learned. I'm on my first reply to their "we looked at this and the merchant says it's not eligible" email. Included the screenshot of the final transaction w/eshopping banner congratulating me.

It's actually comforting to hear that appealing is what takes this going through.
thatmikereed is offline  
Old Oct 11, 22, 4:29 pm
  #1677  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,838
Originally Posted by 355F1 View Post
After multiple transactions/visits NOT showing I took your earlier advice and simply switched to a dedicated browser (Safari), which I don't use for internet purposes on my Macbook, and I have had no problems with transactions posting properly since.

I only use Safari for AA shopping on my Mac and there hasn't been any hiccups!
I recommend using a browser other than Safari as the dedicated AAdvantage s-shopping browser, because Safari has fairly high built-in privacy measures that by default block trackers (and the e-shopping site specifically warns about this), but if it's working for you, that's what counts, so congratulations, and thanks for the info.
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anabolism is offline  
Old Oct 11, 22, 5:26 pm
  #1678  
 
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: TX
Programs: Alaska, AA, Marriott
Posts: 938
Originally Posted by anabolism View Post
I recommend using a browser other than Safari as the dedicated AAdvantage s-shopping browser, because Safari has fairly high built-in privacy measures that by default block trackers (and the e-shopping site specifically warns about this), but if it's working for you, that's what counts, so congratulations, and thanks for the info.
You haven't read the best practice recommendations here, which include turning that off in Safari.
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Old Oct 12, 22, 9:13 am
  #1679  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,769
Originally Posted by thatmikereed View Post
This, exactly. Lesson learned. I'm on my first reply to their "we looked at this and the merchant says it's not eligible" email. Included the screenshot of the final transaction w/eshopping banner congratulating me.

It's actually comforting to hear that appealing is what takes this going through.
I'm running into this as well, although I'm not as confident that the appeal is actually going to work.

Out of curiosity, did your order track > $2k initially, and did you stack with any other offers (like the 1.5% Citi merchant offer)?
linglingfool is offline  
Old Oct 12, 22, 9:21 am
  #1680  
 
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: TX
Programs: Alaska, AA, Marriott
Posts: 938
Originally Posted by linglingfool View Post
I'm running into this as well, although I'm not as confident that the appeal is actually going to work.

Out of curiosity, did your order track > $2k initially, and did you stack with any other offers (like the 1.5% Citi merchant offer)?
No stacking, ordered directly from the 5% discount promo listed on the eShopping page. Order after discount, but with any relevant taxes was under $2000.

I've dealt with Cartera in the past - it's often just a lot of back and forth until they finally post things... then they post them wrong and you have to get the posting corrected.
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