Feb 18, 2015, 5:57 pm
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.
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:
Some anti-virus software silently blocks tracking, and you may want to consider disabling it for your purchase.
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
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.
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"
Some anti-virus software silently blocks tracking, and you may want to consider disabling it for your purchase.
AAdvantage eShopping / Cartera Questions / Discussion / Vendors / Issues (archive)
May 10, 2022, 1:47 pm
#766
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: ATL
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 113
I'm having trouble getting the My Prepaid Center app to work with Google Pay. I click the save to wallet button from GC.com, MPC app opens, then I get an error message saying there was a problem retrieving my card information.
May 10, 2022, 1:50 pm
#767
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Did you register the card on the website first? There's a website address at the bottom of the fine print on the page where you retrieve your card (MyGift.GiftCardMall.com)
May 10, 2022, 1:55 pm
#768
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: ATL
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 113
Bingo! Thank you! My Costco trip later today is saved! 
Also, super new to all of this...looking forward to racking up my LP to make my every other week business trips that much more comfortable!
Also, super new to all of this...looking forward to racking up my LP to make my every other week business trips that much more comfortable!
May 10, 2022, 2:09 pm
#769
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: DCA
Programs: AA platinum
Posts: 17
I think it might help to have a no-fee Visa Giftcard walkthrough. Credit to this thread, none of this is my original info.
Convert $250 spend into 750 LP plus credit card earn while being able to buy anything you want:
(B) How to Spend GC in person via Google Pay on an Android
(C) How to Spend GC on an online purchase other than Amazon
NOTES
If all goes well, you will receive an email "Your order has been tracked through AAdvantage eShopping" within 24 hours or so. This means the loyalty points are "pending." It takes a while longer to go from "pending" to "confirmed."
The terms say "Orders over $2,000.00 max per month per customer are not eligible" for the loyalty point bonus at giftcards.com. So, for greatest chance of success, buy a single $250 card per day, eight total per month. Those who live life on the edge can do multiple one-card purchases in a day, but you risk irritating The Algorithm that will assume you're laundering drug money, not loyalty points.
Again, all of this info is stolen from this thread, esp. VegasGambler. I just wrote it down so I could optimize into a 5-6 minute operation.
Convert $250 spend into 750 LP plus credit card earn while being able to buy anything you want:
- Disable your ad blockers entirely. (E.g., use a different web browser that doesn't have any ad blocker installed. For router-level ad blockers, use your phone as a hotspot to a laptop/desktop or use your phone wifi disabled but you need to spoof the browser user agent with a desktop ID)
- Go to AA shopping portal, aadvantageeshopping.com
- Click through to giftcards.com (make it one of your favorites so it's easy to find)
- Click on BRANDS at the top menu and be sure to log in to a giftcards.com account to receive 1% discount on your next GC ($250 card for ~$247.11).
- Search for Visa. It's not "Virtual Visa account". It just says "Visa" (control-F or command-F should do the trick in most browsers)
- Purchase a $250 card. Use your AA card for extra LP, click the silly disclosures, verify that you understand cartoons.
- Go to your email, open the "XXX sent you an eGift from GiftCards.com" email and click on "Claim Visa eGiftcard"
- Copy the gift card Visa number, expiration date and CCV.
- At this point, decide if you want to (A) spend money with real live humans with google pay, (B) have junk delivered by Amazon, or (C) buy from another online source.
- Go to Amazon.com and type "Reload" in the search box. Click on Gift Card Reload
- Click on the "Reload Your Balance" button
- Enter $250 as a custom amount and click BUY NOW.
- Change your payment method. Paste in the GC number from step 8. This card does not need to be registered.
- You'll have $250 to spend on Amazon ready within about 5 minutes. The reload amount is cumulative, which means it's very convenient. E.g., two $250 cards become $500. Amazon also offers occasional bonuses for using Reload (I've received $8 and $10 extra).
(B) How to Spend GC in person via Google Pay on an Android
- Go to MyGift.GiftCardMall.com, click on "Register Card", enter the number, click on Register Card
- Once you get confirmation, go back to your phone and open the page from step 8
- Click on "Add to Wallet"
- Install the "My Prepaid Center" app if it's not installed
- It will ask if you want to add the card to GPay (install if needed).
- Now you can swipe through and use as many registered cards as you like on your phone and pay anywhere that accepts NFC payment. These appear as individual cards within Google Pay -- the total dollar amount is not cumulative.
(C) How to Spend GC on an online purchase other than Amazon
- Just enter the card number from step 8. No registration needed.
NOTES
If all goes well, you will receive an email "Your order has been tracked through AAdvantage eShopping" within 24 hours or so. This means the loyalty points are "pending." It takes a while longer to go from "pending" to "confirmed."
The terms say "Orders over $2,000.00 max per month per customer are not eligible" for the loyalty point bonus at giftcards.com. So, for greatest chance of success, buy a single $250 card per day, eight total per month. Those who live life on the edge can do multiple one-card purchases in a day, but you risk irritating The Algorithm that will assume you're laundering drug money, not loyalty points.
Again, all of this info is stolen from this thread, esp. VegasGambler. I just wrote it down so I could optimize into a 5-6 minute operation.
Last edited by Imarmed; May 23, 2022 at 4:11 pm
May 10, 2022, 2:18 pm
#770
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Thanks for this. Don't forget that they can be used anywhere you pay online or by phone, not just Amazon, and they don't need to be registered for that. I've never had one declined.
May 10, 2022, 3:08 pm
#771
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Reconciling eShopping purchases and AA miles/LPs
I'm trying to reconcile my eShopping purchases with AA miles/LPs. The eShopping site lists each tracked transaction, with the merchant, purchase date, awarded date, order number, eligible purchase amount, and miles awarded. The AA site lists a bunch of small tiles, title "ESHOPPING ON-LINE PURCHASE MILES" with a date and a number of miles and LPs. I have an entry for May 7 that says 1,800 miles and LPs were awarded. It's the only entry with a May 7 date. The eShopping site shows four transactions with a post date of May 7, with awarded miles of 600, 600, 450, and 250. That's 1,900. I have two entries for May 6, one for 250 miles and LPs, the other for 900. The eShopping site has one transaction with a post date of May 6, for 450 miles.
So, did one of the eShopping May 7 post date entries post for 100 miles fewer than what I should have earned? Or is the the date that AA shows different from the "post date" that eShopping shows?
So, did one of the eShopping May 7 post date entries post for 100 miles fewer than what I should have earned? Or is the the date that AA shows different from the "post date" that eShopping shows?
May 10, 2022, 3:10 pm
#772
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
I'm trying to reconcile my eShopping purchases with AA miles/LPs. The eShopping site lists each tracked transaction, with the merchant, purchase date, awarded date, order number, eligible purchase amount, and miles awarded. The AA site lists a bunch of small tiles, title "ESHOPPING ON-LINE PURCHASE MILES" with a date and a number of miles and LPs. I have an entry for May 7 that says 1,800 miles and LPs were awarded. It's the only entry with a May 7 date. The eShopping site shows four transactions with a post date of May 7, with awarded miles of 600, 600, 450, and 250. That's 1,900. I have two entries for May 6, one for 250 miles and LPs, the other for 900. The eShopping site has one transaction with a post date of May 6, for 450 miles.
So, did one of the eShopping May 7 post date entries post for 100 miles fewer than what I should have earned? Or is the the date that AA shows different from the "post date" that eShopping shows?
So, did one of the eShopping May 7 post date entries post for 100 miles fewer than what I should have earned? Or is the the date that AA shows different from the "post date" that eShopping shows?
That's how everything on AA works. Flights are backdated to the day you flew. Hyatt dual accrual are backdated to the date you checked out. RM/bAAh are backdated to the day you made the reservation. The date they post to AA is irrelevant.
May 10, 2022, 3:35 pm
#773
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Has the purchase fee for physical cards gone up to $5.99?
May 10, 2022, 4:09 pm
#774
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Denver
Programs: Hilton gold
Posts: 450
Oh, they will. Just go to the "Shutdowns" thread on the Manufactured Spending forum.
No one knows what the tolerance is. It is probably not at the level of $2K a month, particularly if the card is also used for other spend. My shutdowns have all been after hundreds of thousands of dollars of GC purchases. But yes, it can happen. Why? Ask me again after I become a senior vice-president for risk managment of a bank.
No one knows what the tolerance is. It is probably not at the level of $2K a month, particularly if the card is also used for other spend. My shutdowns have all been after hundreds of thousands of dollars of GC purchases. But yes, it can happen. Why? Ask me again after I become a senior vice-president for risk managment of a bank.
May 10, 2022, 4:15 pm
#775
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
May 10, 2022, 5:26 pm
#776
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 30
Tried to buy $250 visas from Giftcards.com twice today. Both times order immediately cancelled.
May 10, 2022, 6:11 pm
#777
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,366
A small warning to anyone reading your post not to intentionally or flagrantly take advantage of the lack of LP clawback. Years ago eShopping would fail to debit the miles for returns. A few people maximized that loophole by buying and then returning hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. I think when it was finally caught, some accounts got shut down.
May 10, 2022, 6:54 pm
#778
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Try buying a $25 one tomorrow. In the "Contact Information" following the credit card, be sure to use the exact mailing address of the credit card you used, and try using a cell phone number in the phone number field. Wait until tomorrow to place the order, and don't be greedy, just $25. If that goes through, wait another day, then buy $100. If that works, wait six hours, then buy $150.
May 10, 2022, 8:35 pm
#779
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
One would think that the process would be repeatable and predictable, even if on occasion a glitch causes an order to not be tracked or not to post, but instead, on occasion orders post for more.
May 10, 2022, 10:17 pm
#780
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,508
If I book a 5-night hotel through the AA shopping portal (ihg directly) but it only requires a one-night deposit, when do I get the LPs for the total? After the stay?