I'm a fan of Bose, especially for their noise canceling technology, and their latest headset, the QuietComfort 25, has been receiving rave reviews. As a frequent flyer, these headsets are a necessity, to drown out noise not only in planes but also at airports and other public spaces.
I found the over-the-ear design to be very comfortable and the active noise cancellation was superb, so I was in the market for a pair and have been waiting for the "right moment" to pull the trigger. Others prefer the QC20s, which are in-ear buds with active noise cancellation and a much smaller form factor.
Both the QC20 and QC25 retails for $299, and Bose is known for fixing its prices no matter who the retailer is, so rarely will you find a discount directly off that price. The best you can hope for is some sort of secondary or indirect incentive from the retailer of your choice, such as free add-ons.
I happen to fly American Airlines (AA) a lot, especially to access an Asian gateway airport to connect to Vietnam Airlines, and AAdvantage miles are some of the more valuable airline currency out there.
Therefore, I tend to look for ways to maximize AA miles for purchases. The AAdvantage eShopping portal is one place to check, as it has a large network of online retailers, many of whom offer in-store pickup and/or free shipping.
As it happens, Bose itself is listed in the portal, offering 3 miles per dollar spent, which would be about 900 miles earned from purchasing a set of QC25s.
The best bonus I've seen anywhere for purchasing Bose headsets was 1,500 miles for the previous generation QC15 if purchased through a special link.
Fortunately, several other retailers sell the QC25, and I believe I just found the most lucrative offer currently available... Nordstrom has a special offer of 9 miles/$ spent until February 26 (it's normally 4 miles/$), meaning you can earn over 2,700 miles, since the total purchase price including taxes is used to calculate bonus miles.Nordstrom also offers free shipping, free returns, and has its own rewards program for using select Nordstrom cards (don't worry, no referral links here). As an example, my QC25 purchase along with couple of other items was enough to earn me a $20 Nordstrom credit I can use on a future purchase.
Of course, if you like Nordstrom anyway, this may be the perfect time for you to start earning miles on things you were already going to buy.
Those who want to take points earning up a notch can use a rewards card that offers 5x points for buying gift cards, including for Nordstrom, from office supply stores. Do a Google search and you'll see what I mean.
Make sure you allow the AAdvantage eShopping website to save cookies to your browser, and don't close the window out. Otherwise, the can't properly track your purchase and credit your bonus miles.
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