5,000 Bonus AA Miles After First Stay Through Rocketmiles

Last week, I wrote about Rocketmiles' hotel booking site, and how they were enticing frequent flyers with a standard 1,000-mile bonus, with 3,000 bonus miles to some airlines, for booking and completing their first stay through the site, no minimum stay length required.

Alaska Airlines flyers were treated to a 5,000 miles signup bonus.

Today, Rocketmiles comes out with a 5,000 mile offer for American Airlines flyers. Just book before April 15, 11:59pm CT.

To ensure that you receive the bonus:

• Sign up for a Rocketmiles account by clicking on this link, which leads you to the AA bonus signup page (even though a pop-up window will indicate a 1,000-mile bonus; ignore that).
• The tricky part: Go back to that same link to the AA-specific page to search and make your first reservation. 
• I've been told by Rocketmiles that if the booking is completed on a different page, the bonus will not be applied. 
• Also, the bonus is null and void if someone cancels their first booking to make another one.

Follow the steps above and you should be able to get a one-night hotel stay for ~$100+ and 5,000 miles... not a bad return!

Disclosure: The links above will give me a small referral credit, for which I would be truly appreciative.

The full terms and conditions:

To be eligible for this promotion, the hotel reservation must be booked via the Rocketmiles mobile app with promo code "AA5000" OR using this promotional link by 11:59PM CT on April 15, 2015. Limited to first time customers and subject to investigation post-purchase. Limit one per customer. Limit one per stay. Promotional offer cannot be applied to existing bookings or retroactively applied to bookings not made using the link above. This promotional offer cannot be combined with any other offers, including a sign-up from referral bonus. Rocketmiles reserves the right to retract a bonus at any time if it detects technical errors, cancel/rebooking activity (defined by identical search criteria), or any deceptive behavior attempted to circumvent the limits expressed above, including multiple accounts. Please allow 2 weeks for bonus points to post in a qualifying member's account after hotel stay is completed and the qualifying member has met the stated conditions. If Rocketmiles is not contacted directly with a refund request until after miles/points have already been posted, any approved refund amount may be reduced by up to the full retail value of the reward. Rewards that cannot be posted due to incorrect or incomplete information may become ineligible after 12 months and no customer response to our e-mail outreach. See www.rocketmiles.com/terms for full terms, or call Rocketmiles concierges at 1-855-355-7625 with questions of eligibility or for any other assistance. Please contact your loyalty program directly for information about redeeming miles/points, or for questions about earning miles/points for past flights. American Airlines reserves the right to change the AAdvantage® program and its terms and conditions at any time without notice, and to end the AAdvantage® program with six months notice. Any such changes may affect your ability to use the awards or mileage credits that you have accumulated. Unless specified, AAdvantage® miles earned through this promotion/offer do not count toward elite-status qualification or AAdvantage Million MilerSM status. American Airlines is not responsible for products or services offered by other participating companies. For complete details about the AAdvantage® program, visit aa.com/aadvantage. American Airlines, AAdvantage, the Flight Symbol logo and AAdvantage Million Miler are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc.

Were you successful in earning the bonus? Let me know below! 

Rocketmiles Offers 3,000 Mile Signup Bonuses to Certain Airlines

Rocketmiles is a hotel booking website that gives you bonus airline miles for booking with them. They currently offer 500-5,000 miles or points per night to any one of 26 frequent flyer programs.

Read more: What is Rocketmiles? Let's Start with 1,000 Bonus Airline Miles...

The standard signup bonus is 1,000 miles after your first stay. However, Rocketmiles is offering a special 3,000 mile signup bonus for members of certain airline frequent flyer programs.

Below is a list of these airlines, along with their book-by dates. Click to sign up:

• AeroMexico (June 30)
• Air Canada (June 30)
• Alaska Airlines (March 31, stays completed by August 31)
• There is also currently a 5,000-mile bonus for Alaska elite members
• British Airways (June 30, stays completed by December 31)
• Cathay Pacific (July 31)
• Icelandair (June 30, stays completed by December 31)
• Malaysia Airlines (June 30)
• Qatar Airways (June 30)
• Saudi Arabian Airlines/Saudia (June 30)
• Turkish Airlines (June 30)
• United Airlines (June 30)
• US Airways (June 30)

To earn the 3,000 bonus miles:

• Sign up for a new Rocketmiles account using one of the links above.
• Reserve your stay by the deadline (the actual stay can be after the deadline) through the same promo link above. That is to say, if you close the page and subsequently come back to Rocketmiles.com, you won't receive the bonus.

Update: The offer is for 3,000 miles minimum for the first booking, not on top of the miles already earned. Still not a bad deal on what would otherwise be a 1,000-mile night. The terms & conditions are similar for all the promotional links, here's the one for Aeroplan from Rocketmiles:

Qualifying Activity: To be eligible, the hotel reservation must be booked via the Rocketmiles mobile app with promo code "AEROPLAN" OR using this promotional link (www.rocketmiles.com/aeroplan-3k-bonus) by 11:59PM CT on 30 June 2015 (a yellow banner at the top of the search results page will clearly show if search criteria qualify for the bonus). Limited to first time customers and subject to investigation post-purchase. Limit one per customer. Limit one per stay. Promotional offer can not be applied to existing bookings or retroactively applied to bookings not made using the link above. Promotional offer can not be combined with any other bonuses or offers. Rocketmiles reserves the right to retract a bonus at any time if it detects fraud, stacking of bonuses, technical errors, cancel/rebooking activity (defined by identical search criteria), or any deceptive behavior attempted to circumvent the limits expressed above, including multiple accounts. Rocketmiles reserves the right to change the terms of a promotion, or end a promotion, at any time. Rewards that can not be posted due to incorrect or incomplete information may become ineligible after 12 months of attempts with no customer response. See www.rocketmiles.com/terms for full terms, or call our friendly concierges at 1-855-355-7625 (U.S.) / +1-773-257-7680 (International) with questions of eligibility or for any other assistance. Please allow 2 weeks from checkout for miles to post. ®Aeroplan is a registered trademark of Aimia Canada Inc.

If your preferred airline isn't listed above, you can still sign up for the standard 1,000 signup bonus. Unfortunately, Vietnam Airlines is not available (yet).

(H/T Frequent Flyer Bonuses)

Were you successful in signing up with Rocketmiles and your favorite airline program? Let me know in the comments below!

Rocketmiles Now Offering 5,000 Bonus Miles for Alaska Airlines Flyers

Sign up here for 5,000 Alaska Airlines bonus miles
after the first Rocketmiles hotel stay

Author's Note: I know, this doesn't seem like it has anything to do with VNA or Southeast Asia. But I love miles, and Alaska is one of my preferred airlines for getting around the US. Plus, you can redeem Alaska miles with on of their partners, such as Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, and Emirates, to get to Vietnam.

Rocketmiles is a hotel booking website that gives you bonus airline miles for booking with them. They currently offer 500-5,000 miles or points per night to any one of 26 frequent flyer programs.

Read more: What is Rocketmiles? Let's Start with 1,000 Bonus Airline Miles...

The standard signup bonus is 1,000 miles after your first stay. There are also some 3,000-mile bonuses for certain airline programs.

For Alaska Airlines (AS) flyers, or more specifically their MVP, MVP Gold, and MVP Gold 75K elite tier members, Rocketmiles is offering a 5,000-mile signup bonus for new accounts, after the first stay.

To earn the 5,000 bonus miles:

• Sign up for a new Rocketmiles account by clicking here.
• Complete your account information, including your Mileage Plan number (Not a member yet? Sign up for an Alaska account here).
• Reserve your stay by April 15 (the actual stay can be after the deadline) through the AS promo page.

Update: The offer is for 5,000 miles minimum for the first booking, not on top of the miles already earned. Still not a bad deal on what would be a 1,000-mile night. The full terms & conditions from Rocketmiles is below:

To be eligible, the hotel reservation MUST BE BOOKED USING THIS PROMOTIONAL LINK (www.rocketmiles.com/alaskaair-5k) by 11:59PM CT on 15 April 2015. Strictly limited to Elite members that are first time customers of Rocketmiles and subject to investigation post-purchase. Limit one per customer. Limit one per stay. Promotional offer can not be applied to existing bookings or retroactively applied to bookings not made using the link above. Promotional offer cannot be combined with any other bonuses or offers. Rocketmiles reserves the right to retract a bonus at any time if it detects fraud, stacking of bonuses, technical errors, cancel/rebooking activity (defined by identical search criteria), or ANY other deceptive behavior attempted to circumvent the limits expressed above. See www.rocketmiles.com/terms for full terms, or call our friendly concierges at 1-855-355-7625 with questions of eligibility or for any other assistance. All Mileage PlanTM Conditions of Membership Apply.

Quite frankly, I'm not sure how elite status is verified, so if you don't have status with AS, you can try to sign up and hope that you'll receive the 5,000 mile bonus. Otherwise, there's a 3,000 mile bonus for non-elite Mileage Plan members.

(H/T Frequent Flyer Bonuses)

Were you successful in signing up and booking? Let me know in the comments below!

What is Rocketmiles? Let's Start with 1,000 Bonus Airline Miles...

Rocketmiles is a relatively new player to the travel game that incentivizes customers to book hotel stays through their platform with airline currency, sometimes many more miles or points than if they had booked on even the hotel's own website.

UPDATE: Rocketmiles is offering 3,000 bonus miles for some programs. Click here for details

CLICK HERE to sign up for Rocketmiles and earn 1,000 ADDITIONAL bonus points after your first stay

Many major airline frequent flyer programs are included in their network:

Rocketmiles partners include: Aeromexico (Club Premier), Air Canada (Aeroplan), Air France (Flying Blue), Alaska Airlines (Mileage Plan), Alitalia (Millemiglia), American Airlines (AAdvantage), British Airways, (Avios), Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles), Ethiopian (ShebaMiles), Etihad (Guest), Frontier Airlines (EarlyReturns), Hawaiian Airlines (HawaiianMiles), Icelandair (Saga Club), JetBlue (TrueBlue), Jet Airways (JetPrivilege), KLM (Flying Blue), Malaysia Airlines (Enrich), Norwegian Airlines (Reward), Qatar Airways (Privilege Club), Royal Jordanian (Royal Plus), Saudi Arabian Airlines/Saudia (Alfursan), Southwest Airlines (Rapid Rewards), Turkish Airlines (Miles & Smiles), United Airlines (Mileage Plus), US Airways (Dividend Miles), Virgin America (Elevate)

Reservations booked through Rocketmiles are credited with 500-5,000 miles per night, roughly based on the rate itself (or more accurately, on Rocketmiles' commission). This can be a lucrative deal for those who were needing to book a hotel stay anyway, as they claim to have the same prevailing rates as hotel and other travel websites. Refundable rates are also available, though Rocketmiles will charge your card first and refund later if you cancel within the hotel's policy.

For business travelers who book their own rooms for work and expense it later, Rocketmiles will produce a receipt that does not mention the bonus miles.

Here's a quick sample search for the Intercontinental Tokyo Bay on April 1 for a one-night stay for 2 persons (I like American Airlines' AAdvantage program myself, so I selected it):

Given the small variance in exchange rates, at a cancelable rate of $326 per night, Rocketmiles' pricing in this case is right on the mark with Intercontinental and Orbitz, but with the added bonus of 5,000 AAdvantage miles per night (I can't emphasize that enough). A five-night stay for 25,000 miles would be enough for an round-trip domestic award ticket on American.

Compare this to the Intercontinental's IHG Rewards program awarding only about 3,250 points in their program (10 points per dollar), which equals a prorated amount of 650 AA miles.

And of course Orbitz has its own rewards program, Orbucks, which earns credit towards future Orbitz hotel bookings. I can redeem AA miles at 7 cents a piece, which values 5,000 miles at $350... much more valuable than $12 in hotel credit. Even at a low valuation of 1.5 cents per mile, Rocketmiles gives you a return of $75.

The same search also yields a 5,000 mile/point reward for a couple more programs that I value highly: Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan and Avios, used by both British Airways and Iberia.

Here's another search for the Grand Hyatt New York on May 1 for one night for 2:

This time, it's the same prepaid rate of $299. Rocketmiles will give you 3,000 AA miles. Hyatt will give you only 500 AA miles or 1000 Hyatt Gold Passport points (you have to pick one). Orbitz gives you $10.40 in Orbucks.

As with any rewards program, there are some caveats to note:

• Sometimes Rocketmiles will be more expensive; only you can decide if it's worth the extra cost.
• Stays booked through Rocketmiles MAY NOT earn points or elite stay credit to the hotel's loyalty program, and some hotel brands even take away any elite benefits for staying at their property..
• There is no "best rate guarantee" so if the price drops, you'd have to cancel and rebook your stay, assuming that you can still cancel your reservation..
• They have a limited portfolio of hotels.

Rocketmiles is a great program for:

• People who have no loyalty to any hotel, brand, or program, or don't need stay credit.
• Business travelers whose employers allow self-booking and expensing.
• Anyone with a longer stay at a higher-end hotel.
• Earning rewards when there is usually none.

To that last point, there seems to be quite a number of independent hotels that don't even have their own rewards program, so it's nice to be able to earn something, even if it's just 1,000 miles.

On the flip side of the coin, Rocketmiles may not work out so well for:

• Hotel elites looking to earn stay credit for their status.
• Those who are required to use a corporate travel agency.
• Some elites who want to exercise their status during their stay.

If you sign up using this referral link, you will earn an additional 1,000 miles/points after your first stay, on top of the miles you would normally earn. Of course, you don't have to use the link, but if you did, I would very appreciative.

Tell us about your Rocketmiles experience by commenting below!

2,700+ AAdvantage Miles for Purchasing Bose Headsets

Earn 2,700+ AAdvantage miles when you purchase from Nordstrom via the AAdvantage Shopping portal by February 26.

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.