With credit card issuers tightening up on their rules on issuing bonuses to many of us (those of us who apply for many cards), it is always beneficial to check out ways we can earn bonus miles. Oddly enough, one of the worst ways to do that is by flying (unless you are an elite flyer on very expensive fares) and one of the best ways is with shopping portals. But, not every mile deal we see is a good one. Here is one such example and breaking down why it is a bad deal – for most people (gotta add that!).
Earn Up to 13,000 Bonus Miles with LifeLock
Link: 13,000 Bonus Miles with LifeLock
The Offer
Bonus miles for LifeLock subscriptions is certainly nothing new but this particular offer is a newer one in the United portal. But, to earn those 13,000 miles requires quite a bit of spending and commitment, enough that only the people that are really interested in pursuing the best that LifeLock has to offer will want to use this deal.
So, the offer was this – Get 30 days free, 10% off and earn up to 13,000 bonus miles with this particular offer. Sounds good, right? Especially with a service like LifeLock. I mean, cancel after you get the miles, yes?
Breaking Down Why It Is A Bad Deal
Not exactly the way it works! Here is the fine print on the awarding of those 13,000 bonus miles.
“Must be an active LifeLock member for 31 days to earn miles. United members who enroll in LifeLock Standard™ membership will earn 2,500 bonus award miles for the first year and 1,250 bonus award miles for membership years two and three. United MileagePlus members who enroll in LifeLock Advantage™ membership will earn 3,000 bonus award miles for the first year and 1,250 bonus award miles for membership years two and three. United MileagePlus members who enroll in LifeLock Ultimate Plus™ membership will earn 6,500 bonus award miles for the first year and 3,250 bonus award miles for membership years two and three. Additional bonus award miles for years two and three will be posted to the member’s account at the beginning of each of the respective membership years. Miles accrued, awards, and benefits issued are subject to change and are subject to the rules of the United MileagePlus® program, including without limitation the Premier® program (the “MileagePlus Program”), which are expressly incorporated herein. Please allow 6-8 weeks after completed qualifying activity for miles to post to your account.”
Getting the Miles
Ok, so let’s break that down! If you enroll in the LifeLock Standard membership for the minimum amount of time (that is the cheapest plan), you will earn a total of 2,500 United miles and will have paid $98.90 for that year of membership and the miles. If you want the extra 2,500 miles for that membership, you need to stay enrolled another 2 years for a total of 2 years before all the miles will post!
Now, if you want to skip the second tier and go right for the big prize of 13,000 bonus miles, you need to be enrolled in the LifeLock Ultimate Plus for 3 years (the first year will let you earn 6,500 bonus miles and 3,250 miles each for year 2 and 3) at a cost of $296.90 per year. So, to get the total of 13,000 bonus miles, you will need to stay enrolled in LifeLock Ultimate Plus for 3 years and pay a total of $890.70!
Of course, you should not sign up for this offer just to get the miles! It would just stupid as you would be paying almost 7 cents per mile if you just did this for miles! But, there may be some people that will jump on it because of the 13,000 mile offer and the fact that the terms start out by saying “must be an active LifeLock member for 31 days to earn miles.” From just that first line, it sounds like you will earn the miles just for being a member for 31 days!
And That’s Not All!
But, it actually gets worse! See, there are offers out there that will give you 15% off your subscription so that would save you $48 over the 3 year subscription and some offers that even throw in a $25 gift card! That means that you could trade savings each year over United miles. Now, while getting United miles for .3 cents each is a steal of a deal, I do not think I would want to wait 2 years to see all of those miles. As we have seen, airline award programs can change in just a few months. Who knows what United’s award chart will look like in 2 years!
Takeaway
Not all bonus mile offers are good ones! Like with just about everything else in life, you will save yourself hassle and maybe even money if you make sure you read the fine print on offers like this one.
Or just cancel in the second month, pay a total of $25, and get 6500 miles. Yeah it’s a bad deal if you don’t read the fine print but even then you aren’t committing to purchase the whole year, it says that clearly. I don’t understand the point of this article.
Is that what you see clearly? Because I see that it clearly says that years 2 and 3 for bonuses will be awarded at the beginning of the respective years but no mention of when the first year bonus is award. Given the wording for years 2 and 3, it would seem that it is after the first year that you would receive the bonus for year 1.
If you don’t see the point of this post than that makes it clear you are more advanced in this game than some other readers! There are many starting out who look at the offers and may think it sounds like a good idea so it helps to break ideas down sometimes.
Thanks for the comment.