If you have the right components for this deal, you can really maximize your cost savings and mileage earnings!
Great Deal: 18X United Miles (for cardholders) + 20% Off + $10 Back On $50
Like many eBag deals, there are a few different components to making this be a really great cost saver. To make this work for maximum savings and points, you will need three things:
- Hold a United credit card (you don’t need to use it, just have it to get the extra miles per dollar)
- An American Express card with the eBags offer saved to it
- The 20% off code SURPRISE
Let’s put it all together to see what we can get.
United Shopping Portal
First of all, this deal is really possible thanks to the earnings possible through the United MileagePlus shopping portal. If you hold a United credit card, you will receive the offer to get 18 UA miles per dollar spent at eBags. If you do not have a United card, you will receive 12 United miles – still a nice deal, but better at 18! You can open a United credit card here.
Head over to the United MileagePlus shopping portal – here – and login to your United account. Once there, search for eBags (or it may be on the front page) and you will see the temporary increase from 6 to 18 United miles earned on purchases. There are several links, each showing different sales that are available with the portal bonus. Click on one of the links and you will be redirected to the eBags site.
American Express Card w/ Sync Offer
The next component is an American Express card with the eBags $10 back on $50 purchase saved to it. This is the card that you will use to pay with.
To access the offer, Log in to your American Express account and click on any of the cards you have in the account. Scroll down to the Offers portion and you should see the following offer waiting for you!
Here are the details:
- Must be used by January 14, 2015
- Must be used online
- Enrollment limited (in other words, save this offer to your card now)
To maximize it, add the offer to separate cards, simply login to your American Express account and then choose to duplicate the tab (if using Google Chrome) as many times as you have cards. Once they are all open, select a different Amex card in each tab and select to save the offer to the card. This shows up as available on every one of my cards – charge cards, business cards, and personal cards.
20% Off Code – SURPRISE
The final step is the 20% off code – SURPRISE. You will enter this at checkout to get 20% off of your purchase. Just be aware, this code is not applicable on some of the more expensive name brands, like Tumi and Briggs&Riley (though their is a Briggs and Riley sale that will give you $50 off on every $350 level). That is ok, though, because there are still some other great deals to be had. One example is the Travelpro bags. Once you had your items to your cart, add the code SURPRISE at checkout as a promo and you will see the discount of 20% (if applicable).
Putting It All Together
If you want to receive the maximum percentage off on items, the sweet spot is going to be an item that costs $62.50. After applying the 20% discount, that price will be in the cart an even $50. It will receive free shipping (for being over the $49 level) and you can use your American Express card. You will then receive a $10 refund to your Amex card bringing your total cost to $40 all-in for an item that cost $62.50 (chances are that the retail price on the item is much higher than that, however).
Now, you can multiply the 18X portal bonus with it to get a total of 900 United miles from your purchase. That is around a $15 value towards future redemptions that you can count in the whole amount. Plus, for good measure, you can sign up for eBags Rewards to receive a $2.50 amount in rewards towards future purchases.
Putting it all together, you will pay $50 for a $62.50 item but will receive a value back in rewards and miles to bring your overall effective cost to only $25! That is not bad at all!
Of course, you can buy at whatever amount you want, but this shows the good value that can be had at the very minimum level.
