I receive the email offers frequently. They do vary but all promise that if I sign up for a wine club, I’ll earn thousands of frequent flier miles. I signed up for one many years ago and did indeed receive the promised miles but the wine was quite expensive after the initial promotional offer so I did not continue to order. Recently I received an offer from United Airlines and decided to check out just how these wine club deals compare to each other. I also wanted to determine the out-of-pocket costs for each offer and how many frequent flier miles could be earned. Are they really a good deal?
United Airlines and Vinesse Wines
This deal states that you can earn 6500 total United bonus miles. Reading the fine print, you will find that you earn 2500 bonus miles with the purchase of your initial shipment of wine. The introductory shipment is $41.95 including shipping and contains six bottles of premium wine. Not too bad. With the second shipment, you receive an additional 4000 miles. You’ll pay between $72-$96 for the next shipment of six bottles, plus shipping estimated at $25. So, out-of-pocket costs for the entire deal would be approximately $139-$163 for 6500 United Airline bonus miles and a case of wine. If you value United miles at about 1.5 cents each, you’re receiving about $97.50 in value for the miles alone. Not a bad deal overall. Future shipments earn 7 miles per dollar spent.
Delta Air Lines and Vinesse Wines
Delta also partners with Vinesse Wines for their offer of a total of 5000 Delta bonus miles. You receive 2000 miles for your first shipment of six bottles and the cost is $41.95 including shipping. The second shipment of six bottles earns an additional 3000 Delta miles and costs the same as in the United offer, $72-$96 plus approximately $25 for shipping. Total out-of-pocket for the 5000 miles and 12 bottles of wine comes to $139-$163. The 5000 Delta miles valued at 1.2 cents each result in $60 of value. If you remain a member, you’ll receive five miles for each dollar spent.
Southwest Airlines and Laithwaite’s Wine
The miles-for-wine offer from Southwest Airlines is straight forward. Purchase 15 wines for $69.99 plus $19.99 shipping and receive 2000 Southwest Rapid Rewards bonus points. The second shipment which includes twelve bottles will cost $139 plus $19.99 shipping and will earn 1000 Southwest Rapid Rewards bonus points. I’ve seen different valuations out there but most say the points are each worth around 1.5 cents in redemption value so if we go with that, you’re getting only about $30 in value with your initial purchase. If you were going to purchase wine anyway this not a bad deal. Continuing with additional shipments does not propose as good a deal, however.
American Airlines and Vinesse Wines
American’s wine and miles offer is simple. Purchase your first shipment of six wines for $41.95 including shipping and receive 2500 American miles. That’s it. They do offer a free six-piece wine tote with the third shipment however both the American and Delta clubs offer the same. You do earn five AAdvantage bonus miles for each dollar spent after the first shipment.
After reviewing at all of the wine offers, it appears the best strategy may be to sign up and order the first shipment from each of these offers. Total out-of-pocket for all four offers would be about $216 (42+42+90+42). You would receive a total of 9000 frequent flier miles (2500+2000+2000+2500) and 33 bottles of wine (6+6+15+6). You could call the wine club and move your second shipment out for three months, wait until the miles hit your account, then cancel your membership. All clubs state that you can cancel at any time with no obligation. The exception to this strategy may be to continue with the second shipment on the United offer for 4000 additional miles and six additional bottles of wine at an approximate cost of $97-$121. There is a stated limit of only one club membership per household so if you have trouble signing up for all of these offers, you could use work addresses. Some of these clubs do add a surcharge for home delivery, as much as 8.5%, so be sure to check the offer details.
The only thing left to do it to try out these offers and report back to you on my experience.
Have you signed up for any of these wine clubs? How did it work out for you?
[Image via Getty]