How to Earn Bonus Points Shopping at the Mall on Black Friday

The most reliable way to earn bonus points at the mall on Black Friday is to join the mall operator's own loyalty program before you shop, then make sure every purchase is captured — by a linked card or a scanned receipt. At Simon malls and Premium Outlets, that program is Simon+, which pays one point per qualifying dollar spent inside the center. Black Friday falls on November 27, 2026, with Cyber Monday on November 30, so most "Black Friday Week" mall promotions run the week of November 22–28.

The points you earn that week come from three separate layers — the mall program, the individual store's rewards program, and your credit card — and each has its own caps and deadlines.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 13, 2026.

Start with the mall's own loyalty program

Simon+ is the loyalty program for Simon Malls and Premium Outlets, and it replaced the older Mall Insider, VIP Shopper Club and ShopSimon Rewards programs. Simon's announcement of the change makes clear that it combines cash back, points and in-center perks into one account, so earning rules you remember from a previous holiday season may no longer apply. Members earn one point per qualifying dollar, whether the purchase is captured automatically by a linked payment card or manually by scanning a receipt.

According to Simon+ support's explanation of how points are earned, there is a daily maximum of 5,000 points across receipt uploads, linked-card purchases and online purchases combined. That daily cap matters more on Black Friday than on any other day. A household doing a full year of gift shopping in one trip can hit 5,000 qualifying dollars, and anything above that earns nothing for the day.

Which receipts actually count

The fastest way to lose points is to scan something the program does not accept. Simon+ accepts store-printed, emailed, texted or downloaded receipts, but only for purchases made at a physical store inside a Simon center — ShopSimon.com and app orders cannot be uploaded as receipts. Several categories inside the mall do not earn at all.

The same support page excludes banks, gyms, healthcare, insurance and auto sales, which rules out a surprising share of the tenants in a modern center.

• Link your payment card before you leave home, so purchases post without any action at checkout.
• Keep the paper receipt from any store where you paid by a card you did not link.
• Scan as you go rather than at the end of the day, in case a receipt is rejected while you are still in the mall.
• Do not bother uploading online order confirmations — they are not eligible.

What the points are actually worth

Points are only useful once you can redeem them, and the first threshold is meaningful. The Simon+ program overview sets the first reward unlock at 500 points — roughly $500 spent inside the Simon ecosystem — redeemable as retailer-targeted rewards or ShopSimon credit. Points expire if no purchase is made within 24 months.

For an occasional mall shopper, that means a single Black Friday trip can bank points that quietly lapse before the next one. This is the honest limit on mall-level points: the earn rate is one point per dollar, the first payoff sits at $500 of spending, and the reward arrives as targeted retailer offers or site credit rather than cash. It is worth collecting on spending you were already going to do, not a reason to spend more.

Store programs stack on top — but the bonus windows move

Individual retailers run their own points systems inside the same mall, and those are where multipliers usually live. Macy's Star Rewards converts every 1,000 points into $10 of Star Money, and that Star Money must be spent within 30 days of issue. The timing is the part shoppers get wrong.

Macy's most recent bonus event, its Star Money Bonus Days, ran November 6–8, 2026 and paid cardholders 1,000 bonus points per $75 single-transaction purchase. Multiplier windows like that often land *before* Black Friday rather than on it, because retailers use them to pull spending forward. So check each store's rewards calendar separately.

A purchase made during a bonus window at a lower discount can out-earn the same purchase made at a deeper Black Friday discount with no multiplier attached.

Do not count on your credit card's quarterly bonus

Rotating-category credit cards are the layer most people assume will cover mall spending in November, and this quarter they largely do not. Chase's announcement of the Freedom and Freedom Flex Q4 2026 categories lists dining, grocery stores and American Red Cross donations for October 1 through December 31 — not department stores or general mall retail. That bonus is capped at $1,500 in combined spending for the quarter, and activation is open until December 14, 2026.

Activating is still worth doing for holiday grocery and restaurant spending, but it will not boost a mall shopping trip. The practical consequence: on Black Friday, your card is probably earning its base rate at the mall. The bonus points available to you that day come from the mall program and the individual stores, so the card you choose matters less than whether your Simon+ account is linked and your receipts are scanned.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I earn mall points on online orders placed during Black Friday Week?

Not through receipt scanning. Simon+ support states that ShopSimon.com and app orders cannot be uploaded as receipts; receipt scanning covers purchases made at a physical store inside a Simon center.

Is there a limit on how many points I can earn in one day?

Yes. Simon+ applies a daily maximum of 5,000 points across receipt, linked-card and online purchases combined, so a very large single-day trip stops earning once you reach it.

How long do my points last if I only shop at the mall once a year?

Simon+ points expire if no purchase is made within a 24-month window, and the first rewards do not unlock until 500 points.