I don’t know about you, but buying clothes at crazy low prices makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Any time I need a pick-me-up, I head straight for the American Eagle clearance racks. Sometimes you can actually find jeans for as low as $9.99. While we didn’t seeing denim that low during the Dec. 2023 American Eagle clearance event, there were tons of items for under $10, and even more that were a solid 60% off.
Finding American Eagle clearance for half-off is easy, but knowing when to shop for the best-ever deals is entirely different. Getting 50% off is just “meh” when there’s a chance to save more instead. I dug into three years’ worth of American Eagle clearance sales and put together an easy cheat sheet of all the highlights.
Here’s the good news: I have the WHOLE scoop on American Eagle clearance and how to save your way to a new wardrobe. The bad news? You’ll want to spend the rest of the day shopping. But that’s okay — everything you need to know to save serious cash is right here.
Psst … Check out all the American Eagle deals and clearance events we’ve got our eye on.
Want to stay up-to-date on each and every American Eagle clearance sale? Download The Krazy Coupon Lady app (it’s free) and add American Eagle to your list of favorite stores.
1. The best time to shop for American Eagle clearance is at the end of each season.
I researched American Eagle clearance sales by month all the way back to January 2020 and found that American Eagle hasn’t stuck to any one particular clearance schedule. It was pretty much impossible to find consistent sale patterns and trends that made sense. It’s almost like American Eagle switches up their strategy every year just to keep us guessing.
But the one common thread I found was this: the best times to shop American Eagle clearance are January, February, May, August, and September. I know that sounds broad, but those five months have had the biggest clearance discounts every year since 2020.
Here’s what the clearance sales have looked like for those months in the past:
- December/January: Up to 60% off clearance plus an extra 10% off, clearance jeans for $24.99 and up
- February: Up to 60% off clearance plus an extra 15% off, clearance jeans for $24.99 and up
- May: Clearance under $20, clearance jeans for $24.99 and up
- August: 60% off clearance plus an extra 10% off, clearance jeans for $19.99 and up
- October: All clearance for under $20 (including jeans)
Basically, you’ll find the biggest selection of clearance items at the end of every season, like in January and February when American Eagle offloads winter and holiday merch, or in August and October when they need a summer clearance to make room for fall inventory.
Related: How Four Years of Gap Sales Reveal the Best Ways to Save
2. American Eagle online clearance is much better than it is in stores.
Not that the store clearance is bad, but the online clearance at AE.com has a much bigger selection, and most of their best clearance sales are online only. Plus, you’ll save at least 50% no matter when you shop — even if it’s not a month we talked about in Tip #1. I’ve shopped American Eagle’s online clearance and found tank tops for just $7.98, regularly priced at $19.95, and it wasn’t technically one of the clearance months I listed above.
You can even filter by your size to only see clearance items that’ll fit, so forget about sifting through all those messy in-store racks.
3. Stack clearance prices with an American Eagle promo code or coupon to save more.
Yes, you can combine clearance prices with other American Eagle coupons and promo codes! This is one of my favorite things about AE clearance because there are so many easy ways to save more at American Eagle.
Use these tips to bump up your savings on clearance buys:
- Get 10% off your next purchase when you subscribe to AE or Aerie emails.
- Get 15% off your next purchase when you subscribe to AE texts.
- Take 30% off your next purchase when you open and use an American Eagle credit card.
- Earn points on your purchases and get exclusive sale prices (plus a birthday coupon for 15% – 25% off) as a Real Rewards member.
4. American Eagle adds new clearance items about once a month.
If you’re subscribed to AE emails (which you should be), you’ll notice they promote “newly added clearance styles” about once a month. This lines up with how often they replenish the online clearance, though they don’t seem to follow an exact schedule month to month.
American Eagle stores get new shipments anywhere from two to five times a week, so you can expect some great turnover with store clearances, too.
Related: Your Ultimate Retailer Clearance-Markdown Cheat Sheet
5. Shop American Eagle clearance jeans when they’re just $19.99 or less.
Most American Eagle clearance jeans are $24.99 (regularly $59.95), but every now and then, you’ll see select styles for less. I found two pairs of AE Ne(x)t Level High-Waisted Jeggings for $19.99 just by casually browsing the online clearance section. You’ll see $19.99 clearance jeans at the store, too, but you have a better shot at finding your exact size online.
6. We always check for clearance under $20.
It doesn’t happen often, but American Eagle occasionally marks down their entire online clearance so everything is under $20. I only saw this sale happen twice in 2022, in May and September. This is when American Eagle replenishes their inventory for the next season, so it’s the perfect time to shop clearance items and get them for so much less. The clearance under $20 sale usually only lasts 24 hours, so you’ll have to act fast to score the best finds.
7. You can return American Eagle clearance items for a full refund.
The American Eagle return policy is super forgiving, especially when it comes to clearance buys. You can return clearance or sale items at any time for a full refund. Just bring your receipt to the store to return items faster than you can say “easy peasy.”
If you lost your receipt, there’s still hope for you. You can return clearance items without a receipt and get store credit instead. It doesn’t beat a full refund, but it’s better than nothing.
8. American Eagle clearance doesn’t include undies, but you can get them for less than $4 a pair.
Aerie undies are excluded from pretty much every American Eagle clearance sale, which makes sense because they rarely go out of season. But that’s okay.
The standard deal on Aerie undies is “6 pairs for $30,” or $5 a pair. This is a pretty good deal to snag on the reg, but you’ll score even better prices with limited-time sales. Aerie drops deals like “8 undies for $32” or “10 undies for $38” about once a month, so you have the chance to buy undies for as low as $3.80 a pair.
TIP: Download the AE + Aerie app (iOS / Android) and turn on push notifications to get a heads-up when undies go on sale.
9. Buy a discounted American Eagle or Aerie gift card to use during clearance sales.
What’s better than 60% off American Eagle clearance? An additional 28% off your purchase, that’s what.
You can buy discounted gift cards from a variety of sites like Raise.com and Card Bear. I’ve seen American Eagle and Aerie gift cards go for up to 29% off the gift card amount. So you can buy a gift card for 29% off and use it to shop during an American Eagle clearance sale. You can even combine your gift card discount with other coupons for bigger savings on clearance.
Since Aerie and American Eagle are owned by the same company (AEO Inc.), feel free to use their gift cards interchangeably. This is a big help when it comes to discounted gift cards, since you can buy whichever one gets you the biggest savings!
10. Join Real Rewards for up to 8% cash back on your clearance purchases.
Signing up for Real Rewards is worth it no matter how often you shop at American Eagle. Real Rewards is American Eagle’s loyalty program that gives you cash back on purchases and other extra perks. It’s free to be a level 1 Real Rewards member, but you have to spend a certain amount of money each year to reach a level 2 or level 3 membership:
- Level 1 (Free) — Earn 10 points per dollar you spend and get a $5 reward when you reach 1,250 points: 4% cash back
- Level 2 (Spend $15 per year) — Earn 15 points per dollar you spend and get a $5 reward when you reach 1,250 points: 6% cash back
- Level 3 (Spend $350 per year) — Earn 20 points per dollar you spend and get a $5 reward when you reach 1,250 points: 8% cash back
You’ll also earn 2X points on jeans and get a $15 – $25 coupon during your birthday month.
Related: Get rewarded every time you shop with these best free store loyalty programs.
11. Don’t forget about American Eagle’s 14-day price adjustment policy.
Let’s say you buy a pair of clearance jeans for $24.99, but just one week later, that same pair of jeans drops to $19.99. American Eagle lets you request a price adjustment if you find a lower price within 14 days. So if there’s a better deal on the same item within two weeks of your purchase, you can still get the lower sale price. All you have to do is bring your receipt to the store and ask for a price adjustment on the item you bought.
You only have two weeks to do this, so be on the lookout for price drops immediately after your purchase. Follow our Denim Deals page to stay on top of the latest discounts.
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