Using shopping portals is a great way to supercharge your points earning. Getting new credit cards with sign up bonuses is great, but you need to also focus on earning points through everyday spending. The best way to do this is to maximize your points earned for each dollar spent. Shopping portals are a great way to do this for your online purchases.
Shopping Portals For Bonus Points or Cash Back
Shopping portals are a great way to supercharge your online purchases. Most airlines and hotel chains as well as some banks have their own portal to shop through. Unless you are only looking to earn one type of point (Chase points, Southwest points, etc) then it is important to shop around to find the best points offering for the store you are shopping at. Thankfully, there are tools to help you with this. I use Cashback Monitor to check the bonus points at any store I am planning to make an online purchase through. All you need to do is search for your particular store and you will be able to see how many extra points are being offered through each portal.
Just click through the portal to complete your purchase. Be sure to complete your purchase in the same “click session” to ensure you will be properly credited for your purchase. I like to shop around first, add everything I want to my cart then close my browser. Then I open the portal I want to shop through, click through to my store of choice and complete my purchase.
Double Dip
The bonus points you earn are in addition to any points you may earn through your actual credit card, so this is a great way to double dip for points! For example, let’s say you decided to purchase a Kindle from Amazon to bring with you on your travels. If you start your shopping trip at Mr. Rebates and click through to Amazon, you will receive 5% cash back in addition to the credit card points you will earn on your purchase (all of your purchases should be on a rewards earning card!).
Or maybe you want to send your mom some flowers for Mother’s Day, so you head over to 1-800 Flowers. If you first check Cashback Monitor you will see that you can earn an additional 20 miles per dollar if you shop through the United Airlines shopping portal!! If you use your Chase Sapphire Card and spend $50, you would earn 1,000 United Mileage Plus miles and 50 Chase Ultimate Rewards points!
Tip: Try to do some of your everyday purchases online to earn extra points!
You can order basic items online from places like Target.com instead of in the store to double dip on points!
Helpful Links
You will need to sign up with each program you would like to shop through. Here are the links to some of the most popular shopping portals and cash back websites. All programs are free to join.
Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- American Airlines
- Delta Airlines
- United Airlines
- Jet Blue
- British Airways
- Alaska Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
Hotels
Banks
- You can also shop through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal by logging into your account, going to your Ultimate Rewards page and clicking “Earn Points>Shop Through Chase”
Cash Back Sites
- Ebates
- Be Frugal (earn a $10 sign up bonus through this link!)
- Coupon Cactus (sign up through this link and like their Facebook page for a $3 bonus)
- Mr. Rebates
Don’t Forget About Travel Expenses
Even if you don’t purchase a lot of “stuff” online, as a reader of this site I am sure you have some travel expenses (unless you are a total superstar and can book everything on points!!). You can shop for things like hotels and city tours through a shopping portal too! Right now, you can earn cash back on Marriott or Choice hotels through Mr. Rebates and cash back on tours from City-Discovery on Coupon Cactus. Or you can book a night at a Hilton Garden Inn through the American Airlines portal to earn an extra 2 miles per dollar on your purchase!
With so many ways to earn lots of bonus points, you will be well on your way to your next vacation soon. Happy Travels!
**Please note the extra points earned or cash back rates change often so please check your specific shopping portal before making a purchase to know the current points or cash back being offered**
This post contains affiliate links. That means if you choose to make a purchase through one of our links or join a cashback program, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you (it’s a win-win)! Thank you for your support!!
