Maximize Your Spending with Shopping Portals
Why use a shopping portal?
Shopping portals are a great way to earn additional cash back or points on things you are already spending money on! These earnings are stacked ON TOP of credit card points you already earn from making a purchase on your credit card! Keep reading to learn more about how to maximize your spending with shopping portals.
What is a shopping portal?
Shopping portals are third-party websites that will provide you an incentive to click through their website before going to specific websites (like Nike, Walmart, Macy’s, etc) and completing a purchase. These incentives include cash back, points and even airline miles, which the shopping portals are willing to give as they receive a commission from the websites for sending you there.
How do I choose which shopping portal to use?
There are many shopping portals out there like TopCashBack and Rakuten for earning cash back or travel reward program portals for earning points/miles. For example, if you are focusing on getting more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you could use the Chase Shopping Portal. If you need more airlines miles, you could focus on the American Airlines AAdvantage EShopping Portal or the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal. (My two personal favorite shopping portals are Rakuten and the American Airlines AAdvantage Eshopping Portal.) See image below for an example of how Rakuten’s shopping portal works!
Image via Rakuten
Travel Tip: Earn American Express Membership Rewards with Rakuten
If you carry an American Express credit card that earns membership reward points like:
American Express® Green Card
All information about American Express Green Card has been collected independently by Let’s Travel Talk. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Then you can link your account and get paid American Express Membership Reward points instead of cash back with Rakuten! For example, if there is was an offer for 6 percent cash back you would get 6x American Express Membership points for every dollar spent instead. (This is potentially worth A LOT MORE than cash back!)
Image via Rakuten
Using shopping portals to earn Airline Status
Some people prefer to do all their shopping through one shopping portal in order for extra incentives. For example, one of our Travel Reward University students has earned over 80,000 American Airlines miles this year mainly from using the AAdvantage Shopping Portal for all her applicable purchases. These miles have given her American Aadvantage Platinum status which allows for great options when flying such as priority baggage handling and 2 free checked bags each for herself and anyone else on her travel ticket, complimentary upgrades, free Main Cabin Extra seats at time of flight purchase (which saved her family of four almost $500 for a trip back from the UK), and early boarding - all without stepping foot on one American Airlines aircraft!
Is there a resource that shows me all the shopping portals at once?
If you are trying to get the biggest bang for your buck, I recommend using the website Cashback Monitor. This website will show you a large number of shopping portal options, along with the incentive you will receive (usually x amount of points per $1 spent) for clicking through that shopping portal.
For example, say Nike has a great deal on shoes for your growing kids. Instead of just going to www.nike.com, you could go to Cashback Monitor, type in Nike, and see which shopping portals are offering elevated bonuses for the Nike website at this time.
If there is a product you are looking to purchase but you aren’t in a hurry, you can even click “View Best Rate History” to see the highest rates that have been offered at this store. This is a great way to maximize your spending with a shopping portal. If you can wait on your purchase, chances are there will be another great elevated miles/points offering coming up soon with a holiday where you will earn even more miles/points/cash back for the same amount of spend! Any time there are major holiday sales such as Black Friday, chances are there will be great offers on shopping portals!
Do I have to remember to start from a shopping portal every single time I shop online?
The easiest way to remember to get your cashback (or miles/points back) is by installing a web browser Extension Button on a desktop or laptop. Almost every shopping portal has these buttons available. Once you are on a website where you want to shop (like Nike), you can click on this button on the top right of your screen to initiate the shopping portal bonus and be rewarded for any purchases you make.
If you’re looking to maximize your online spending and earn more cash back, points or miles, shopping portals are a great way to go!
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