Online shopping has become more popular recently due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and it is something that is probably going to stay for awhile. Online shopping makes it easy to shop wherever you are and allows you to compare prices easily.
Did you know you can earn rewards while you shop online? If you’re a member of a company’s loyalty program, you can receive bonuses by using their shopping portal.
In this guide we will break down everything you need to know about earning bonuses with online shopping portals. Also be sure to check out our best cash back shopping sites.
Online Shopping Portals Basics
Online Shopping portals let you earn bonus points, miles or cash back for online partner retailers. To earn the extra rewards, you’ll need to start from a shopping portal, then click through to the merchant’s site. As opposed to shopping with the retailer directly.
Upon buying through a shopping portal, you will earn rewards or have exclusive promotions.
If you use the American Airlines AAdvantage shopping portal and your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card, here is an example of what you would earn:
- Office Depot purchases via the AAdvantage shopping portal earns 4 miles per $1 spent. So you’ll earn 200 AAdvantage miles for that $50 purchase.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 1 point per $1 spent on non-travel and dining purchases. So you’ll earn 50 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for that $50 purchase.
*This is just an example and tates may be subject to change.
Here is a breakdown of how shopping portals make money and provide discounts:
- The Portal takes a cut of any purchase The Consumer makes from The Retailer.
- The Retailer gets additional traffic and business to their online store, thanks to The Portal.
- The Consumer gets points or miles as a reward from The Portal.
Types of Online Shopping Portals
- Every major airline has its own online shopping portal, and they all work pretty much the same way offering points upon booking.
- At this time, the hotel shopping portal world is much more limited. Only Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards offer versions of their own.
- There are four credit card issuers that have online shopping portals:
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ISSUER SHOPPING PORTAL Barclaycard RewardsBoost Chase Ultimate Rewards Shop Citi Bonus Cash Center* Wells Fargo Earn More Mall
- In order to use the Barclaycard, Chase or Wells Fargo portal, it is a requirement to have an open and active credit card that earns points within the bank’s rewards program already. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card qualifies while the United℠ Explorer Card card does not.
- You can also do 1:1 transfers from Ultimate Rewards to many travel partners. This means that you can also effectively earn British Airways Avios, Hyatt points or United Airlines miles when you do your online shopping via the Ultimate Rewards shopping portal.
- In addition to miles and points, cash back shopping portals are great options.
- There are plenty of portals that offer cash back. Our favorites include:
- Rakuten
- TopCashback
- Mr. Rebates
- Extrabux
- Simply Best Coupons
- BeFrugal
- Swagbucks
- Paribus
- iConsumer
- Jewel
- Upromise
- We already talked about how Rakuten is a cash back online shopping portal. But you can opt to earn American Express Membership Rewards points instead.
Maximizing Online Shopping Portals
Here are some do’s and don’ts when using online shopping portals:
- DO enable cookies on your browser for the merchant’s site. This allows the portal track your purchases and award your bonuses accordingly.
- DO click through the retailer’s link on the portal and make your purchase from the pop-up page.
- DO NOT navigate away because it might not qualify for the bonus.
- DO NOT use promotions or promo codes found outside the portal. They might make your purchase ineligible for the bonus.
- DO read the fine print for every retailer. Most don’t count gift cards as eligible purchases for bonuses, and others will exclude specific products.
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Conclusion
Shopping portals are a great way to earn bonus points, miles or cash back for online purchases. Be sure to do your research to maximize your savings.
Let us know in the comment section below if it did! If you don’t have a savings account, see our best savings account section. Looking to add a little extra income each year? If so, see our list of the best bank deals!
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