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One of the best parts of the holiday season is the sales — Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday deals. If you plan to shop holiday sales, remember to use shopping portals to earn extra points, miles or cash back on top of your card rewards.
What are shopping portals and how to use them
Shopping portals are online hubs run by airlines, hotels, credit-card issuers or third parties that pay rewards for purchases at participating retailers. To use one, sign up with your loyalty account, click through the portal to the retailer’s site and complete the purchase. You’ll earn portal points or miles in addition to any credit-card rewards.
To simplify activation, install each portal’s browser extension. It will notify you when a retailer is eligible and let you activate rewards without visiting the portal site. Because portal payouts change frequently, consider using a shopping-portal aggregator to compare offers across portals before you buy.
Popular portals
Nearly every major airline has a portal, some credit-card programs have portals, and third-party cash-back sites also participate. Popular options include:
– Atmos Rewards Shopping (Atmos points for Alaska/Hawaiian)
– American AAdvantage eShopping
– Delta SkyMiles Shopping
– JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping
– Rakuten (cash back, Amex Membership Rewards or Bilt points options)
– Shop Through Chase (Chase Ultimate Rewards)
– Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping
– United MileagePlus Shopping
How to evaluate portal offers
Portal payouts vary widely by retailer and by portal. Compare the effective return by valuing the portal currency. For example, if JetBlue offers 9 points per dollar and you value those points at roughly 1.45 cents each, that’s about a 13% return. Other portals might offer just 2 points per dollar at the same store, so the best choice can differ.
Also watch for portal promotions that award bonus points or miles after hitting a cumulative spend threshold. These holiday bonuses can make a lower base rate more lucrative overall. Some portals also let you earn for in-store purchases if you link and activate a payment card and enroll in in-store offers.
Stacking offers and card offers
Stack your portal earnings with credit-card rewards and targeted card offers (like Amex Offers or Chase Offers) for maximum value. Amex and Chase frequently run merchant-specific discounts and credits. Since these are targeted by cardholder and card, log in to your account to see what’s available.
Examples of current targeted Chase Offers (may vary by holder and time):
– Adidas: 10% cash back through Nov. 30 (up to $50)
– Sony Electronics: 5% cash back through Dec. 6 (up to $50)
– Lululemon: 10% back through Dec. 7 (up to $30)
Pick the right credit card
Using the correct credit card for each purchase further increases value and adds protections such as price protection, purchase security or extended warranty. Choose cards based on where you spend most and what protections matter. Top holiday picks include:
– Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases (up to $6,000/year), then 1%.
– Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: At least 2 miles per dollar on purchases — good for purchases that don’t trigger category bonuses on other cards.
– Prime Visa: Useful for Prime members to earn 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases.
– Discover it® Cash Back: 5% back on rotating quarterly categories (activation required), currently including Amazon through Dec. 31.
– Chase Freedom Flex®: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases in rotating categories each quarter; PayPal is a possible bonus category in December.
– Citi Double Cash® Card: 2% cash back (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay). If you have certain Citi premium cards, you may be able to convert cash-back balances to transfer partners for potentially greater value.
Bottom line
Shopping portals are an easy way to double- or triple-dip rewards during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Compare portal payouts, look for holiday bonuses, link in-store offers if available, and stack portal rewards with credit-card earnings and targeted card offers to maximize value. The extra points and miles add up and can help keep your reward balances active.
Featured image credit: FRESHSPLASH/GETTY IMAGES
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions are the author’s alone and not those of any bank, card issuer, airline or hotel chain; they have not been reviewed or endorsed by these entities.
