Maximizing Credit Card Points: A Guide to Holiday Shopping Strategies

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‘Tis the season to earn some bonus points while tackling your holiday shopping list! Here are three simple steps to earn extra points on your upcoming holiday shopping.

Shopping Portals: Your Key to Extra Points

Instead of heading directly to your favorite retailer’s website (e.g., Nike, Sephora, etc.), kick off your shopping journey with a shopping portal. These portals act as intermediaries, offering you the chance to earn extra points by simply starting your online shopping excursion there.

Major players like American Airlines, Chase, and Capital One all have their own shopping portals. The concept is simple: the shopping portal earns a referral fee, and in return, you, the shopper, get the benefit of extra points. The bonus points typically range from 2x to 4x, but on occasion, you might stumble upon even higher rewards.

Now, the crucial question arises: With multiple shopping portals available, how do you determine which one will get you the most points?

CashBackMonitor: Your Points GP

Enter CashBackMonitor, a game-changer in the world of points optimization. This aggregator serves as a comprehensive comparison tool for various shopping portals, ensuring that you make an informed decision to maximize your points.

Let’s break it down:

Suppose American Airlines is offering 4x points per dollar spent through its portal on a Nike purchase, but Chase has a more lucrative 8x points for the same expenditure. In this scenario, CashBackMonitor steps in as your guiding light, helping you identify the portal that offers the most points for your specific purchase. You can click directly within CashBackMonitor and it will take you to the shopping portal of your choice.

By utilizing CashBackMonitor, you can streamline your approach to ensure that every online shopping venture is a strategic move toward accumulating the maximum number of points possible.

Rakuten – $40 Bonus and My Favorite Way to Earn Extra Amex Points

Rakuten deserves its own spotlight because of its link to Amex. On Rakuten, you can earn 2% (or more) cash back on purchases. But instead of cash back, you can elect to earn 2x (or more) Amex Membership Rewards Points. For example, a $100 purchase would earn you 200 Amex points instead of a measly $2.

If you don’t have Rakuten yet, you can start with a $40 welcome offer here (it’ll come as cash back, and then you can elect Amex points afterward if you want. But hey, I’ll take $40!).

Best American Express Offers Right Now

Here’s a referral link for 80k – 150k points for The Platinum Card® from American Express (enough to cover 2 one-way tickets—well worth the $695 fee, in my opinion).

You can snag one ticket from the 60k – 90k point welcome bonus on the American Express® Gold Card (my favorite card for dining and groceries—more on that in my free guide here).

So, there you have it—a holiday points strategy so simple, it’s practically gift-wrapped. Happy shopping ✨

Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.