The loophole I use to get 5x on almost on every purchase

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Unless you have a credit card for every possible bonus category, at a certain point you accept that some spending will only earn you 1 point per dollar or 1% cash back. And unfortunately many of the biggest expenses in a typical year don’t earn meaningful bonuses at all: Disney trips, tuition, and even 529 contributions.

But there’s a simple workaround that quietly turns a lot of these “non-bonus” categories into rewards-earning opportunities: buying gift cards in stores where your card does earn strong multipliers.

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Stacking this rewards program gets me an extra business-class flight every year

This approach requires reframing your thinking: If you have a card that earns bonus points at grocery stores or office supply stores, then any gift card you buy there effectively earns extra rewards, no matter where you ultimately spend the gift cards. In practice, you’re changing the point of sale.

Airbnb is one category that you can really maximize with this approach. It codes as travel, but the highest return you’ll get is 3x with cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

If I ever want to book an Airbnb, I scurry down to Staples first. I buy gift cards with my Chase Ink Business Cash card to lock in 5x instead of a lower travel bonus on a different rewards card. A $5,000 stay could earn you 25,000 Chase points. Same trip, better return.

Disney is similar. Nothing at Disney specifically earns bonus points unless you use a Disney co-branded credit card. But Disney vacations are inevitably quite expensive, so I personally think it’s worth maximizing this spending.

The solution: Disney gift cards are sometimes sold at grocery stores, Target, and office supply stores, though availability varies by location. Cards with rotating bonus categories such as the Chase Freedom Flex or the Discover it® often feature grocery stores as a 5x/5% category for up to $1,500 in spending each quarter. That means you can max out the quarterly bonus spending cap to fund your trip and earn a lot of points in the process.

Amazon is another perfect candidate: Without an Amazon credit card, you can easily spend thousands a year at the retailer for a very low return. But if Amazon appears as a rotating bonus category — and it generally does for relevant Chase and Discover cards — you can buy gift cards in bulk, load them onto your account, and earn 5x on every order for months.

Chase often runs 10% cash back offers for Amazon Fresh, so I buy Amazon gift cards there whenever those offers pop up.

I use the Amazon reporting feature (under the Transactions section of your account page) to find my average monthly Amazon spend, so I’m comfortable pre-buying my Amazon spend for the year in order to secure 10% cash back on everything I buy when those offers are active. The employees at Amazon Fresh know what I’m doing and recognize me — that’s the girl that wants to do 10 different transactions on 10 different cards for 10 gift cards.

Stop leaving money on the table when you shop online

What if your online shopping could pay for your next vacation? The Rakuten shopping portal transforms your everyday online purchases into either free cash back, American Express points, or Bilt points. With partnerships across 3,500+ retailers, that means you're earning rewards for shopping you're already doing. But here's the best part — for a limited time, you can score a $50 bonus (or 5,000 points) just for spending $50 through Rakuten in your first 90 days. One click before checkout could be the difference between paying for your next vacation and earning your way there.

Learn how to claim your $50 or 5,000 bonus points

For families with education expenses, the Gift of College gift card is a niche but powerful trick. These cards let you contribute to 529 plans or pay certain student loans.

If you find them at a store that qualifies for your 5x category, you’ll earn points on something that normally earns nothing. There are fees associated with these cards, but a 5x or 5% return can offset them depending on fee size and point value (though it’s always worth double-checking the math before going through with a purchase).

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