My secret weapon for maximizing every dollar I spend

Reading Time: 3 min

Kicking off with back to school, the shopping season is upon us. I already have my strategy for maximizing every swipe and tap ready to go: shopping portals.

Here’s how a few extra clicks can earn you a windfall of points and miles on the purchases you’re already making online.

Shopping portals are online spaces associated with airlines or credit cards that offer additional points and miles when clicking from their sites to purchase items at specific vendors. This is especially valuable when I’m shopping for items that aren’t typically included in credit card bonus categories, such as clothing or household items.

Many airlines and credit card loyalty programs have their own shopping portals, making it easy to top up my favorite points or miles currency by starting off my purchasing journey via their portal.

For example, I’m a oneworld flyer, so I’ll usually head to AAdvantage eShopping first. If I see a good deal at a business I want to buy from (usually 3 additional miles per dollar spent or higher — sometimes even up to 8x, 12x, or more), I click through and buy what I want. The shopping portal tracks my purchases via cookies, and I earn additional AAdvantage miles on the purchase.

Important: Just make sure ad blockers are off and you click through the portal right before checkout, or the tracking may fail and you may not get your extra rewards.

The fun really starts when I start getting strategic, using discounts and the right credit card to maximize my savings and rewards potential. For the last back-to-school shopping season, for instance, I needed to buy some school supplies and stock up on toiletries at CVS.

The ​AAdvantage shopping portal​ offered 2.5 AA miles per dollar spent at CVS, and I paid with my Chase Freedom Flex, which gives me 3% back on drugstore purchases.

For back-to-school clothing items at Carter’s, I used a promo code on the portal for 20% off, got 3.5 AA miles per dollar spent, and used my Capital One Venture X card to pay, which earns me 2x on all purchases, essentially triple-dipping on rewards.

Some of my favorite shopping portals are airline portals, such as:

• ​AAdvantage eShopping​
• ​Delta SkyMiles Shopping​
• ​United Airlines MileagePlus Shopping​
• ​Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping​

To determine which portal to use, I always check ​Evreward​ and ​Cashback Monitor​. These websites show me which shopping portal will give me the best deal based on the retailer I plan to shop at. Rakuten is another option. Instead of earning cash back, I changed my profile to earn American Express Membership Rewards points, which I can transfer to a number of hotel and airline partners’ loyalty programs. You can also choose to earn Bilt Points through Rakuten.

Some credit card issuers also have their own shopping portals, such as ​Shop Through Chase​, where I can earn additional Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

The main point here is that I’m already making these purchases, so I may as well be earning extra points and miles — and I will be, thanks to shopping portals.