Make The Most of Your Holiday Shopping

If we have to spend extra money over the holidays, we might as well make the most of it. One of my favorite ways to maximize my holiday shopping is by using an online shopping portal. This gives me a small percentage back on all of my purchases. Here’s a breakdown of how it works.

What are shopping portals?

Shopping portals are an easy way to earn extra points or cash back on purchases you’re already making. You will start on the portal’s website, search the store you want to shop from, then click through and shop like normal. You’ll then earn a percentage back based on the total spent.

It’s common for the percentage back to be elevated during the holidays, so you’ll get even more back on your shopping!

Shopping portal options

RAKUTEN

Rakuten is one of the most popular shopping portals (and my favorite) because you can choose to earn cash back or American Express Membership Rewards®. So, not only are you getting a kickback from your spending, but it can be turned into flexible points, which in turn can be used for a higher value than the cash rate.

You can change your cash back to flexible American Express Membership Rewards® if you hold one of the following credit cards:

Personal cards that earn Membership Rewards®:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express® Green Card*

*All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. American Express® Green Card is no longer available through The Traveling Hansens.

Business cards that earn Membership Rewards®:

• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Business Gold Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

By the way, don’t skip over the business cards. They are much easier to get than you might think, and they’re a great way to earn a big stash of points without affecting your 5/24 number.

Here’s how to change your Rakuten cash back to Amex points:

Log in to your account then go to Account Settings. Scroll down to where it says “How you Get Paid” and choose Membership Rewards® Points.

And that’s it! Super easy. Your points/cash will automatically be paid out quarterly.

Another reason I love Rakuten is because they have such a wide range of places to earn cash back, not just physical stores. We’ve earned cash back by using Viator through Rakuten to book excursions and experiences while traveling. We’ve also used Rakuten to earn cash back on taxes we’ve paid for our flights.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

Another popular shopping portal is AAdvantage Shopping. The reason this stands out above some of the others is that the miles earned from shopping count toward AA elite status. This is not the case for any other airline shopping portals. This means you could potentially earn AA status without ever setting foot on a plane!

OTHER OPTIONS

You can also earn extra points through other shopping portals. United, Southwest, and Chase all have them. However, Rakuten and AA are my top choices.

Other ways to maximize your holiday shopping

• Open a new card. This is the quickest way to get the most bang for your buck. If it’s money you have to spend, might as well make it work for you. Many welcome offers require $4,000 spending, so holiday shopping could put a big dent in that requirement. Check out the current best offers here.
• Focus on multiplier categories. Most rewards cards come with elevated returns in certain categories. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 3x on dining and 2x on travel. And the American Express® Gold Card earns 4x at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 spent per calendar year). You can earn even more by starting with a shopping portal, and then also using a card with an elevated category to pay.
• Offer to buy things and be reimbursed. Have parents or grandparents that don’t want to deal with shopping? Voluteer to do it for them and be reimbursed! Have kids in school who have holidays parties? Volunteer to purchase the food and be reimbursed! Going out to a holiday dinner with work friends? Volunteer to use your card and have them Venmo you for their part. These are great ways to put extra spending on your card (and earn the points) without having to actually pay for things.

Wrapping Up

Holiday shopping can get expensive quickly. Thankfully, there are some great ways to maximize your spending and make sure you’re getting the most from every dollar spent.