Credit card shopping portals: How to earn more rewards on every purchase

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If you shop online, your credit card’s shopping portal can help you earn extra rewards on purchases you already plan to make. These portals connect you to retailers and offer bonus points, cash back, or discounts when shopping.

While you might have noticed these portal links when redeeming credit card points, understanding how to use them effectively can significantly increase your rewards earnings.

How credit card shopping portals work

At their core, shopping portals are partnerships between credit card companies and retailers. When you click through a portal’s unique link to make a purchase, the retailer tracks your shopping activity and rewards you with additional perks through your credit card. It’s like getting an extra discount just for taking a different path to the same store.

These portals make it easy to earn bonus rewards in addition to your card’s regular benefits. Whether you’re booking travel, buying electronics, or ordering everyday items, using a shopping portal can help you maximize the value of your purchases.

Popular credit card shopping portals

Each credit card issuer structures its shopping portals differently. Phillip Parker, founder of CardPaymentOptions.com, explains, “These incentives often include bonus rewards, such as double points, and discounts reserved specifically for purchases made through the portal.”

Here are three examples of how popular card issuers offer shopping benefits.

Shop With Chase

Through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, Shop With Chase offers substantial bonuses. You can earn anywhere from double to eight times the points you’d normally receive without using the portal. The platform also features exclusive sales and promotional codes, giving you even more ways to save.

Just remember that not all Chase-branded cards offer Ultimate Rewards access, so check your card’s eligibility before counting on these benefits.

American Express Offers

Amex's Offers program takes a different approach. Rather than a traditional shopping portal, American Express partners with various brands and lets you enroll in specific offers before purchasing.

For example, you might see deals like “Spend $75 or more, get $15 back” or opportunities to earn multiple statement credits over time. These credits appear on your statement in addition to any regular rewards you earn using your eligible American Express card.

Capital One Shopping and Capital One Offers

Capital One has two separate programs for shoppers. Their shopping portal is a standalone site where bonuses accumulate in a separate account rather than appearing on your credit card statement.

That said, if you use a Capital One rewards card through the portal, you’ll typically qualify for both your card’s standard benefits and any available cash back bonuses and promo codes.

Capital One also offers a program similar to American Express, which offers statement credits for purchases from specific retailers when you enroll ahead of time and follow the terms.

Strategies for maximizing rewards

Getting the most value from shopping portals requires some time and research, but you don’t need to be a rewards expert to benefit. Even occasional use can lead to meaningful savings over time.

Stack rewards with your base earning rate

If a particular shopping portal offers a high bonus, using the best rewards credit card you have to make that payment can often maximize your rewards.

R.J. Weiss, a certified financial planner and founder of Ways to Wealth, emphasizes this approach, “Using a card that maximizes your rewards is always ideal for smaller purchases. Some cards offer bonus categories in certain types of retailers.”

For instance, if a portal offers a 2% cash back bonus and your card provides 2% back in a relevant bonus category, you could effectively save 4% on your purchase. This stacking effect can make a huge difference, especially on larger purchases.

Time your shopping with bonus promotions

Many shopping platforms and retailers offer higher promotions throughout the year. To make the most of these opportunities, consider keeping a log of upcoming purchases you plan to make. That way, you can monitor portal promotions and strike when the offers align with your needs.

While this strategy works best for planned purchases rather than immediate needs, it can save you a substantial amount when executed well.

Compare rates across multiple portals

If you can access several shopping portals through different cards, take advantage of the opportunity to compare benefits. One portal might offer better rewards for travel booking, while another has more deals on retail purchases.

Pay attention to the fine print and make sure you understand how to qualify for each portal’s benefits.

Combine with online coupons and promo codes

When you first sign up for an email list with almost any retailer, they often send a welcome promotional code, and some will email you with ongoing promotions. These offers and promotional codes can frequently stack with portal benefits.

While most retailers limit you to one promotional code per purchase, combining a store promotion with portal rewards can result in a stacked benefit that wouldn’t be possible another way.

If fine print isn’t easy to access, you can experiment with your shopping cart to see which combinations work together.

Best categories for shopping portal rewards

While you can earn portal rewards on various purchases, specific categories tend to offer more value. Travel booking, including flights, hotels, and car rentals, frequently offers competitive rewards. The active competition in the travel market often leads to more generous bonus offers.

Many online retailers regularly offer ongoing rewards, especially when combined with free shipping offers (which also saves you a trip to the store). Additionally, subscription services purchased through portals may qualify for ongoing discounts. Most of these discounts are promotional rates that only last a set period of time, but they’re often a larger discount than a one-time offer.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Success with shopping portals requires some attention to detail. The most frequent mistake is simply forgetting to activate the portal before shopping. It’s also possible to lose tracking by navigating away from a retailer’s site and returning through a different path.

Make sure you enable cookies — these digital trackers allow the portal to verify your purchases and award proper rewards. Also, check whether using additional coupons might invalidate your portal earnings.

John Taylor Garner, Founder and CEO of Odynn, offers an important reminder about responsible portal use: "The main reason [to use shopping portals] is to earn extra rewards (cashback or miles, etc.) for shopping that you are already doing." Don't let the allure of bonus rewards lead to unnecessary spending.

How to maximize your earnings from shopping portals

While many of us love shopping, one of the reasons why these portals exist is to encourage you to shop more than you might otherwise. To get the most value from shopping portals without increasing your spending, keep these ideas in mind:

• Install a browser extension to quickly access portal links and make sure your purchases track correctly. This is especially helpful if you regularly use the same portal.
• Use comparison tools to evaluate different portal rates, particularly for major purchases. Garner mentions cashbackmonitor.com as a resource: “Spend a few minutes looking it up, and you could save hundreds,” says Garner.
• Take advantage of portal apps when shopping on mobile devices, and make sure you’ve linked your cards to qualify for bonus rewards.
• Pay attention to patterns to anticipate when extra bonuses might appear. Many portals offer higher promotions during holiday shopping seasons or at regular intervals throughout the year.

The bottom line

Shopping portals can increase the rewards you earn from your credit cards, but success requires organization and patience. As you explore your credit card’s shopping portals, you can find ways to unlock bonus offers and time them for when you need to make particular purchases. With a planned approach, you can earn more rewards on the shopping you already do.

Editorial disclosure: Opinions expressed are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.