Busy coupon cutters know the ins and outs of coupon stacking, which is when you apply multiple discounts to the same purchase. Some credit card users practice a similar form of extreme savings by including multiple discounts and reward programs when they make purchases with their credit cards. Interested? Here’s how you can do it and get savings, too!
Try an Online Shopping Portal
According to the web site wisebread.com, an easy way to earn additional rewards from your credit card is by using an online shopping portal. Many credit card programs offer rewards when you make purchases from an online retailer after clicking a link from the credit card’s shopping site.
Additionally, some airlines and hotels have loyalty programs that offer shopping portals so you can earn additional points and miles from purchases. For example, United Airlines offers MileagePlus Shopping and Hilton Hotels has the Honors Shop-to-Earn Mall, the web site suggests.
If that’s not enough, there are portals such as Ebates and Mr. Rebates that offer cash back. However, you can only earn rewards from one portal for each purchase. You can often earn three points or miles per dollar from major retailers, and more from specialty stores. To locate the best rewards for a retailer, use a shopping portal comparison site such as CashBackMonitor.com or evreward.com, the web site suggests.
Earn Sign-up Bonuses from Credit Cards
There are some ways to stack savings and earn sign-up bonuses from new credit card offers. For example, some cards might offer new cardholders X amount in cash back after spending X amount on new purchases within X amount of months of opening the account, the web site suggests.
Ask for Targeted Offers from a Credit Card Issuer
Because credit card companies tend to be competitive, and banks are usually looking for ways to get customers to use their cards over others, there are some ways to cash in. One way is to offer bonus rewards for spending during a particular time period. For example, you could be given an offer of 3,500 bonus points when you use your card to make $1,000 of purchases each month for three months, the web site suggests.
To find out if you’re eligible to receive one of these offers, ask your bank’s customer service department. Additionally, opt in for promotional emails and mail, since these advertisements might give you even more options or rewards, the web site suggests.
Use a Retailer’s Loyalty Program
Some retailers offer loyalty programs that let you earn rewards in the form of store credit. For example, Costco has an Executive Rewards program that allows members earn 2 percent back on every purchase. Most airlines and hotel chains offer loyalty programs that are usually free to join, the web site suggests.
While all of this might seem time quite consuming, consider the savings you could get, just for taking some additional minutes to stack rewards. Instead of getting 1.5 percent cash back from your flat rate cash back credit card, you can get an additional 3 percent back by using a shopping portal, and perhaps another 2 percent in store points by signing up for a loyalty program, web site suggests.
Happy shopping!
