How to Maximize Rewards When Online Shopping

by Zac Hood | Aug 27, 2026 | Credit Card Strategy
How to Use Shopping Portals

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Current Rakuten offer: New members who join through a referral link can earn a signup bonus after spending a set minimum through the portal within 90 days, and the person who referred them earns the same bonus. Amounts change several times a year, Amazon orders don’t count toward the spending requirement, and Rakuten pays out quarterly rather than immediately. Check Rakuten’s site for the current offer and full terms before you sign up. (Last verified: August 2026)

(Short on time? Here’s the whole article in one paragraph, in the order that matters: start with a new credit card that has a strong signup bonus, because that’s where the real value is; join Rakuten through our referral link and start earning cash back on shopping you were already doing; add the shopping portal for the airline program you actually use; and if you want to compare payouts across portals, CashbackMonitor.com lists them in one place.)

At Travel Freely, our goal is simple: help you earn the most rewards in the least amount of time.

For beginners, there’s one incredibly easy way to earn extra cash back or loyalty rewards with hardly any extra effort: online shopping portals. This will allow you to earn rewards for shopping you were doing online anyways.

That said, shopping portals won’t move the needle like a new credit card signup bonus. Those bonuses are still the fastest path to big wins (think $500+ in value from a single card). But with a simple system, you can still pick up thousands of extra points a year through portals and bonus categories with almost no extra effort.

How do shopping portals work?

For the most part, all shopping portals work the same way. You start at your desired portal, search for the store you’re looking to shop at, and then you’re taken directly to the merchant’s website. You then continue your shopping as if you went directly to the store’s website first. Your purchase is tracked in the background, allowing you to earn points, miles, or cash back (depending on the shopping portal used) for your purchase.

Let’s say you are looking to make a purchase at Macys.com, as an example. Instead of going straight to the store’s website first, you’ll want to first go to your shopping portal of choice. If the portal is offering 5% cash back and you make a $100 purchase, you’ll end up earning an extra $5 bonus. Or, if you’re in a portal offering points and miles instead, that’ll earn you an extra 500 points.

Many of the best portals, such as Rakuten and the airline shopping portals, now have browser extensions, allowing you to skip the first step completely and go straight to your online store.

And remember, the cash or rewards you earn here are on top of any points you earn with your credit card.

Cash Back Shopping Portals

These portals are not affiliated with rewards programs. You earn cash back for purchases you make.

Probably the most well known cash back portal is Rakuten. It’s really easy to use, and even has its own Chrome browser extension to let you know automatically if you could earn cash back. With Rakuten, you’ll be paid out quarterly and you must earn at least $5.01 to be paid out (or it’ll roll over to the next quarter). If you’re interested in signing up, here’s a referral link that will get you extra bonus money.

Rakuten also partners with Bilt and American Express, allowing you to earn rewards within those two programs instead of cash back. However, you must link your accounts and swap your earning preference prior to your purchase. For earning Bilt Points, you do not need to have a Bilt credit card, just a Bilt account (which is free and available to everyone). To earn American Express points, you must have a Membership Rewards® earning credit card.

Another popular cash back option is TopCashBack.com. It works similarly to Rakuten with its cash back offering, but you can cash out at any point you’d like. Or, you can opt for a merchant gift card, such as Walmart or Best Buy, which typically gives you a 2% to 5% bonus on the cash back earned.

Airline Shopping Portals

These portals will earn points and miles towards a specific loyalty program.

Each major airline program also has their own shopping portal, many of which are run by the same company. To simplify your earnings, choose the airlines that you use most, and look at the value this portal could bring. Most of these airlines now have a Chrome browser extension that will automatically tell you if you could earn rewards when you’re shopping at a store’s site. Every so often, especially around the holidays, these portals run bonus promotions where if you spend a certain amount of money, you’ll earn an increased bonus amount.

Here’s a list of many of the airline-specific portals:

Note that the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping portal is one of the best since the points earned count towards the coveted Southwest Companion Pass. Just note if the airline is offering a bonus promotion where you earn a fixed number of miles, those points will not count as qualifying points.

Bank and Program Shopping Portals

Capital One Shopping

Capital One has a shopping portal that leads to good deals. You also don’t have to have a Capital One credit card, which means all shoppers can use their portal. Keep in mind that you must redeem your earnings as gift cards, which might not be ideal for everyone.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall

When you shop at the Shop Through Chase portal, you can earn valuable Chase points known as Chase Ultimate Rewards. Keep in mind that you’ll need to use the credit card associated with that account in order to earn the bonus points. If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, this might be the portal for you.

For more about the best overall card for beginners, read Why We Love the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

In Summary

If you’re already shopping online, a portal is one of the easiest ways to earn a little more on the same purchase. And if you don’t want to put in too much effort, just stick to one portal for all your shopping needs. It truly just takes an extra minute and you’ll be surprised to see how quickly your earnings add up. This is an easy, hassle-free system to earn additional cash or rewards. And if you want our recommendation, Rakuten is the one we use and the easiest place to start.

If you’re not quite sure, take a quick look at the site Cashback Monitor, which summarizes all available offers for both cash back portals and rewards portals. You can search by store to see which portal has the best offer. Keep in mind that some offers can be misleading, because a portal may not offer its highest rate on every item.

Final point: I strongly recommend getting a new credit card with a great signup bonus. When you knock out your minimum spending requirement, you’ll be looking at a points bonus that dwarfs anything a portal will pay you, for far less effort. If you’re not sure where to start, the best overall card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The easiest to use and redeem for beginners is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Then, add the card to your Travel Freely dashboard and forget about your deadlines. You’ll get email reminders for your bonus deadline and your annual fees.

6 Reasons Why We Love the Chase Sapphire Preferred®

Capital One Venture Cards for Beginners: Venture vs. Venture X (And Why One Stands Out Right Now)