Credit Card Shopping Portals
When it comes to credit cards, especially travel credit cards, there can be a lot of benefits. That's a big part of why they have an annual fee. One of the most overlooked benefits can be shopping portals. What is a credit card shopping portal you ask? Why I'm so glad you did! That's what I'm here to tell you about today.
If your credit card's bank offers a shopping portal, it will most likely be linked from the front page, or dashboard, of your online account. It is usually available in your app as well. It might look something like the picture above. Different banks handle things in different ways, but most banks (including Bank of America, American Express, and Chase) have portals where you add an offer to your card. Then you either shop online or in person and within 45ish days the reward will be added to your account:
Yeah, we're big fans of Shake Shack, but when they offer you 15% cash back who wouldn't be? So how do you go about taking advantage of these wonderful offers? Well, first you log into your online account, or open your bank's app, whichever you prefer. Click on the offers link and start browsing. The offers change up from time to time and usually have an expiration, so keep that in mind. Perhaps you want to add the expiration to your personal calendar or make an appointment to use it, whatever works for you. One points expert I follow, Katie, recommends perusing these offers once a month and adding anything that might interest you to the card. Keep in mind, if you have multiple cards with one bank, they might have different offers so it is worth checking. There is no harm in adding an offer to your card and then not using it, so go ahead and add anything that stands out to you! Here are some examples I found this morning as I was looking around on Chase:
So these deals I've mentioned so far just need to be added to your card before you make a purchase, and then you have to make sure to use that card when you visit the shop. There's another type of deal through credit card shopping portals that work specifically for online purchases. For Chase, you can find them here. Instead of earning a percentage of your purchase as cash back, you earn extra miles/points on your purchase. So, for example, if you would normally earn only 1 point per dollar spent on items at Pampered Chef, with this offer you would double that, earning 2 points per dollar:
I got this crazy deal when buying tires for the car my middle son is using. The tire price was the same as at the store down the street, but I received 30x miles on my purchase!
To me, points and miles earned are worth even more than cash back. Cash will only ever have it's face value. A dollar is only ever worth $1. But with points and miles, they can be worth so much more. For example, I could cash out 6,500 miles at any time for $65. They'd be happy to give it to me. But if I transfer those 6,500 points to Hyatt, I can book a room for the night before my cruise in September. That's worth a lot more than $65! Last December I transferred 30,000 points to British Airways, a $300 value, to pay for my ticket home from my cruise in January. The same day, that ticket was priced at over $2,600. It would have cost me more than $300 to fly standby, because you have to pay the taxes and fees. Moral of the story is, points are worth more than their face value and when given a choice between cash back and points, I usually choose points.
Yes, there always has to be fine print, and I encourage you to read it on any particular deal you are planning to take advantage of, so you don't miss out. On both the Chase and the Capital One deals for miles/points they require you to click through the deal on their site before you checkout at the online store. If you don't complete your purchase through the window they open, you won't get the bonus. They give you plenty of time though, you don't have to do it in a matter of minutes. Most of the time they also say that any other deals, say coupon codes, will invalidate the offer. My experience with this is varied so here's what I would suggest. Do your shopping while logged in on the site. Once your cart is full, pop over to your main credit card portal(s) and see if they have any offers at the place you are going to shop at anyways. Then, if they do, click through the offer to complete your purchase. If you have a coupon code, compare it's value to what you would be getting through the credit card portal. For example, with my tires, if I had a coupon for $10 off, I definitely wouldn't apply it just in case it invalidated my 30x miles back that was worth $90 at least. However, if the coupon is worth more than you'd receive in points/miles, then add it. Worst case you lose the points/miles, best case it goes through anyways. I shop a lot on Bloomchic (you can read my post about it here) and I often receive extra incredible discount coupons. I have clicked through my credit card portal, made my purchase with the coupon code, and still gotten my points/miles added to my account. YMMV. All I'm saying is, if you're going to use a coupon, make sure it's worth it!
Here's the Thing: Just like with using credit cards to earn points/miles, shopping through portals is only beneficial if you were going to make the purchase anyways. It will never be in your best interest to overextend yourself just to get a deal. If you are interested in any of these portals that you don't currently have access to, please consider using one of my sign-up links below. We both get a good deal from it!
· Chase Sapphire Preferred NOTE - For a limited time this link will give you an elevated bonus of 100,000 points worth $1,000 or $1,250 worth of travel in the Chase Travel Portal!
o Limited time offer - Earn 100,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Preferred. I can be rewarded if you apply here and are approved for the card.
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Capital
One Venture X
o I have a Capital One Venture X credit card and really like it. You should check it out. If you apply using my referral link and are approved, I'll get a referral bonus!
o https://i.capitalone.com/GtwUUvvsV
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Amex Green
o Here’s my Amex referral link. Use it and we could both earn rewards if you are approved and get a Card. Check out offers and Card benefits. https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/american-express-green-card?ref=MICHAERAbv&xl=cp19
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