{"id":259172,"date":"2026-08-23T16:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T16:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/23\/how-to-maximize-online-shopping-portals-for-your-purchases-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T16:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T16:00:19","slug":"how-to-maximize-online-shopping-portals-for-your-purchases-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/23\/how-to-maximize-online-shopping-portals-for-your-purchases-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to maximize online shopping portals for your purchases – The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Many of us regularly shop at retail stores and sites for pet supplies, home decor, clothing and gifts. In the face of rising costs, we also look for every possible way to save money.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these types of purchases rarely fall into the bonus categories on rewards credit cards<\/a><\/span>, making it harder to earn extra points, miles or cash back when you shop online.<\/p>\n

That’s where online shopping portals come in.<\/p>\n

Online shopping portals offer an easy way to earn bonus points, miles or cash back on purchases you’re already making. For instance, Rakuten is currently offering a one-time $50 bonus to new members<\/a><\/span> who join with a referral link (and make qualifying purchases) and to the person who referred them.<\/p>\n

In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top online shopping portals and how you can maximize your rewards when shopping.<\/p>\n

Related: From ‘free’ alterations to bonus Notes: How to maximize the Nordstrom Nordy Club<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Basics of online shopping portals<\/h2>\n

At the most basic level, shopping portals allow you to earn bonus points, miles or cash back at hundreds of online retailers.<\/p>\n

You can either log in to your online shopping portal of choice, click the store where you want to shop and be redirected to the store’s website to shop as normal, or you can download the portal’s browser extension. Browser extensions make it even easier to receive rewards for online shopping because they will automatically display the earning rate and any available discount codes when you visit an eligible shopping site. Some portals, including Rakuten, also have an app you can use when shopping on a mobile device.<\/p>\n

Related: Best travel rewards credit cards<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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You’re still purchasing the same items directly from the merchant, but because you started at the shopping portal, you’ll earn bonus points, miles or cash back. However, this generally only applies to the subtotal of your purchase (excluding taxes and shipping fees). Additionally, you’ll still earn points or miles on the rewards credit card you use, making this an easy way to double-dip<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Here’s an example using Rakuten: Let’s say you plan on buying $100 worth of school clothing for your children from Macy’s.<\/p>\n

Before going straight to the store’s website, you visit Rakuten’s site and notice it is offering 2% cash back at Macy’s. So you click through to Macy’s from Rakuten and make your purchase as normal, earning $2 in the process.<\/p>\n

If you had shopped directly on macys.com, you would’ve missed out on the extra $2 you got through Rakuten. You’ve earned additional rewards \u2014 and<\/em> you’re still getting the same item for the same price. Plus, with Rakuten, you can opt to earn American Express Membership Rewards points<\/a><\/span> or Bilt Points<\/a><\/span> instead of cash back. Therefore, from this purchase, you could earn 200 Amex points or 200 Bilt points, which TPG values at $4 and $4.4, respectively, per our August 2026 valuations<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

You might wonder how these portals can do this. After all, they do say nothing in life is free. But there’s no catch here. In exchange for directing you to a specified merchant, the portal will take a cut of any purchase you make from the retailer. It’s a win-win-win situation for all involved: The merchant gets more business, the portal generates more revenue and you earn extra rewards.<\/p>\n

You may think that an extra few dollars or points here and there won’t make much of a difference. However, if you consistently use shopping portals, you can easily rack up a significant amount of points, miles or cash back in a year.<\/p>\n

The beauty of this process is that you’re earning additional rewards for things you would’ve bought anyway \u2014 an especially savvy move to address cost increases<\/a><\/span> for everything from flights to groceries to furniture and computers.<\/p>\n

Types of online shopping portals<\/h2>\n
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Now that you know how they work, let’s take a look at the major types of shopping portals out there. You can generally group them into three categories:<\/p>\n