Difference between revisions of "Credit card shopping programs"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|shopping programs}} (2018)}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|shopping programs}} (2021)}}
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{{seo|description=Increase your rewards by linking your credit cards to automatic shopping programs, like Spent and Drop, to earn cash back at participating merchants.}}
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{{seo|description=Increase your rewards by linking your credit cards to automatic shopping programs, like Pei and Drop, to earn cash back at participating merchants.}}
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{{Page|article|Card Strategies}}  
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{{Page|article|Earn Points|Card Strategies}}  
  
 
{{ImageX|Shopping.jpg|full}}  
 
{{ImageX|Shopping.jpg|full}}  
  
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There are several programs that provide bonus rewards when you use your credit card to shop at a participating merchant.
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Several programs provide extra rewards when you use your credit card to shop at participating merchants. For some of these programs, you simply need to register your card once, and you'll automatically earn extra rewards going forward, without any extra effort.  
  
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
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Our advice is to take a few minutes to sign up for all the set-and-forget programs. Once you’ve registered, you’ll automatically earn extra rewards, without having to take any further action, or even remember that you've enrolled.
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Our advice is to take a few minutes to sign up for all the set-and-forget programs. You may also want to take advantage of some of the programs that require you to activate individual offers before you use them.  
 
</blockquote>  
 
</blockquote>  
  
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If you want to earn even more rewards, you can take advantage of some additional programs, where you have to “claim’ your awards first.
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In general, you can register with all these programs to increase the number of retailers where you can earn bonus rewards.
 +
 
 +
If a retailer participates in multiple programs, you'll typically earn rewards for each one. For example, every time you shop at CVS, you can receive 5% back from Payce and .5% back from Pei, plus whatever rewards you earn from your credit card.  
  
 
{{TOC}}
 
{{TOC}}
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*[[#Spent|Spent]]
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*[[#Pei|Pei]]
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*[[#Drop|Drop]]
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*[[#The Rakuten Platform|The Rakuten Platform]]
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*[[#Acorns Found Money|Acorns Found Money]]
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*[[#Payce|Payce]]
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*[[#Visa Local Offers: Uber and Trim|Visa Local Offers: Uber and Trim]]
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*[[#Other 3rd party programs|Other 3rd party programs]]
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*[[#Yelp and Dosh|Yelp and Dosh]]
 
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*[[#Upromise|Upromise]]
 
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*[[#Hawaiian Airlines and Ebates|Hawaiian Airlines and Ebates]]
 
 
*[[#Special “offers” from credit card companies|Special “offers” from credit card companies]]
 
*[[#Special “offers” from credit card companies|Special “offers” from credit card companies]]
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*[[#Programs from small-business cards|Programs from small-business cards]]
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*[[#Programs from small business cards|Programs from small business cards]]
 
{{/TOC}}
 
{{/TOC}}
  
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{{Main|article}}
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{{Main|Article}}
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=== Spent ===
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=== Pei ===
 +
 
 +
'''[//getpei.com/ Pei] is a good "set and forget" option'''.
 +
 
 +
{{Image|Pei.png}}
 +
 
 +
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''They offer small rewards on a few dozen useful merchants'''. For example, some typical offers are 1% extra back at Target, .5% extra back at CVS and Walgreens, and .5% back at Trader Joe's.</li>
 +
 
 +
<li>'''While it is easy to extra rewards through your everyday spending, rewards have fairly low caps'''. Each merchant has its own weekly cap. For example, the Target offer is limited to $1.25 per week ($125 in spending) and the Nordstrom offer is limited to $5 per week ($1,000 in spending).</li>
  
−
When you register your credit card with '''[//spentapp.com/ Spent]''', you'll automatically earn extra rewards, when you shop at one of their participating merchants.  
+
<li>'''While the amount you can earn can be limited, it takes almost no effort to use the service'''. Once you link your cards, you'll automatically receive extra rewards at the participating merchants.</li>
  
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Spent works with a nice set of merchants, including Amazon, Whole Foods, McDonald's,  Starbucks, iTunes, Netflix, Uber, Walgreens, and Lowes. Once you've activated each store, you'll earn an extra 1% in rewards just by using a linked card, whether you are shopping in-store or online. Monthly rewards are limited to $100 per merchant. To actually receive your cash back, you can transfer (amounts over $20) to a PayPal account.  
+
<li>'''Pei also provides perhaps the best collection of local and dining card-linked offers'''. Typical restaurant offers give you about 5% back and they perhaps the best assortment of participating restaurants. We recommend using it with the credit cards you use for your restaurant spending. {{Link|dining programs}}.</li>
  
−
{{Image|Spent.jpg}}
+
{{Image|Peimap.png|350}}
 +
</ul>
  
−
Their partner list can be confusing, because they also act as a shopping portal (where you can get extra rewards for shopping at certain stores, as long as you visit the store by clicking on a link on the Spent website or app), as well as a linked-card program. While their shopping portal rates are decent, you can usually earn more by going through one of the best online shopping portals instead. So, the interesting set of partners are really limited to the ones that mention "via linked card", and work simply by using your linked credit card to make a purchase.  
+
{{Box|Linking Your Accounts}}
 +
Some of the card-linked offer programs, including Pei, work by linking your online banking accounts, rather than linking individual credit cards. For example, rather than entering the credit card number, expiration date, and security code of each of your American Express cards, the app opens up the American Express sign-in page for you to enter your American Express username and password. When your done, all of your American Express cards are automatically added.  
  
−
Unlike some of the other linked credit card services, you need to register each individual card with the service, rather than linking all the cards from each bank. Nevertheless, it only takes a minute to enroll a new card. You also need to individually "activate" each merchant where you want to earn rewards.  
+
If you want, you can then link and unlink individual cards. When you sign up for a new card from a linked bank, it is automatically added to your account.  
  
−
Spent relies on a back-end that is provided by a company called "Empyr". As a result, the same credit card can't be used with both Spent and other Empyr-based programs, such as the one offered by Yelp (and described below). Ideally, you can link your "restaurant" credit card to Yelp (or similar program), and link some of your other cards to this program.
+
This is more convenient than linking individual cards, but it does give the shopping program access to information for all your accounts, including checking and investment accounts associated with the same bank.  
  
−
=== Drop ===
+
If the shopping program is following the rules, it doesn't have access to your actual user names and passwords. Your bank controls the sign-in form that is displayed within the app and returns an "access token" that the app uses to access the data in your accounts. But, in the end, you'll still need to trust the applications you are working with.
 +
{{/Box}}
  
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'''[//www.earnwithdrop.com/ Drop]''' works similarly to Spent. Once you register your card with the service, you'll automatically earn extra rewards, whenever you shop at one of their participating merchants. Their points can be redeemed for gift cards. Be award that Drop’s points are only worth 1/10 of a cent, so 10 points per dollar equals 1% cash-back.
+
=== The Rakuten Platform ===
  
−
{{Image|Drop.jpg}}
+
'''[//www.rakuten.com/in-store.htm Rakuten] (Ebates) operates a card-linked shopping program, called "In-Store Cash Back"'''. 
  
−
Drop works with many of the largest merchants, including Walmart, Target, Safeway, Whole Foods, Macy’s, and Starbucks. You’ll typically earn 1-2% cash-back, in addition to whatever you earn from your credit card, the store’s own loyalty program, and any other shopping program. Unlike Spent, you can only earn rewards with five specific merchants, which you choose when you sign up for the program, and you can’t change later. But the earning rates are slightly higher than with Spent.  
+
{{Image|RakutenInstore.jpg}}
  
−
You can earn rewards with the same merchant using both Spent and Dosh. For example, if you choose Whole Foods from Dosh, you can earn 2% from Dosh, 1% from Spent, and whatever you earn from your credit card.  
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''Unlike some other programs, Rakutan's program is not a "Set and Forget" program'''. You don't just automatically earn rewards whenever you shop with one of your linked cards.</li>
  
−
=== Acorns Found Money ===
+
You need to activate each offer on their website before it is linked to your card. Once activated, the offer remains linked for about 45 days and you can activate offers with as many merchants as you'd like. Once you earn rewards with a participating merchant, you'll need to revisit the website and reactivate the offer to qualify for rewards on your next visit.
  
−
Acorns helps you save and invest money, by rounding up all your purchases to the nearest dollar, and adding the extra money to your investment account. They also operate a program called '''[https://www.acorns.com/foundmoney/ Found Money]''', that will automatically give you cash-back, whenever you use your registered card at a participating retailer.  
+
<li>'''They have offers with a few dozen major retailers'''. But their program doesn't usually include any grocery stores, department stores, or other "everyday" merchants. It is mostly stores like  Men's Warehouse or Ann Taylor.</li>
  
−
{{Image|Acorns.png}}
+
<li>'''Rakuten also operates  in-store shopping programs for several other companies'''. You aren't supposed to be able to rewards from multiple of these programs for the same purchase. Be careful, sometimes the partner sites don't include every offer that is available on the main site.</li>
  
−
To earn rewards with a retailer, you must activate that retailer in the app. Monthly rewards are capped at a maximum of $40.  
+
<ul>
 +
<li>'''[//pay.google.com/about/ The Google Pay App]''' currently offers a slightly higher cashback rate than Rakuten itself. But this may only last while they are trying to establish their new application.</li>
  
−
They only work with a small set of retailers, but they include very useful options like Walmart (1%), Macy’s (5%), Apple (1.2%, with some products excluded), Airbnb (1.8%), and Expedia hotel stays (4%). 
+
<li>'''[//www.mileageplanshopping.com/instore# Alaska Airlines]''' and '''[//shopping.mileageplus.com/instore United Airlines]'''. With these airline shopping programs, you'll earn miles rather than cash back. You'll typically get 1.5 miles, instead of 2% cash back; 2 or 2.5 miles instead of 3% back, or 3 miles instead of 4% back. In-store offers with these airlines will help you qualify for their occasional shopping portal bonus mile promotions. </li>
  
−
=== Visa Local Offers: Uber and Trim ===
+
<li>'''[//www.simplymiles.com/ American Airlines SimplyMiles]'''. American Airline's version is a bit of an oddball. It only works with Mastercards (not just AA-branded Mastercards) and it offers rewards on a number of unique merchants. </li>
  
−
Visa operates a "local offer" program that is primarily focused on {{Link|dining programs|restaurants}}. But, it also provides extra rewards at a few major retailers, such as Staples (5%), Petco (5%), Whole Foods (x%), and Williams-Sonoma (10%). As with most of these programs, all you need to do is register your credit card (Visa only), and when you use the registered card to make your purchase, you’ll automatically receive the rewards.  
+
It offers rewards on an often-useful set of merchants that aren't available through the other Rakuten-powered websites. Many of these are in the form of a fixed mileage bonus for a purchase of over a certain amount, such as 1,000 miles for a purchase of $30 or more, rather than as a set number of miles per dollar spent.
  
−
Visa doesn't directly offer this program to consumers. You have to work with one of their partners. The easiest way to access the program is through '''[//www.uber.com/c/visa-local-offers/ Uber]'''. If you have at least one Visa card set up with your Uber account, you can click a button in the app to join the program. You can also browse participating restaurants and merchants within the app. It is also possible to access the program through a company called '''[//www.asktrim.com/ Trim]'''.
+
<li>'''[//online.citi.com/US/ag/merchantoffers Citibank]''' includes the Rakuten offers as part of its Merchant Offers program, alongside the local businesses from the Rewards Network program and a handful of their own offers. Rates are higher even than Google Pay's, but you can only link the offers to some selected Citibank cards.</li>
 +
 +
<li>'''[//www.swagbucks.com/shop Swagbucks]''' is another option that allows you to access the Rakuten offers alongside Swagbuck's other shopping programs.</li>
 +
</ul>
  
−
=== Yelp and Dosh ===
+
<li>'''While you shouldn't get credit for the same offer added to multiple cards, you can pick and choose which program to use for a particular merchant''', by only adding that merchant's offer through a single website. So, you could earn rewards with one merchant through Google Pay, another merchant through Rakuten's own site, and yet another through AA's SimplyMiles (which offers very different offers than the other versions).</li>
 +
</ul>
  
−
'''[//www.yelp.com/rewards/signup Yelp Cash Back]''' and '''[//www.dosh.cash/ Dosh]''' are mainly {{Link|dining programs|restaurant reward}} programs, but they give rebates for a few retailers as well. As with restaurants, you can expect to get 5-10% back, and can view participating stores in the Yelp app and website. There aren’t many participating retailers, but it is very easy to register and earn extra rewards; and you probably want to do so anyway (for your restaurant spending).  
+
If you are willing to make the effort, it is worthwhile to link each of your cards to Rakuten, visit the site every 30-45 days, activate any potentially interesting offers, and earn some extra rewards from your purchases. If you are even more diligent, you can try to remember to return to the site to reactivate any offers you wind up using.
  
−
Yelp, Dosh, and a few other companies' programs, operate with the same back-end, and you can only use one of them at a time. Many people prefer to use Yelp, because the participating restaurant (and store) information is integrated directly into the often-used Yelp app. However, other people may prefer to use Dosh, because they are also an interesting option for private-deal hotel booking. {{Link|private deals}}
+
=== Payce ===
  
−
But it is also not possible to use any of the different versions of this service with the same card that you are using with Spent (described above). Ideally, you'd link your "restaurant" card to Yelp, Dosh or one of its sibling cards, and then other cards with the Spent service.
+
'''[//paycepays.com Payce] offers more lucrative cashback percentages for a nice assortment of major major retailers—but many stores have low monthly cashback limits'''. Typical offers are around 5% back on stores like Home Depot, Staples, and CVS. But many of these stores limit your cashback to $5 per month ($100 in spending).  
  
−
=== Upromise ===
+
{{Image|Payce.jpg}}
  
−
Upromise is a program set up by SallieMae to help people save for college. As a result, it makes it easy to transfer your rewards to a college savings plan or student loan. But, you don’t have to use the program for college, and you can always withdraw your rewards by requesting a check.  
+
You'll need to "activate" each offer in your account, before it will be applied to your credit card spending. Credit card numbers are added directly. And unlike most of the other app, Payce can simply be used through its website.
  
−
They primarily operate one of the better online shopping portals, where you can earn bonus rewards, with many online merchants.
+
=== Other 3<sup>rd</sup> party programs ===
  
−
But, they also offer an '''[//shop.upromise.com/e/members/benefits.php?sid=132XXdKrlo132&xshop_type=instore&xsort=distance In-Store Offers]''' program that works by simply using a registered credit card, at one of their participating physical retailers. You'll typical earn 5-10% cash back. Most of the retailers are local stores, not national chains. You can only use a Visa or Mastercard, and it only works at the participating retailer's brick & mortar locations.
+
==== Dosh ====
  
−
=== Hawaiian Airlines and Ebates ===
+
'''[//www.dosh.cash/ Dosh]''' is primarily a {{Link|dining programs|dining program}} that runs on Reward Network. But, it also offers rewards at a few additional partners. The main interest in this app is that they give 2% cashback at Office Depot (subject to a $10 per day cap).  
−
Hawaiian Airlines and Ebates have reward programs, where you can register your credit card. and earn extra rewards when you use them at participating retailers. Both programs are operated by the same company, so you can only register your card with one program or the other.  
 
  
−
Even though they are operated by the same backend company, the two programs work very differently, and have very different sets of participating retailers.
+
==== Bumped ====
  
−
<ul class="checklist">
+
Like the Rakuten platform, '''[//bumped.com/ Bumped]''' provides rewards on a set of national brands, but not any "everyday" merchants. Also like Rakuten, you'll need to activate each offer before it can be used. 
−
<li>With the '''[//www.ebates.com/in-store-anonymous-user.htm Ebates In-Store Cash Back]''' program, you need to click a button on their website to activate cash-back for each of the retailers. Then, you need to activate that merchant again, after every purchase, to re-qualify for your rewards. For most people, this is too much effort; but it can be worthwhile for larger purchases. They do have a good set of retailers.</li>
+
 
 +
Their twist is that instead of earning cash back, you earn fractional shares of stock.  That means that you'll actually be opening a real brokerage account with Bumped. But, there are no ongoing maintenance fees, no fees to sell your fractional shares, and no fees to transfer cash out to your bank account.  
 +
 
 +
There is a reward limit of $250 per brand per year and $50 for any individual purchase.
 +
 
 +
==== Collinson (jetBlue & Caesars) ====
  
−
<li>Hawaiian Airline’s '''[//partners.hawaiianairlines.com/CLORegistration.aspx Registered Card Offers]''' works like the other set-and-forget program. Once you’ve registered your card, you’ll automatically receive a discount at any participating merchant. But, they have a different and much smaller set of retail partners (outside of Hawaii itself), mostly Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. You’ll typically earn 2 miles per dollar.</li>
+
Collinson is another company that operates an in-store card-linked offer system via multiple websites. You can access their offers either through '''[//trueblueshopping.jetblue.com/instore/offers jetBlue]''' or the '''[//www.caesarsrewardsmarketplace.com/en/instore Caesars Rewards Marketplace]'''. Offers are available at a couple of dozen merchants, including Lowe's and the Gap family of brands. JetBlue tends to offer 3 points per dollar. Caesar's is more variable, typically ranging from 1 to 5x points.
−
</ul>
 
  
 
=== Special “offers” from credit card companies ===
 
=== Special “offers” from credit card companies ===
  
−
Several credit card companies give their cardholders access to special offers and discounts.  
+
Most of the major credit card companies give their cardholders access to special offers and discounts.  
  
 
<ul class="checklist">
 
<ul class="checklist">
−
<li>'''[//www.amexoffers.com/ Amex Offers]'''. Amex Offers is the most talked about program, but it is not the only option. To take advantage of an offer you need to log into your account online, and activate each individual offer you might want to use, from the ever-changing set of available offers. Offers are based on the individual card, and sometimes personally targeted, so not everyone has access to the same offers.</li>  
+
<li>'''[//www.amexoffers.com/ Amex Offers]'''. Amex Offers is the most talked about and probably the best of these programs. This is mostly the result that many of their offers allow you to save significant amounts of money—more than most of the offers from the other programs. </li>  
  
−
Many offers are in the form of “Spend $x, get $y back”. But there are also “x% off your entire order” offers, and opportunities to earn bonus Membership Rewards points on your entire purchase.  
+
To take advantage of an offer you need to log into your account online and activate each individual offer you might want to use from the ever-changing set of available offers. Amex Offers can only be available on specific Amex cards and are sometimes personally targeted, so not everyone has access to the same set of offers. If an offer shows up on multiple cards, you can only add it to one. Though an authorized cardholder might be able to add it as well.  
  
−
Once activated, you’ll automatically receive the offer, the next time you use your card at that merchant. Offers are associated with each individual Amex card. Even though offers have always been officially limited to a single card, you had previously been able to add them to multiple cards, and take advantage of them multiple times. This is no longer the case.
+
Many offers are in the form of “Spend $x, get $y back”. But there are also “x% off your entire order” offers, and opportunities to earn bonus Membership Rewards points on your entire purchase. Once activated, you’ll automatically receive the offer the next time you use your card at that merchant. 
  
 
{{Image|AmexOffers.jpg}}
 
{{Image|AmexOffers.jpg}}
  
−
<li>'''[//usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/visa-offers-and-perks.html Visa Offers]'''. The Visa program provides a changing set of offers that you typically redeem using a promotional code, or by mentioning the offer.</li>
+
<li>'''Credit card company programs run by Cardlytics'''. Most of the shopping offers programs run by the other credit card companies are operated behind the scenes by a company called Cardlytics. That means that you'll often see the same offer on multiple sites. For example, if you read about an interesting offer from Chase Offers, there is a decent change it will be available from BankAmeriDeals. Since each of these programs is limited to the credit card company's own credit cards, it isn't possible to double-dip. You can only use one card to make the purchase.  
  
−
<li>'''[//promotions.bankofamerica.com/deals/ BankAmeriDeals]'''. Bank of America’s program works like Amex Offers—you need to activate the offers on their website first. Once activated, they are automatically applied, when you use your card.  Most deals are cash-back based (typically 10%), with the money being automatically applied to your credit card statement.</li>
+
The programs from the larger credit card companies are listed below, but offers are also available from cards from several smaller banks.
 +
 
 +
<ul class="checklist">
 +
<li>'''[//www.chase.com/personal/merchant-offers Chase Offers]'''.  Chase's offers work just like Amex's Offers. Once they are activated for a specific card, you simply use that card to make a qualifying purchase and and'll get a rebate on your statement. As with American Express, you'll have different offers on different cards. Chase makes fewer offers available than Amex and more of them are targeted to specific customers.</li>
 +
 
 +
<li>'''[//usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/visa-offers-and-perks.html Visa Offers]'''. The Visa program provides a changing set of offers that you typically redeem using a promotional code or by mentioning the offer.</li>
 +
 
 +
<li>'''[//promo.bankofamerica.com/deals/ BankAmeriDeals]'''. Bank of America’s program is actually operated by the same company that operates Chase's offers. However, with Bank of America, you'll have a set of offers that work across all your eligible Bank of America cards. As with Amex and Chase, once activated, they are automatically applied when you use any of your Bank of America cards.</li>
 +
 
 +
<li>'''Wells Fargo Deals'''. Wells Fargo has recently added cash-back deals for at least some of their personal credit cards. Expect more offers for Wells Fargo's Amex cards.</li>
 +
</ul>
  
−
<li>'''[//flexperkspromos.usbank.com FlexPerks Offers'''. U.S. Bank provides a limited set of special offers to its cardholders.</li>
+
<li>'''[//online.citi.com/US/ag/merchantoffers Citi Merchant Offers]'''. Perhaps in an effort to catch up to the other major credit companies, Citibank's program primarily consists of offers from other card-linked platforms. The bulk of its shopping offers are from Rakuten and the bulk of its local offers are from Reward Network. They do include some of their own offers, many of which are for various types of travel purchases, alongside the offers available through these other platforms.</li>  
  
 +
<li>'''[//flexperkspromos.usbank.com FlexPerks Offers]'''.  U.S. Bank provides a limited set of special offers to its cardholders.</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
=== Programs from small-business cards ===
+
=== Programs from small business cards ===
−
Each of the major credit card networks operates a special discount program for holders of their small business cards. Simply enroll your card, and you’ll automatically get the rewards. whenever you use your card at a participating retailer. You should take a minute to enroll each of your business cards in the corresponding program.  
+
Each of the major credit card networks operates a special discount program for holders of their small business cards. Simply enroll your card and you’ll automatically get the rewards, whenever you use your card at a participating retailer. You should take a minute to enroll each of your business cards in the corresponding program.  
  
 
<ul class="checklist">
 
<ul class="checklist">
−
<li>'''[//visasavingsedge.com/ Visa SavingsEdge]'''. Some notable partners include National and Alamo Rental Car (4%) and Chevron (2%). Promotional rates are sometimes available, with activation, such as 10% back from Office Depot.</li>
+
<li>'''[//visasavingsedge.com/ Visa SavingsEdge]'''. Offers a variety of discounts, mostly on travel and business services, such as Wyndham (5%), MailChimp (5%), and Chevron (2%). Promotional offers are sometimes available, such as 10% back from Office Depot, which require individual activation.</li>
  
 
<li>'''Amex Offers for Business'''. Amex used to operate a small business program called the "OPEN" Savings program, but they have consolidated that with their regular Amex Offers program. Business cards will be targeted for a number of lucrative business oriented offers, such as 10% back on up to $1,000 in purchases at Staples. </li>
 
<li>'''Amex Offers for Business'''. Amex used to operate a small business program called the "OPEN" Savings program, but they have consolidated that with their regular Amex Offers program. Business cards will be targeted for a number of lucrative business oriented offers, such as 10% back on up to $1,000 in purchases at Staples. </li>
  
−
<li>'''[//www.mastercard.com/easysavings/common/en_US/index.html#!/home Mastercard Easy Savings]'''. The most notable partners are Avis and Budget (5%), Registering your card also gives you a 4% rebate, whenever you user your card at more than 14,000 restaurants, including many chain restaurants. </li>
+
<li>'''[//www.mastercard.com/easysavings/common/en_US/index.html#!/home Mastercard Easy Savings]'''. You'll get discounts of 1-5% on a some business services plus 4% back, whenever you user your Business MasterCard at one of more than 14,000 restaurants, including many chain restaurants.</li>
  
 
{{Image|MastercardEasySavings.jpg}}
 
{{Image|MastercardEasySavings.jpg}}

Latest revision as of 21:13, 25 February 2021

  Easily Earn Points for Free Travel, Credit Card Reference

Shopping.jpg

Several programs provide extra rewards when you use your credit card to shop at participating merchants. For some of these programs, you simply need to register your card once, and you'll automatically earn extra rewards going forward, without any extra effort.

Our advice is to take a few minutes to sign up for all the set-and-forget programs. You may also want to take advantage of some of the programs that require you to activate individual offers before you use them.

In general, you can register with all these programs to increase the number of retailers where you can earn bonus rewards.

If a retailer participates in multiple programs, you'll typically earn rewards for each one. For example, every time you shop at CVS, you can receive 5% back from Payce and .5% back from Pei, plus whatever rewards you earn from your credit card.


Jump to


Pei

Pei is a good "set and forget" option.

Pei.png
  • They offer small rewards on a few dozen useful merchants. For example, some typical offers are 1% extra back at Target, .5% extra back at CVS and Walgreens, and .5% back at Trader Joe's.
  • While it is easy to extra rewards through your everyday spending, rewards have fairly low caps. Each merchant has its own weekly cap. For example, the Target offer is limited to $1.25 per week ($125 in spending) and the Nordstrom offer is limited to $5 per week ($1,000 in spending).
  • While the amount you can earn can be limited, it takes almost no effort to use the service. Once you link your cards, you'll automatically receive extra rewards at the participating merchants.
  • Pei also provides perhaps the best collection of local and dining card-linked offers. Typical restaurant offers give you about 5% back and they perhaps the best assortment of participating restaurants. We recommend using it with the credit cards you use for your restaurant spending. Earn Extra Rewards by Enrolling in Credit Card Dining Programs.
    • Peimap.png
Linking Your Accounts

Some of the card-linked offer programs, including Pei, work by linking your online banking accounts, rather than linking individual credit cards. For example, rather than entering the credit card number, expiration date, and security code of each of your American Express cards, the app opens up the American Express sign-in page for you to enter your American Express username and password. When your done, all of your American Express cards are automatically added.

If you want, you can then link and unlink individual cards. When you sign up for a new card from a linked bank, it is automatically added to your account.

This is more convenient than linking individual cards, but it does give the shopping program access to information for all your accounts, including checking and investment accounts associated with the same bank.

If the shopping program is following the rules, it doesn't have access to your actual user names and passwords. Your bank controls the sign-in form that is displayed within the app and returns an "access token" that the app uses to access the data in your accounts. But, in the end, you'll still need to trust the applications you are working with.

The Rakuten Platform

Rakuten (Ebates) operates a card-linked shopping program, called "In-Store Cash Back".

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  • Unlike some other programs, Rakutan's program is not a "Set and Forget" program. You don't just automatically earn rewards whenever you shop with one of your linked cards.

    • You need to activate each offer on their website before it is linked to your card. Once activated, the offer remains linked for about 45 days and you can activate offers with as many merchants as you'd like. Once you earn rewards with a participating merchant, you'll need to revisit the website and reactivate the offer to qualify for rewards on your next visit.

  • They have offers with a few dozen major retailers. But their program doesn't usually include any grocery stores, department stores, or other "everyday" merchants. It is mostly stores like Men's Warehouse or Ann Taylor.
  • Rakuten also operates in-store shopping programs for several other companies. You aren't supposed to be able to rewards from multiple of these programs for the same purchase. Be careful, sometimes the partner sites don't include every offer that is available on the main site.
    • The Google Pay App currently offers a slightly higher cashback rate than Rakuten itself. But this may only last while they are trying to establish their new application.
    • Alaska Airlines and United Airlines. With these airline shopping programs, you'll earn miles rather than cash back. You'll typically get 1.5 miles, instead of 2% cash back; 2 or 2.5 miles instead of 3% back, or 3 miles instead of 4% back. In-store offers with these airlines will help you qualify for their occasional shopping portal bonus mile promotions.
    • American Airlines SimplyMiles. American Airline's version is a bit of an oddball. It only works with Mastercards (not just AA-branded Mastercards) and it offers rewards on a number of unique merchants.

      • It offers rewards on an often-useful set of merchants that aren't available through the other Rakuten-powered websites. Many of these are in the form of a fixed mileage bonus for a purchase of over a certain amount, such as 1,000 miles for a purchase of $30 or more, rather than as a set number of miles per dollar spent.

    • Citibank includes the Rakuten offers as part of its Merchant Offers program, alongside the local businesses from the Rewards Network program and a handful of their own offers. Rates are higher even than Google Pay's, but you can only link the offers to some selected Citibank cards.
    • Swagbucks is another option that allows you to access the Rakuten offers alongside Swagbuck's other shopping programs.
  • While you shouldn't get credit for the same offer added to multiple cards, you can pick and choose which program to use for a particular merchant, by only adding that merchant's offer through a single website. So, you could earn rewards with one merchant through Google Pay, another merchant through Rakuten's own site, and yet another through AA's SimplyMiles (which offers very different offers than the other versions).

If you are willing to make the effort, it is worthwhile to link each of your cards to Rakuten, visit the site every 30-45 days, activate any potentially interesting offers, and earn some extra rewards from your purchases. If you are even more diligent, you can try to remember to return to the site to reactivate any offers you wind up using.

Payce

Payce offers more lucrative cashback percentages for a nice assortment of major major retailers—but many stores have low monthly cashback limits. Typical offers are around 5% back on stores like Home Depot, Staples, and CVS. But many of these stores limit your cashback to $5 per month ($100 in spending).

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You'll need to "activate" each offer in your account, before it will be applied to your credit card spending. Credit card numbers are added directly. And unlike most of the other app, Payce can simply be used through its website.

Other 3rd party programs

Dosh

Dosh is primarily a dining program that runs on Reward Network. But, it also offers rewards at a few additional partners. The main interest in this app is that they give 2% cashback at Office Depot (subject to a $10 per day cap).

Bumped

Like the Rakuten platform, Bumped provides rewards on a set of national brands, but not any "everyday" merchants. Also like Rakuten, you'll need to activate each offer before it can be used.

Their twist is that instead of earning cash back, you earn fractional shares of stock. That means that you'll actually be opening a real brokerage account with Bumped. But, there are no ongoing maintenance fees, no fees to sell your fractional shares, and no fees to transfer cash out to your bank account.

There is a reward limit of $250 per brand per year and $50 for any individual purchase.

Collinson (jetBlue & Caesars)

Collinson is another company that operates an in-store card-linked offer system via multiple websites. You can access their offers either through jetBlue or the Caesars Rewards Marketplace. Offers are available at a couple of dozen merchants, including Lowe's and the Gap family of brands. JetBlue tends to offer 3 points per dollar. Caesar's is more variable, typically ranging from 1 to 5x points.

Special “offers” from credit card companies

Most of the major credit card companies give their cardholders access to special offers and discounts.

  • Amex Offers. Amex Offers is the most talked about and probably the best of these programs. This is mostly the result that many of their offers allow you to save significant amounts of money—more than most of the offers from the other programs.

    • To take advantage of an offer you need to log into your account online and activate each individual offer you might want to use from the ever-changing set of available offers. Amex Offers can only be available on specific Amex cards and are sometimes personally targeted, so not everyone has access to the same set of offers. If an offer shows up on multiple cards, you can only add it to one. Though an authorized cardholder might be able to add it as well.

    Many offers are in the form of “Spend $x, get $y back”. But there are also “x% off your entire order” offers, and opportunities to earn bonus Membership Rewards points on your entire purchase. Once activated, you’ll automatically receive the offer the next time you use your card at that merchant. 

    AmexOffers.jpg
  • Credit card company programs run by Cardlytics. Most of the shopping offers programs run by the other credit card companies are operated behind the scenes by a company called Cardlytics. That means that you'll often see the same offer on multiple sites. For example, if you read about an interesting offer from Chase Offers, there is a decent change it will be available from BankAmeriDeals. Since each of these programs is limited to the credit card company's own credit cards, it isn't possible to double-dip. You can only use one card to make the purchase. The programs from the larger credit card companies are listed below, but offers are also available from cards from several smaller banks.
    • Chase Offers. Chase's offers work just like Amex's Offers. Once they are activated for a specific card, you simply use that card to make a qualifying purchase and and'll get a rebate on your statement. As with American Express, you'll have different offers on different cards. Chase makes fewer offers available than Amex and more of them are targeted to specific customers.
    • Visa Offers. The Visa program provides a changing set of offers that you typically redeem using a promotional code or by mentioning the offer.
    • BankAmeriDeals. Bank of America’s program is actually operated by the same company that operates Chase's offers. However, with Bank of America, you'll have a set of offers that work across all your eligible Bank of America cards. As with Amex and Chase, once activated, they are automatically applied when you use any of your Bank of America cards.
    • Wells Fargo Deals. Wells Fargo has recently added cash-back deals for at least some of their personal credit cards. Expect more offers for Wells Fargo's Amex cards.
  • Citi Merchant Offers. Perhaps in an effort to catch up to the other major credit companies, Citibank's program primarily consists of offers from other card-linked platforms. The bulk of its shopping offers are from Rakuten and the bulk of its local offers are from Reward Network. They do include some of their own offers, many of which are for various types of travel purchases, alongside the offers available through these other platforms.
  • FlexPerks Offers. U.S. Bank provides a limited set of special offers to its cardholders.

Programs from small business cards

Each of the major credit card networks operates a special discount program for holders of their small business cards. Simply enroll your card and you’ll automatically get the rewards, whenever you use your card at a participating retailer. You should take a minute to enroll each of your business cards in the corresponding program.

  • Visa SavingsEdge. Offers a variety of discounts, mostly on travel and business services, such as Wyndham (5%), MailChimp (5%), and Chevron (2%). Promotional offers are sometimes available, such as 10% back from Office Depot, which require individual activation.
  • Amex Offers for Business. Amex used to operate a small business program called the "OPEN" Savings program, but they have consolidated that with their regular Amex Offers program. Business cards will be targeted for a number of lucrative business oriented offers, such as 10% back on up to $1,000 in purchases at Staples.
  • Mastercard Easy Savings. You'll get discounts of 1-5% on a some business services plus 4% back, whenever you user your Business MasterCard at one of more than 14,000 restaurants, including many chain restaurants.
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