We all love miles and points and actively seek out new and exciting ways to earn as many as possible so we’re that much closer to our next trip. Thankfully, there are so many ways to earn these rewards – from actual flying to hotel stays to credit card purchases, almost anything you buy can increase your points balances. One, additional great way you can earn more miles is by using airline portals for shopping or dining.
What Are Airline Shopping Portals?
An airline shopping portal allows you to earn additional miles in that airline’s frequent flyer program simply by going through their portal when buying something online. Many airlines have these portals and they’re a way to increase customer engagement with the loyalty program (which often has many ways in how you can earn miles).
How Do Airline Shopping Portals Work?
An airline shopping portal has a list of stores where you can earn additional miles just by clicking through to the store’s website via the airline shopping portal.
For example, you log in to the portal and then you see a list of stores – like Home Depot or Office Max. Then once you find a store, you can see how many additional miles you can earn just by clicking the link on the airline portal which redirects you to the store’s main website.
There are frequent bonuses on these portals and sometimes you can earn a lot of additional miles per $1 spent. You get the same prices whether you go through the portal or not – and often the portal even shows discount codes.
During payment, you can use any credit card you wish and even double dip and earn more miles. If a store has a loyalty program, you can also participate in it.
What is an Airline Dining Portal?
An airline dining portal works similarly to a shopping portal whereby you’re shown a list of restaurants where you can earn bonus miles – and the dining portal may also show you some discounts for that specific restaurant.
How an Airline Dining Portal Works
A dining portal works a bit differently than a shopping portal because you are not redirected to a restaurant’s website in most cases to earn bonus miles. Instead what you do is add the credit card you will pay with at the restaurant to the dining portal.
When you pay at the restaurant, be sure to use the same credit card you added on the dining portal in order to get the bonus miles from the airline.
Remember that you can use any credit card you’d like – so be sure to use one that earns you multiple points per $1 spent on dining. These points will be in addition to the miles you get via the dining portal, so double dipping is again possible.
Banks Have Rewards Portals, Too
Many banks that allow you to earn points for credit card spend, which can be transferred to airlines or hotels, also have shopping portals where you can earn bonus points directly in the bank’s loyalty program.
For example, Chase has a shopping portal that works the same way as an airline shopping portal – you click through and get redirected to a store and then you’d earn the bonus points with Chase directly.
It is generally better to earn these bonus points in a bank program, if possible, since then you have the freedom to transfer those points where you’d like and where the best award space is. However, not all banks have a shopping portal that earns you bonus points – but regardless, you should always be earning as many miles and points as possible for your purchases. If you set up a strategy that achieves this, you’ll truly be earning way more points and you’ll be so much closer to your next trip.