💳 How to Triple Stack Points on Every Online Purchase

 

💳 How to Triple Stack Points on Every Online Purchase

Every time you shop online, there's a question worth asking: how many points or miles can I earn here?

Earning some points? Nice. Earning double points by layering two sources? Even better. Earning triple points across three sources at once? That's the triple stack — and it's one of the most satisfying moves in the points game.

Here's how it actually works, with a real purchase to show you exactly what's possible.

🌸 The Triple Stack in Action: A Flower Delivery Example

The goal: Buy birthday flowers for a friend ($66 total)

Flower delivery services are basically interchangeable, so the smarter move is choosing the one that earns you the most — not just picking the first result that pops up.

🔍 Step 1: Check for Credit Card Bonus Portals

Chase has an ongoing partnership with the digital payment platform Paze that earns 10x Ultimate Rewards points plus a $10 statement credit on purchases. The first step is checking the Paze merchant directory under flowers and gifts — and sure enough, 1-800-Flowers is listed. Read here about how to link your credit card to Paze.

✅ That locks in Layer 1.

🖥️ Step 2: Check Shopping Portals

Head to CashBackMonitor.com to see every shopping portal where 1-800-Flowers is listed. This is where you decide if a hotel or airline portal makes more sense than a cashback option.

A few things to consider at this step:

• Is any airline or hotel portal running a bonus promotion right now?
• Do you need to top off a specific loyalty account before a trip?
• Are any of your points or miles close to expiring?

In this case, the American Airlines AAdvantage shopping portal made the most sense.

✅ That locks in Layer 2.

💰 Step 3: Pay with the Right Card

Check out using Paze with your linked Chase Freedom Flex or Sapphire credit card.

✅ That locks in Layer 3.

🏆 The Triple Stack Breakdown

Here's what a $66 flower purchase earned:

Source	Reward
American Airlines shopping portal	350 AAdvantage miles
Chase Freedom base earn	66 Ultimate Rewards points
Paze 10x bonus	660 Ultimate Rewards points
Paze statement credit	$10 back

Total: 350 AA miles + 726 Chase points + $10 statement credit — on a $66 purchase you were going to make anyway.

🗺️ The Triple Stack Formula

Whenever you're about to buy something online, run through this quick checklist:

1. Check your credit card bonus offer (Chase Paze, Amex Offers, 5x bonus categories, Rakuten.com etc.)
2. Check shopping portals on CashBackMonitor.com to find the best rate
3. Choose the portal that fills a loyalty gap (expiring points, upcoming trip, bonus promo)
4. Pay with the card that earns the most in that category

The key is always checking before you check out — once the purchase is done, those layers are gone. 🎯

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. 

Or you can pay a travel planning fee and we will find all the best points and miles deals for your trip! 

Or you can book a consulting call with us for just $100. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

***In honor of every new paid client, we will make a donation of 10% to one of our favorite charities.

How You Can Earn 5x Chase Points On Gas This Summer

If you have to pay $5 per gallon for gas this summer, why not earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Chase just announced the 5x bonus categories for Q3 (July 1st - September 30th) for the FREEDOM and FLEX credit cards. 

The other categories for Q3 include:

• EV charging stations 
• transit includes trains, buses, tolls, ferries, highways, parking lots and garages
• select entertainment including concerts, zoos, sporting events and amusement parks 
• United Way  

You must register your credit cards here in order to earn the bonus points. But you have until September 14th to register and it is retroactive. However, I think it's best to register immediately. 

Besides the bonus categories, Chase FREEDOM FLEX earns 3x points on dining and drugstores, 2x points on travel and 1x points on everything else. If you use my referral link, you earn 20,000 points when you spend $500. This card has no annual fee so it's a great card to keep in your wallet. 

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? We have three different options to choose from:

• Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. 
• Or you can book a consulting call with us for just $100. 
• Or you can hire us to plan your entire trip using points and miles! 

I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

***In honor of every new paid client, we will make a donation of 10% to one of our favorite charities.

How You Can Rack Up 15,000 Chase Points Fast

Chase Quietly Launched a 10x Points Offer You Don't Want to Miss 👀

Chase just announced a partnership with Paze, a new digital wallet platform — and it comes with a seriously impressive earning opportunity: 10x points on purchases, up to 15,000 points per month. 💳✨

What Is Paze?

Paze is a digital payment system owned by Early Warning Services (the same company behind Zelle) that's accepted by select online retailers and linked directly to your credit card. Several major banks have already signed on — Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One, and US Bank among them.

The Chase 10x Offer

Chase is sweetening the deal for certain cardholders by offering 10x points when you use Paze for online purchases. Here's which cards are eligible:

• Sapphire Preferred
• Sapphire Reserve
• Chase Freedom
• Chase Freedom Unlimited
• Chase Freedom Flex

United credit cards are also eligible for 10x points, though their cap is 20,000 points total.

How to Get Set Up

Getting started is straightforward:

1. Open the Chase mobile app
2. Tap Digital Wallet, then select Paze
3. Choose your eligible card — it should link instantly ✅

Where to Shop

Head to Paze.com to see the current retailer list. It's still growing, but a few highlights include Fanatics, Broadway.com, Harry & David, Domino's, and GNC.

Here's where it gets interesting for points enthusiasts 🤓 — New Egg is on the list, and they sell gift cards for a wide range of brands we actually use for travel and everyday spending:

• ✈️ Southwest Airlines
• 🏨 Hotels.com
• 🚢 Princess Cruises
• ✈️ Delta
• 🚗 Lyft
• 🛒 Chewy, Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Chipotle, Airbnb

Stacking 10x points on gift cards for travel brands? Yes, please.

👉Hot tip: try 3x stacking with Rakuten or your favorite shopping portal

The Numbers

The offer caps at $1,500 per card per month, which translates to a clean 15,000 Chase points. With this promotion running through December 31, 2026, there's real earning potential here if you stay consistent — especially if you're already spending at these brands anyway.

Once your purchase posts, the 10x points will appear in your account automatically. No hoops, no codes.

With 7 months left on this offer, that's a lot of points!  

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. 

Or you can pay a travel planning fee and we will find all the best points and miles deals for your trip! 

Or you can book a consulting call with us for just $100. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

***In honor of every new paid client, we will make a donation of 10% to one of our favorite charities.

 

Real Client Case Study: Building a Points Strategy from Scratch

Real Client Case Study: Building a Points Strategy from Scratch

Recently I sat down with a new client to audit her credit card setup and figure out how she could earn and redeem points more effectively. Here's exactly what we went through — and what we decided.

Her Starting Point 📋

• Cards she holds: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Delta Amex Gold, Wells Fargo no-annual-fee card
• Airlines she flies: Primarily Delta, but price-sensitive — so JetBlue, Frontier, and Spirit (RIP ✈️) make regular appearances
• Big recurring expenses: Rent and tuition (paid twice a year, but may incur a 3% credit card fee)
• Home airport: Salt Lake City (SLC)

She was using the Sapphire Preferred for almost everything and the Delta Amex only for Delta purchases. No specific trips on the horizon yet.

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The Strategy: Go Deep on Chase Ultimate Rewards 💳

Since she has no destination locked in, flexible points are her best friend right now. She already has a small stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards from her Sapphire Preferred, so we decided to build on that foundation rather than start somewhere new.

One big win here: Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to JetBlue — one of her go-to airlines. That's a genuinely useful transfer partner given her flying habits.

💡 Quick tip: The Chase Sapphire Preferred includes a $50 annual hotel credit when you book through the Chase Travel Portal. With a $95 annual fee, that brings your real cost down to $45.

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The New Card Conversation: Freedom Unlimited vs. Freedom Flex

Both are no-annual-fee Chase cards that funnel points into the same Ultimate Rewards bucket — meaning they work with her Sapphire Preferred, not separately from it. You can read about how to combine CUR points here. 

Chase Freedom Unlimited

• 1.5x points on all purchases (better baseline than the Sapphire Preferred)
• 3x on dining and drugstores
• Current offer: 20,000 points after $500 spend 🎉

Chase Freedom Flex

• Rotating 5x quarterly bonus categories (this quarter includes Amazon — easy way to stack up to 7,500 bonus points fast)
• 3x on dining and drugstores
• 1x on everything else
• Current offer: 20,000 points after $500 spend 🎉

Both are worth considering — the right pick depends on whether she prefers a consistent flat rate or wants to actively track and maximize rotating categories.

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Two Free Accounts Worth Opening 🛍️

We also talked about signing up for Rakuten and Bilt:

• Rakuten — shop through their portal and earn cash back or points on purchases you'd make anyway. Use a referral link to get $50 or 2,500 Bilt points after your first $50 purchase.
• Bilt — lets you transfer points to dozens of different airlines and hotels. You can also open a Bilt credit card to earn points on rent payments with no transaction fees, but it's a bit complicated so we decided to table this one for right now. 

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What About the Delta Amex? 🤔

We discussed cancelling it. Here's the logic:

• $150 annual fee
• She rarely uses it
• It's not her oldest card, so the credit score impact would be minimal

Bottom line: keeping a card "just in case" when it costs $150/year and sits in a drawer isn't worth it.

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Where Things Stand

She's in a solid position. By consolidating around Chase Ultimate Rewards, adding a no-annual-fee earning card, and plugging into Rakuten and Bilt, she'll be sitting on a healthy stash of flexible points whenever she's ready to book something. No trip needed yet — just a smart setup so the options are there when she wants them. 🗺️

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. 

Or you can book a consulting call with us for just $100. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

***In honor of every new paid client, we will make a donation of 10% to one of our favorite charities.

I Booked a Last-Minute Caribbean Solo Cruise — Here's What Actually Happened

I Booked a Last-Minute Caribbean Cruise From New Orleans — Here's What Actually Happened

I was already heading to New Orleans for a conference when it hit me: I was closer to the Caribbean than I ever am from California. Why not tack on something bigger? I hadn't added a new country to my list yet this year, so I started poking around flights and hotels. The prices — even with points — were brutal. 😬

Then I noticed Chase Freedom was offering 5x points on Norwegian Cruise Line. A quick search later and I found a 7-day cruise departing from NOLA hitting Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. That knocked out several destinations in one shot.

I hadn't been on a cruise in 30 years, but I was open to it. Full transparency: NCL offered me a travel agent discount plus some extras. I booked a solo studio — a 99 sq ft inside cabin tucked into a secure solo-only section of the ship — upgraded my WiFi for work (150 free minutes came with the booking), and locked in snorkeling excursions at three of the four ports. ✅

Boarding: Brace Yourself

NCL sends a flood of pre-boarding emails covering luggage tags, upgrade offers, and cruise logistics. What they don't fully prepare you for is the boarding crowd. It's chaotic. 

👉Hot tip: check in online as early as possible — it determines when you can board, and earlier boarding means smaller crowds. Also worth knowing: you don't have to wait for your assigned boarding time despite what NCL tells you. Show up when you're ready. 

And you can opt to keep your carry on luggage with you. 

Once on board, rooms aren't available until later in the afternoon, but the pool, bars, and lunch are all yours. I spotted people already in the hot tub by 1pm. 🛳️

The Solo Studio Setup

The solo studio cabin itself is compact but smartly designed, and the real selling point is what surrounds it. The Studio Lounge is a secure, solo-travelers-only space stocked daily with fresh fruit, baked goods, lemonade, water, and an espresso machine. For anyone fueled by coffee ☕, that last one matters more than you'd think.

Every day, a solo traveler coordinator runs a meetup — a genuinely useful way to connect with the 60 other solo guests on board. Ages ranged from 30 to 80, first-timers alongside seasoned Platinum cruisers. Some were even doing back-to-back sailings on the same ship (no need to disembark or switch cabins, by the way — you just keep going).

After the daily meetup, the coordinator organizes group dinners at one of the sit-down restaurants, so eating alone is entirely optional. The three main dining rooms share similar menus but each has its own atmosphere. The food was genuinely good — not just "fine for a cruise." One evening my new solo crew invited me to the specialty sushi restaurant and it did not disappoint. 🍣

The buffet runs 6am–9:30pm and covers a lot of ground: salad bar, sandwiches, pasta, Indian, soup, and made-to-order eggs at breakfast. You will not go hungry. There is also a bar food type pub open 24/7.

Evenings on Board

After dinner, the ship basically becomes its own entertainment district. During the cruise, I caught four shows in the main theater, a comedy set, an NCL presentation, live music at a bar, and a dueling piano night. 🎹 So funny, all the music onboard is from the 70's, 80's and 90's. 

The Escape also has a ropes course, mini golf, bowling, waterslides, a basketball court, and an arcade. You can go hard or you can find a quiet corner — completely up to you.

The Ports 🤿

I chose snorkeling for three of the four port days, and each experience was completely different.

• Roatan, Honduras: The guide took us to a dramatic drop-off — a 400-foot depth change from reef to ocean floor. Jaw-dropping.
• Cozumel, Mexico: Strong current meant drift snorkeling the whole way. You just float and let the ocean do the work.
• Belize: Snorkeling the second-largest reef in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Worth every minute.

One practical note on booking excursions: if you go through NCL, the ship is responsible for getting you back on time — and if something delays you, they'll wait. Book independently and that responsibility shifts to the tour operator. I've spoken with independent operators who take this seriously and will cover transport if the ship leaves without you, but for my own peace of mind I booked through NCL. (I can also get clients $50 off NCL excursions, so there's no financial upside to going outside.)

The ports themselves have changed a lot over the years — think high-end shops, solid restaurants, swim-up bars, zip lines, butterfly gardens, beach clubs, and yes, fish pedicures. 🦋

The Verdict

The week moved fast. My new solo travel crew has already booked a cruise together for next year — which probably tells you everything you need to know. 🌊

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. 

Or you can book a consulting call with us for just $100. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

***In honor of every new paid client, we will make a donation of 10% to one of our favorite charities.

Find Out How You Can Get 5x Points on Amazon

 

An easy way to rack up Chase Ultimate Reward points is to max the 5x bonus categories on the no annual fee Chase FREEDOM and FREEDOM FLEX credit cards. 

These are rotating bonus categories that have included gas stations, restaurants, pet stores, entertainment, Paypal and more. 

For Q2 2026, the categories are:

• Amazon 
• Chase Travel
• Feeding America
• Whole Foods Market

I am super excited about Amazon since it's difficult to max points at the online store. 

You need to activate your card here before you get the bonus, but the extra points are retroactive. And you are limited to $1,500 across the categories, but hey, I am happy to take an extra 7,500 points anytime. 

Right now, the Chase FREEDOM FLEX is offering a $200 bonus on a $500 minimum spend. This annual no fee credit card is a great compliment to the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve credit card too. If you don't have a Chase Sapphire credit card yet, the Reserve is offering 125,000 bonus right now and the Preferred is offering 75,000 bonus. Talk to me first though to confirm these cards make sense for you. 

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? I can plan your entire trip using your points and miles or offer a 30 minute consult to answer questions or you can  download my ebook, custom tracker or Join my Travel Coaching Program.

Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the coaching program. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

*For every new client, we will donate 10% of the proceeds to one of our favorite charities. 

How To Get Thousands of FREE Airline Miles Without Spending Extra $

I talk about shopping portals all the time because they’re one of the easiest ways to earn airline miles and hotel points on spending you’re already doing. 🛍️✈️

Today I want to show you a few real examples — plus some bonus offers that can help you stack even more points and miles.

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Rakuten is my current favorite shopping portal 💻✨

Rakuten.com has become my go-to for earning extra rewards on everyday purchases.

For example: I buy cat food from Chewy.com every few months. If I take the extra step of starting at Rakuten and then clicking through to Chewy, I’m still shopping at the exact same website — but now I earn:

• 2% cash back from Rakuten

• Plus 1x–2x points from my credit card

Chewy is listed on a bunch of shopping portals, so it’s always smart to check cashbackmonitor.com before you buy. When I checked, most portals were offering 1x points or miles at Chewy… but the Chase Freedom portal was offering 2x. 👀

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The best part: Rakuten can pay out in points 🎯

Rakuten lets you earn rewards as:

• Cash back

• American Express Membership Rewards points

• Bilt points

I linked my Rakuten account to Bilt, so every 4 months my Rakuten rewards automatically transfer into my Bilt account.

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Quick Bilt refresher (because these points are legit)

Bilt points are a newer flexible currency — similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex, Citi, and Capital One.

You can transfer Bilt points to airline and hotel partners like:

• Southwest

• Alaska

• Iberia

• Virgin

• Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)

• Hyatt

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A huge current Rakuten offer: Kraken 💰

Right now on Rakuten, the crypto platform Kraken is offering:

$150 back on a $225 deposit and purchase

If you’re earning in Bilt points, that’s essentially 15,000 Bilt points (since it transfers 1:1).

To put that into perspective:

• My last flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles cost 4,500 Alaska points

• The one before that cost 2,500 Southwest points

• And yes, I brought a companion along for free 😅

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Want to stack the deal even more? 🔥

If you open a Rakuten account using my referral link, you’ll get an extra 5,000 points after you spend $50.

So if you did the Kraken offer, you’d be looking at 20,000 Bilt points total.

And just to show how real this is: transfer those points to FlyingBlue.com and you can potentially book a one-way economy ticket on Air France from Los Angeles to Athens. Seriously.

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Not into crypto? Totally fair 😄

If crypto isn’t your thing, you can still use the referral offer and earn the bonus on a normal purchase.

I used it once to send flowers to a friend as a thank-you and earned the 5,000 points that way. You could also use it on something basic like… cat food. 🐾

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More bonus offers to earn points on everyday life ✈️🍽️🚗

United + Instacart 🛒

If you link your Instacart account with your United account and make a grocery purchase within 60 days, United will give you:

• 500 miles for free

If you’re a new Instacart customer and make 4 orders in 8 weeks, United will give you:

• 5,000 miles

I just did this and added another stack. I clicked on Rakuten.com which was offering 3x points on Instacart then placed an order with my Capital One Venture X to earn 2x points and 500 bonus United miles. Woohoo! 

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Lyft partnerships 🚙

Link your Hilton, Alaska, Bilt, or United account with Lyft and earn points every time you ride.

Prefer Uber? You can link Uber + United for extra miles too.

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Airbnb miles 🏡

• Book through Delta Airbnb to earn Delta miles

• You can also earn British Airways Avios on Airbnb stays through their earning portal

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Rental car miles 🚗

I’ve linked my Budget Rental account to my Southwest Airlines account — so every rental earns me 500 Southwest miles.

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VRBO + United 🧳

United also has a partnership with VRBO, so you can earn United miles on stays.

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Dining points through IHG + OpenTable 🍷

On the IHG website, you can access OpenTable and earn:

• 150 IHG points every time you dine out

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The takeaway

None of these require extra spending — they just require one extra click or a quick account link. And over time, these little wins can add up to real flights and hotel nights. 😎

There are even more offers like this out there, so check the websites (or social pages) for your favorite brands and see who they partner with for rewards.

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Book a 1:1 consulting call, download my ebook, custom tracker or Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process.

Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the coaching program. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

*For every new client, we will donate 10% of the proceeds to one of our favorite charities.