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.
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:
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2% cash back from Rakuten
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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. 👀
The best part: Rakuten can pay out in points 🎯
Rakuten lets you earn rewards as:
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Cash back
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American Express Membership Rewards points
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Bilt points
I linked my Rakuten account to Bilt, so every 4 months my Rakuten rewards automatically transfer into my Bilt account.
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:
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Southwest
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Alaska
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Iberia
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Virgin
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Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
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Hyatt
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:
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My last flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles cost 4,500 Alaska points
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The one before that cost 2,500 Southwest points
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And yes, I brought a companion along for free 😅
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.
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. 🐾
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:
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500 miles for free
If you’re a new Instacart customer and make 4 orders in 8 weeks, United will give you:
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5,000 miles
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.
Airbnb miles 🏡
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Book through Delta Airbnb to earn Delta miles
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You can also earn British Airways Avios on Airbnb stays through their earning portal
Rental car miles 🚗
I’ve linked my Budget Rental account to my Southwest Airlines account — so every rental earns me 500 Southwest miles.
VRBO + United 🧳
United also has a partnership with VRBO, so you can earn United miles on stays.
Dining points through IHG + OpenTable 🍷
On the IHG website, you can access OpenTable and earn:
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150 IHG points every time you dine out
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.
