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How to Earn More Points, Miles or Cash-Back when Shopping Online

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Online shopping can be a real pain point for those of us in the points and miles game. We’re always trying to maximize the amount of points we earn, but most online stores don’t fit into traditional credit card bonus categories. It’s easy to find credit cards that offer 3x, 4x or even more points per dollar on travel, dining, groceries or gas expenditures. However, there are very few credit cards that give more than one point per dollar when shopping online. Luckily, there’s a solution for this — online shopping portals.

You can earn a ton of extra miles with the American Airlines shopping portal.

Online shopping portals are an easy way to earn extra points, miles or cash back on purchases you’d be making anyways. By starting your shopping from a portal, you earn extra points, miles or cash back, on top of what you already earn from paying with your credit card. In other words, you get the points, miles or cash back from your credit card plus extra points, miles or cash back earned through the portal.

How do shopping portals work?

Shopping portals are very easy to use. You simply sign up for each portal using your loyalty account number. When you’re ready to shop, you click through the portal to a merchant’s website before making your purchase. The portal will track your purchase and award you the appropriate amount of points, miles or cash back.

In exchange for shopping portals directing traffic to a merchant websites, the portals get a commission from those merchants. The portals pass along some of that commission to you in the form of points, miles or cash back.

How many points or miles can you earn?

The amount of points or miles you earn through a shopping portal depends on the portal, the specific merchant, and even the day. Merchants can offer a specific multiple per dollar spent (i.e. 3x points) or a flat amount (i.e. 4,500 points).

You could earn double, triple, or sometimes even more than ten times the points or miles per dollar spent!

Some merchants offer more than 10x points or miles per dollar spent.

You’ll also find merchants that offer a flat amount of points or miles. These can be quite lucrative because in some cases, you only need to spend a small amount of money to trigger the bonus. For example, an order with Blue Apron might cost you $60. So earning 4,800 miles is like earning 80x the purchase price!

Merchants who offer flat amounts of points or miles can be quite lucrative.

Types of Shopping Portals

Nearly every airline and credit card issuer has some kind of shopping portal to help you earn points and miles to use towards free travel. There are also several cash back shopping portals as well.

Airlines

Here are a few examples of some major airline shopping portals:

United not only has a shopping portal, it also has a mobile phone app. If you’re looking to earn United miles, it’s worth checking both the portal and the app to see which has the higher payout.

Credit Card Issuers

Several banks have their own shopping portals, as well. You can earn bonus points through:

Note: Some bank shopping portals will require that you use a card that they issue. Your results may vary.

Rakuten

Unlike other card issuers, American Express does not have its own shopping portal. Instead, it partners with a shopping portal called Rakuten to earn American Express Membership Rewards® points. Rakuten is probably the most well known shopping portal due to its television advertisements. Rakuten defaults to earning cash back, but you can change your settings to earn Amex points instead. Here’s how:

  1. Create a free Rakuten account
  2. Navigate to Account Settings. Under the section “How You’re Getting Paid”, choose Membership Rewards® Points (you may have to temporarily select PayPal or check first before switching to Amex)
  3. Connect your American Express account
I’ve chosen to earn American Express Membership Rewards via Rakuten.

To be eligible to do this, you need to own a credit card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points. There are nine Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points, including popular cards like The Platinum Card®, the American Express® Gold Card and the fee-free Blue Business® Plus Credit Card.

Rakuten sends Amex Membership Rewards points to your Amex account once per quarter.

Cash Back

If you’d rather earn cash instead of points or miles, there are many options. Some of the more popular cashback sites are:

How to find the best shopping portal offer?

With so many shopping portals to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which one to use. That’s where Cashback Monitor comes in. Cashback Monitor keeps tabs on 45 different shopping portals, letting you quickly compare the various options. When evaluating shopping portal offers, you’ll notice that payouts tend to vary widely.

While it may seem obvious to just choose the portal with the highest earn rate, there are several factors to consider. First, remember that not all points or miles are created equal. For example, Chase points are generally worth more than United miles, so you need to take that into account before choosing which shopping portal to use.

Second, you need to take into account your personal goals. The past few years, I’ve been focusing on earning American Airlines elite status. I earn the bulk of my American Airlines Loyalty Points towards elite status via online shopping. So I tend to use American’s shopping portal over others, even if the others earn a few more points per dollar. However, in cases where another shopping portal’s payout is so much higher than American’s, I’ll typically choose the better payout.

Shopping Portal Example

Let’s go through an example of buying a television online from Samsung. First I would check Cashback Monitor to see all of the available earnings rates. Right off the bat, I notice that I can earn 20% cash back at RetailMeNot, 10 miles per dollar on United’s portal, 8 miles per dollar on Alaska’s portal, 7 miles per dollar on American’s portal or up to 15 points per dollar at Rakuten. There are obviously many other options as well.

This would be a tough decision for me. If I were spending $800 on the television, I would need to decide whether I want $160 in cash back, 8,000 United miles, 6,400 Alaska miles, 5,600 American miles or 12,000 American Express points via Rakuten. While I almost always end up using American Airlines’ portal, in this case, it’d be hard to pass up 12,000 Amex points or the cash back.

Shopping Portal Tips

Shopping portals can offer a way to supercharge the amount of points and miles you can earn. However, follow these steps to make sure your efforts are rewarded.

  • Start with an empty cart, just to be safe
  • Read the terms and conditions carefully to see what might make a purchase ineligible to earn points or miles (i.e. paying with gift cards are usually excluded)
  • The amount of miles you earn through a shopping portal depends on the portal, the specific merchant, and even the day (you can view historical point values on Cashback Monitor to see if there’s been a better offer that could come back again in the future)
  • Ad blockers prevent shopping portals from properly tracking your purchases, so make sure those are turned off
  • Only use promo codes found on the shopping portal (using any other promo codes may nullify the earnings on your purchase)

Stack promotions for even more rewards

If you know what you’re doing, you can get an even better returns by “stacking” multiple promotions.

For example, you can stack Amex Offers, Chase Offers, Citi Merchant Offers or SimplyMiles offers with most shopping portal deals. These promotions often offer extra points, miles or cash back on everyday purchases. For each of these promotions, you must add the offer to your account or credit card before making your purchase.

The “stacking” comes in when you add an offer to your Amex, Chase or Citi credit card, and use that card to make an eligible purchase on the merchant’s website through an online shopping portal. If you do that, you’d earn points via your credit card, via the shopping portal and via the bank’s promotion/offer.

Below is a high level summary of each of these offer types and then I’ll walk you through two real-world examples.

Amex Offers

Amex Offers is a free program that helps you save money or earn points on shopping, dining and more. The program gives eligible Card Members the opportunity to earn rewards after making purchases at select merchants.

Chase Offers

Chase Offers provides cardholders with opportunities to earn cash back at select merchants. Offers are personalized to both individual customers and each Chase card in your wallet. Any cash back earned through Chase Offers comes on top of the rewards you normally earn for using your card.

Citi Merchant Offers

The Citi Merchant Offers program provides cash back as a flat amount or a percentage of your purchase once you enroll and make an eligible purchase.

SimplyMiles

American Airlines SimplyMiles, is a card-linked program that enables you to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points for your everyday shopping, both online and in-store, at select merchants when using a registered Mastercard.

Blue Apron Example

I always start at Cashback Monitor to see the various options.

Let’s say I was looking to spend $60 to purchase a meal plan from Blue Apron. If I start my purchase on a shopping portal, I have several great options to choose from. I could earn 5,800 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, 4,800 American Airlines miles or get 22% cash back from Hoopa Doopla. I also have an Amex Offer of $25 of a $50 purchase which I added to my American Express® Gold Card card.

If I start my purchase on the Chase shopping portal and pay with my Amex Gold Card, here’s what I would earn:

  • 5,800 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (Chase shopping portal)
  • $25 cash back as a statement credit (Amex Offer)
  • 240 American Express Membership Rewards points (Amex Gold card earns 4x points on groceries)

So the total purchase amount would come to just $35 and I’d earn all those extra points!

Tire Agent Example

I recently needed to buy new tires for my wife’s car. The American Airlines shopping portal was offering 6 miles per dollar spent. I also had a SimplyMiles offer for 4 miles per dollar spent. I added the SimplyMiles offer to my account and then headed over to American’s shopping portal. The purchase price of four tires was about $500.

I earned a combined 10 miles per dollar spent at Tire Agent.

I paid for the tires via PayPal with my Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard. I had already registered that card (and all my Mastercards) to my SimplyMiles account. I used PayPal to take advantage of the Chase Freedom Flex 4th quarter rotating category bonus to earn 5x points. Here’s what I earned on the purchase:

  • 3,000 American Airlines miles (American Airlines shopping portal)
  • 2,000 American Airlines miles (SimplyMiles)
  • 2,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (Chase’s 4th quarter Freedom Flex bonus category of PayPal)

In this example, I didn’t get any money back, but I earned a ton of extra miles and points by “stacking” offers with a shopping portal. If I had gone directly to Tire Agent and paid with my everyday-use Chase Freedom Unlimited card, all I would’ve earned was 625 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Bottom Line

Online shopping portals are an easy and free way to earn bonus points, miles or cash back. Even if you only earn an extra one or two points per dollar, those additional points can add up quickly. With holiday shopping in full swing, now is a great time to start using these portals. Don’t forget to explore the different portal options and choose the one(s) that work best for your situation.

How I Used the Lowest Level Airline Elite Status in 2022

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Back in June of 2022, I made the decision to work towards earning American Airlines AAdvantage® Gold elite status. Utilizing all of the strategies documented in my “Going For AAdvantage Gold Status” article, I was able to blow past the 30,000 Loyalty Points required in only three months.

I’ve never had status with any airline prior to this, so part of my desire to achieve status was experimental. I was mostly just curious to see what value airline elite status could provide.

Before I get into how I used my new elite status, let’s review some of the key pieces to American Airlines’ loyalty program.

Elite Status Requirements

American AAdvantage members can earn Loyalty Points on American Airlines flights, using AAdvantage credit cards and with a long list of AAdvantage partners. As points are earned, members earn various levels of status, starting with Gold at the 30,000 point level. I earned Gold status by mid-September and as of mid-January, I have Platinum status through March 2024.

Benefits of Gold Status

Earning Gold elite status comes with the following benefits:

  • 40% status mileage bonus
  • Priority check-in and boarding
  • One free checked bag
  • Same-day standby priority
  • Priority phone line
  • Complimentary access to Preferred Seats at booking, if available
  • Complimentary access to Main Cabin Extra Seats at check-in, if available
  • Complimentary upgrades on American Airlines domestic and short-haul international flights, if available
  • 24-hour upgrade window
  • Automatic OneWorld Ruby status and additional elite benefits with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue

How I Earned Gold Status

One of the best things about American Airlines’ new loyalty program is that there are so many ways to earn Loyalty Points. You don’t even need to fly on American Airlines to earn status. I earned Loyalty Points across six categories, with the most coming from the AAdvantage eShopping portal, followed by everyday spending on AAdvantage credit cards.

CategoryLoyalty Points
Online Shopping (AAdvantage eShopping)30,868
Everyday Spending20,996
Simply Miles12,665
Flights3,873
Surveys (Miles for Opinions)3,411
Partners/Dining3,194
TOTAL75,007

Benefits I’ve Received with Gold Status

Preferred Seats

As soon as I earned Gold elite status, I selected preferred seats on all flights already booked on American Airlines. Preferred seats are the same as standard economy seats, they’re just in better locations of the Main Cabin. That typically means being closer to the front of the plane, which allows for quicker access to your seat when boarding and being able to exit more quickly as well.

Note: Preferred Seats do not include extra legroom.

It’s really hard to value this benefit. I’ve seen American Airlines charge anywhere from $9 to $49 for preferred seats. But, without status, I’d never fork out cash for these seats. Yet, with status in tow, I took advantage of the perk and moved up far as possible. I had four flights booked on American Airlines and was able to select preferred seats for myself and everyone else on the same reservations.

Main Cabin Extra Seats at Check-in

While preferred seats are nice, the real fun began at check-in. That’s when Gold members can book Main Cabin Extra seats, if available. The main benefit to being in Main Cain Extra is the additional legroom. American Airlines says these seats start at $20, but I typically see them going for between $50 to $100.

To have the best chance to move into Main Cabin Extra seats, I made it a point to check-in as close to 24 hours in advance as possible. All in all, I had mixed results, as I wasn’t successful in securing them on every flight. However, I did learn something useful along the way. Even after the initial check-in, it pays to check the app every so often. People are constantly changing flights and moving seats, so seats that were taken before can always open up.

My Results

  • ORD to DCA – no Main Cabin Extra seats were available, so I stayed in my preferred seat near the front of the Main Cabin
  • DCA to ORD – only one Main Cabin Extra seat was available; since I was traveling with two other people, I stayed in my original preferred seat
  • PHX to ORD – I was traveling with my entire family and there weren’t four Main Cabin Extra seats available so we stayed in our preferred seats
  • SNA to ORD – at check-in there weren’t any Main Cabin Extra seats; however, later in the day, two seats in the first row of Main Cabin Extra opened up and I snagged them

Priority Check-in, Security and Boarding

Originally I didn’t think I’d value or even use these benefits that much. However, after traveling over both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I have new appreciation for these perks.

Priority Check-in

AAdvantage Gold members can check in at any Business Class lane. In airports without Business Class check-in, First Class check-in lanes can be used. Those lanes are usually much faster since the total number of people eligible to use them is way less. On our flight to Orange County on Christmas Eve, we took full advantage of priority check-in and it was a lifesaver!

The flight to Orange County was on United Airlines, not American. Luckily I had requested a status match prior to the trip, which gave me the equivalent status on United. That allowed us to use United’s priority check-in lanes.

There had been a major winter storm that caused thousands of delays and cancellations for two days prior to our flight. So when we entered the terminal at O’Hare, we didn’t walk more than five feet before slamming into a wall of people. It was pretty much total chaos! People didn’t know where lines were forming, as they stretched well beyond their normal lengths. My first thought was “Our we going to make our flight?”

Even though we arrived between two and three hours early, it seemed like we could end up in an airport horror story full of frustration and missed flights. After the initial anxiety of the situation subsided, we were able to find our way to the priority check-in area. That line stretched well beyond the ropes too, but miraculously, we got through it in less than fifteen minutes. I have no idea how long it would’ve taken us in the regular check-in lines, but I’m glad we didn’t have to find out!

In addition to quick check-in, our checked baggage was tagged as priority and among the first to be delivered once we landed in Orange County.

Priority Security and Screening

At select airports, Gold members are able to use priority security screening lanes. We never had to utilize this perk because both Annie and I have TSA PreCheck®, so we used those security lines instead.

Priority Boarding

With Gold status, we got to board our flights in boarding group 4, ahead of most other passengers. This perk is particularly helpful when you only have carry-on bags because you’re basically guaranteed to find available overhead space. This wasn’t hugely valuable to me, however, because as an American AAdvantage credit cardholder, I already had group 5 boarding.

Overhead Bin
Boarding early means more chances to snag available overhead space.

Complimentary Upgrades

The most exciting benefit of Gold status is the possibility of receiving complimentary upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights. I just wouldn’t hold your breath! Gold members are the lowest level elite members, so all the other elite tiers have first dibs. I’ve heard of Gold members getting complimentary upgrades, so while possible, it’s unlikely.

In my case, my name was added to the upgrade list automatically, but there were always at least twenty people ahead of me. Oh well!

Bottom Line

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my Gold status perks. I like sitting towards the front of the plane and it’s nice to have a shot at extra legroom too. The biggest surprise so far, is how much I now value priority check-in. I didn’t pay too much attention to that perk when I decided to earn status, but it’s one that can be quite important when trying to get through security quickly.

We’ll see what other uses I get from status as it will remain in effective until the end of March 2024. I have a feeling it’ll be hard to go from having status to not having status, so I may make earning Gold an annual event.

Everything You Need to Know About the Chase 5/24 Rule

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All the major banks have their own rules for approving or denying new credit card applications. Chase has the most famous and most talked about rule of them all. While Chase doesn’t publish their official rule, there are enough data points available to determine what it is. This also happens to be one of the more restrictive rules because Chase looks at applications across all banks and not just their own. This is why I recommend starting your points and miles journey with Chase credit cards and then branching out after that.

The Chase 5/24 Rule

What is the Chase 5/24 rule?

Chase will not approve you for a new credit card if you’ve opened five or more new credit cards, from any bank, in the last 24 months. All personal credit cards from all banks count towards your total so you can’t get around this by applying for non-Chase cards.

Chase introduced this rule several years ago to prevent card churning and stop people from getting a bunch of their credit cards just for the sign-up bonuses. While there can always be exceptions, you should expect this rule to apply.

What accounts contribute to your 5/24 status?

Chase uses your personal credit report to count your 5/24 status. Authorized user cards from another person’s personal card will count as they’re reported on your credit report. However, you can call the Chase reconsideration line and ask for these accounts to not be considered.

What counts towards 5/24:

  • All personal credit cards opened with any bank in the past 24 months (even if they’re now closed)
  • Business cards opened with Capital One, Discover and TD Bank in the past 24 months
  • Authorized user cards from another person’s personal card opened in the past 24 months

What’s not included:

  • Cards for which you applied but were ultimately denied
  • Business cards from the majority of card issuers, with the known exceptions listed above
  • Auto loans, student loans and mortgages

Business cards that do not get reported to the personal credit bureaus are not included in this count. Even Chase business cards are not counted, but they are subject to 5/24. So if you’re over the 5/24 limit, you probably won’t get approved for a Chase business card.

How to know if you’re over the limit

There isn’t an official tracking tool but looking at your credit report is one option. Credit Karma is a good 3rd party website where you can request to see your credit report for free. I keep a spreadsheet of all credit cards I’ve applied for, so it’s easy for me to go back and see where I’m at. Another option is Travel Freely, another 3rd party website which tracks all of your credit card applications and has a visual counter of your Chase 5/24 status right on the home page. It also tracks other things like sign-up bonuses and when annual fees are due.

FAQ

Can I apply for a new credit card the day after I drop below 5/24?

You should wait until at least the first of the next month following. For example, if I was approved for my fifth most recent credit card on August 17, 2020, I would drop below the 5/24 rule on August 17, 2022. However, I’d want to wait until at least September 1, 2022 to apply for a new card.

I’m at or over the 5/24 limit. Can I apply for a credit card from another bank?

Yes! Your 5/24 status does not impact approvals for credit cards issued by banks other than Chase.

Bottom Line

The existence of the Chase 5/24 rule requires you to be strategic about your credit card application strategy. As I mentioned before, newbies should look to prioritize getting Chase cards first. With that said, remember that it’s not a sprint and you don’t need to fill all five Chase slots right away. So it take slow and be smart about which cards you apply for and when you do it.

Going For AAdvantage Gold Status

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Going for AAdvantage Elite Status

American Airlines recently revamped their loyalty program for 2022 and beyond. The end result is that, for most people, AAdvantage® elite status is going to be much easier to obtain. Even though I liked the announced changes, I didn’t give much thought to actually trying to achieve elite status.

However, a series of recent events sparked my interest and I’ve decided to go for Gold — status that is! I’ll explain what led to my decision and how I intend to reach elite status, but first let’s review American Airlines’ new loyalty program.

Historically, achieving elite status required racking up a mix of Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs), earned through flying with the airline and its partners. With the new simplified program, earning elite status is tied more to spending and not necessarily distance or segments flown. Instead of EQMs, EQDs and EQSs, status is now determined by Loyalty Points.

In This Post

Loyalty Points

Members earn Loyalty Points on American Airlines flights, when using AAdvantage credit cards and with AAdvantage partners.

  • Base members earn 5 Loyalty Points per dollar on paid tickets with American Airlines, its Oneworld partners and JetBlue (elites earn between 7 and 11 points depending on status level)
  • Credit card holders earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent on AAdvantage credit cards (you won’t earn additional points for spending in bonus categories or from new card sign-up bonuses)
  • Loyalty Points can also be earned by:

As you can see, the new program really incentivizes loyalty beyond just flight activity. In fact, qualifying on flights alone is much more expensive in the new program.

New Program Calendar

AAdvantage elite status will be determined annually based on Loyalty Points earned between March 1 and February 28. The membership year, during which your status is valid, takes effect the date you qualify, or April 1 (whichever comes first) and will be valid through March 31.

Example: If you qualify for elite status on October 15, 2022, it will take effect that day and remain in effect until March 31, 2024.

Elite Status Requirements

The new elite status requirements are:

  • AAdvantage Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Points
  • AAdvantage Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points
  • AAdvantage Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points
  • AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points

Benefits of Gold Status

So what do I get if I achieve AAdvantage Gold elite status?

  • 40% status mileage bonus
  • Priority check-in and boarding
  • One free checked bag
  • Same-day standby priority
  • Priority phone line
  • Complimentary access to Preferred Seats at booking, if available
  • Complimentary access to Main Cabin Extra Seats at check-in, if available
  • Complimentary upgrades on American Airlines domestic and short-haul international flights, if available
  • 24-hour upgrade window
  • Automatic OneWorld Ruby status and additional elite benefits with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue

Earning extra miles on paid flights is nice, as is the free checked bag. However, the possibility for complimentary upgrades and access to better seats are the most exciting benefits. In the old days, those were the perks that only actual frequent flyers had acccess to. However, I now have a shot to earn that same status without having to do all the flying.

In practice, perks like the complimentary upgrades, could be hard to use given that Gold members are prioritized below all other elites. On the other hand, I’ll certainly be able to choose Preferred Seats at booking and have a decent chance at Main Cabin Extra Seats at check-in.

For information on the benefits of Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum statuses, see the American Airlines’ status benefits page.

How I Intend to Reach Gold Status

American Airlines makes it easy to track your progress towards status right in your AAdvantage account.

Going into 2022, I owned the Citi AAdvantage MileUp℠ and CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® cards. I didn’t use either card very much because they don’t have great bonus spending categories. For example, neither card offers bonus miles for spending on groceries or dining out, whereas the American Express Gold card earns 4x points in both categories. So for the most part, those cards sat in a drawer in my office.

That all changed, however, after a series of events got me thinking that going for elite status was completely achievable. Let’s look at these events one by one.

Citi Bonus Miles Offer

The first event was a bonus offer from Citi on my MileUp card where I could earn 5x miles on online purchases up to a maximum of 2,500 miles. I quickly gobbled up all 2,500 bonus miles. Of course those bonus miles didn’t count towards Loyalty Points, but the spending I made to earn them did.

In addition, since the spending had to be online, I started all purchases on the AAdvantage eShopping portal. Doing so earned me more Loyalty Points and started to make earning elite status seem possible.

AAdvantage eShopping

AAdvantage eShopping mall
This is my starting place for all online shopping.

The AAdvantage eShopping site offers bonus miles for purchases made online at a variety of retailers. For example, the site might offer 5 miles per dollar spent at Nike.com. To get the bonus, you need to begin on the shopping portal and click over to Nike.com. The site records your visit, and once Nike confirms the purchase, you receive 5 miles for every dollar spent. Those bonus miles also earn Loyalty Points, so in this example a $100 purchase earns 500 Loyalty Points. Additionally, paying with an AAdvantage credit card nets another 100 Loyalty Points for a total of 600 points.

Earning 5 miles per dollar is pretty good, but there are some merchants that offer flat bonus amounts, and those can be even more lucrative. I earned 1,200 miles and Loyalty Points by subscribing to Discovery+. Make sure to read the fine print on every offer, but in this case, I only had to subscribe for one month at a total cost of $4.99. Earning 1,200 miles/Loyalty Points on a $4.99 purchase is like getting 240 miles/points per dollar!

Examples of some of the big time offers on the AAdvantage eShopping portal.

You can even search and sort on merchants by earn rate to find ones that give you the biggest bang for your buck.

SimplyMiles

Example of a current offer on SimplyMiles.

Around the same time that I received the Citi bonus miles offer, I noticed that American’s SimplyMiles had many interesting offers available. As an added bonus, many of those offers where at merchants where I intended to shop at anyways. Even better, most offers could be redeemed multiple times. I was able to earn 465 miles on an Uber ride, 465 miles on Uber Eats and 465 miles filling up my car at BP, all multiple times.

The best offer I’ve used so far was for Wine.com where I earned 1,400 miles on the purchase of 8 wines, all for $118. My MileUp card had an offer for $30 off a $100 purchase, so my net purchase was only $88, or $11 a bottle.

Simply Miles is easy to use. First you register an account and link your AAdvantage Mastercard(s), then activate your personalized offers and finally, complete your purchase using a registered card.

The best part is that all of the miles earned translate to Loyalty Points, and it’s not based on the actual spending amount. The Uber offer for 465 miles was good on any Uber ride, no matter the amount spent.

Increased Credit Card Offers

At the same time, I’d been tracking prices on an American Airlines flight I needed to book. Since I knew I’d be making a large purchase on American Airlines soon, I looked into ways to maximize the miles earned. I ran across a terrific offer on the AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard from Barclays. The offer was a whopping 80,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. Plus the annual fee is waived for the first year. While the sign-up bonus doesn’t count towards Loyalty Points, the spending needed to earn it did.

Soon after earning the sign-up bonus on my new Aviator card, Citi announced an all-time best sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card after spending $3,500 in the first 3 months. Even though I had just finished earning the sign-up bonus on my Barclays card, I couldn’t resist applying for this one as well. The spending I’ll make to earn this sign-up bonus will give me more Loyalty Points.

NRG Energy

At this point, I was all in on going for Gold status and looking for a way to earn a large chunk of Loyalty Points to get me over the hump. I receive emails all the time from both American Airlines and United Airlines about earning miles from a partnership with NRG Energy. I’ve looked into these offers before but found a lot of bad feedback about NRG Energy online. So, until now, I’ve never pulled the trigger.

The deal is for 12,500 miles/Loyalty Points, which I’ll receive after completing 2 months of continuous service with NRG Energy. The complaints I found on the Internet are mainly around a “bait and switch” game that the company plays. The initial energy supply rate is less than the supply rate from your current utility, but it’s only fixed for the first 3 months. After that time, the rate is variable and can go up as much as 30%.

People who don’t read the fine print are likely surprised and obviously upset when this occurs. But I’ve read the fine print, and after 3 months, I will cancel my NRG service and return to my utility. I’ll get the Loyalty Points I’m after and won’t be burned by rising rates!

Update: After 2 months of continuous service with NRG Energy, I received the 12,500 bonus miles I was expecting. However I didn’t get any Loyalty Points! As it turns out, I missed the fine print (exactly what I was bragging about above). In reading the FAQs on the American Airlines website, it says you’ll receive Loyalty Points on “base” miles earned from eligible partners. It also states that “bonus” miles earned from special promotions will not earn Loyalty Points.

My Progress (updated monthly)

Once I’ve achieved Gold Elite status, I’ll report back on how I’ve be able to use it and whether it’s been worth it. Even if I don’t end up getting much out of having the status, at least I’ll have settled my curiosity about it.

Goal Achieved: Even without receiving any Loyalty Points from NRG Energy, I was able to achieve Gold Status in mid-September.

CategoryLoyalty Points
Online Shopping (AAdvantage eShopping)30,868
Everyday Spending20,996
Simply Miles12,665
Flights3,873
Surveys (Miles for Opinions)3,411
Partners/Dining3,194
TOTAL75,007

Finally, pursuing airline status was really fun for me. I thoroughly enjoyed hunting for deals and offers, especially when they aligned with my everyday spending habits. Have you ever had status with an airline? Let me know if you though it was or wasn’t worth it.

Best Cash Back Credit Cards (2021)

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Because I love to travel, most of the credit cards I own earn points and miles rather than cash back. Those points and miles can be used to book award flights, free hotel nights and more. However, with travel being non-existent for most of last year and into the near future, earning cash back makes a lot of sense right now. But which cash back cards are the best? I’ve compiled a list of the top cash back credit cards for 2021 and best of all, you won’t find any with an annual fee!

Credit CardBest ForWelcome Offer
Chase Freedom Flex℠Best Overall Cash Back Card$200 bonus (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Non-Bonus Spending$200 bonus (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Citi® Double CashSimplicityNone
Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards CardFoodies and Entertainment-lovers$200 bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American ExpressGroceries$200 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
Discover it® Cash BackRotating Cash Back CategoriesCashback Match™ (Discover will match all the cashback earned during the first year)

Chase Freedom Flex℠

Why I Love this Card

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ card packs a ton of amazing benefits into a card with no annual fee. It has fantastic earnings rates in popular categories like dining and drug stores, as well as a 5% earnings rate on quarterly rotating categories.

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Earns 5% in rotating quarterly bonus categories throughout the year
  • Earns 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
  • Earns 3% back on dining and drugstores
  • No annual fee
  • Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards flexible points program

Cons

  • The 5% rotating quarterly bonus is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter
  • Bonus categories must be activated each quarter to earn the 5%
  • The card earns only 1% on non-bonus spending (purchases in popular categories like groceries or gasoline should be done on a different card)
  • Travel must be booked through Chase to earn the 5% cash back

Final Word

This is a must-own card in my opinion. Maximizing the rotating categories equates to $300 in cash back each year. Add that to the cash back earned on dining, at drugstores and on travel and you’re looking at a sizeable return. The cash back is actually credited to your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. Or you can transfer those points to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, and really supercharge the card’s value. For more information on how to get even more value from this card, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Why I Love this Card

Chase Freedom Unlimited

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card is great to use as your “everyday” or “catch-all” card. This is the card you should take out of your wallet when there’s no bonus points or cash back to be had. Like it’s Chase Freedom Flex teammate, it has the same terrific earnings rates in popular categories like dining and drug stores. The difference between the two is that the Freedom Flex has the 5% rotating categories while the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% on all non-bonus spending. You can’t go wrong with either card and you could even own both!

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Earns 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
  • Earns 3% back on dining and drugstores
  • Earns 1.5% back on all other purchases
  • No annual fee
  • Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards flexible points program

Cons

  • Travel must be booked through Chase to earn 5% cash back

Final Word

This is the card I use as my personal “everyday spending” card. Any purchase that doesn’t hit a bonus category on my other cards is charged to my Freedom Unlimited card. The cash back is actually credited to your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. Or you can transfer those points to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, and really supercharge the card’s value. For more information on how to get even more value from this card, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Citi® Double Cash

Why I Love this Card

The Citi® Double Cash card is all about simplicity. It has the easiest and most straightforward earnings structure of any card on the list. Essentially this card earns 2% cash back on all spending. You earn 1% on the purchase and 1% when you pay your bill.

Pros

  • Easy to understand earnings structure (no need to remember bonus categories)
  • Earns 2% cash back (1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay your bill)
  • No annual fee
  • Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Citi’s ThankYou® Rewards flexible points program

Cons

  • No welcome bonus
  • To transfer points, you must own another Citi ThankYou Rewards card that charges an annual fee

Final Word

This is another wonderful “everyday spending” option. And if you pair this card with either the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier cards, you can really increase the card’s value. Once your points are in the ThankYou Rewards ecosystem, you open up more valuable redemptions in Citi’s travel center or by transferring to any of their 16 airline travel partners. For more information on Citi’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Citi ThankYou® Rewards.

Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Card

Why I Love this Card

This is the perfect card for those who like to go out. It’s centered around dining and entertainment, earning 3% cash back on both categories. Earning 3% on dining is a great rate for a card with no annual fee. Plus for those eating at home more during the pandemic, it applies to carryout, delivery and food delivery apps. The entertainment category, although probably not in high demand right now, is nice because it includes so much. Sporting events, movies and theatre, amusement parks, museums, and zoos are just some examples of what counts as entertainment.

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Earns 3% back on dining and entertainment
  • Earns 2% at grocery stores
  • No annual fee

Cons

  • There’s no flexible rewards points program associated with this card, so cash back is the only option

Final Word

While this is a solid card, you might want to consider applying for the Capital One Savor Rewards Card instead. The Savor Rewards card has a $95 annual fee, but you earn a higher welcome bonus and higher earnings rate. That card comes with a $300 welcome bonus and earns 4% on dining and entertainment. After spending $4,500 on dining and entertainment, the card has paid for itself, at least in the first year. If after one year, you’re not getting the value you want, you can always downgrade to the no annual fee version instead.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Why I Love this Card

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express earns a solid 3% on grocery purchases, which is a category everyone is spending a ton on this year.

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $1,000 in the first three months
  • Earns 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets
  • Earns 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and select department stores
  • No annual fee

Cons

  • The 3% cash back is only earned on grocery purchases up to $6,000, then it’s 1%
  • There’s no flexible rewards points program associated with this card, so cash back is the only option

Final Word

Just like with the Capital One cards, there’s a $95 annual fee version of this card that could give you way more value, at least during year one. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has much higher earnings rates and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. That gives you a year to try it out, risk free, to see if the added value is worth keeping the card beyond the first year.

The Blue Cash Preferred card comes with a $300 welcome bonus and earns 6% at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases. It also earns 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions and 3% at gas stations and on transit. You can always downgrade to the no annual fee card, but those increased earnings rates may more than make up for the $95 annual fee. Just spending more than $3,167 on groceries per year would make keeping the Blue Cash Preferred a good deal.

Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card

Why I Love this Card

The Discover it® Cash Back Card is is the original rotating quarterly bonus categories card! Plus during your first year of card ownership, Discover will match all of your cash back earned dollar for dollar!

Pros

  • Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year
  • Earns 5% in rotating quarterly bonus categories throughout the year
  • No minimum cash back redemption
  • No annual fee

Cons

  • The 5% bonus earnings rate is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter
  • Bonus categories must be activated each quarter to earn the 5%
  • The card earns only 1% on non-bonus spending, so it shouldn’t be used on anything that’s not part of the rotating quarterly bonus categories

Final Word

Depending on how much you spend during the first year, this card could end up with the highest welcome bonus of any. If you maximize the rotating categories, you’ll net $300 in cash back each year. Plus in the first year, Discover will match your total cash back earned. You can redeem your rewards for cash at any time, with no minimum value for redemption. And for flexibility, you can use your rewards to pay for purchases at Amazon.com. The biggest downside to the Discover It card is that you have to remember to activate the bonus categories each quarter, or you won’t earn 5% cash back.  

Bottom Line

While there’s uncertainly over travel, now is a good time for many to focus on earning cash back. Any of the credit cards listed above would be terrific choices for those looking for simplicity and cash back. For people who still plan to travel or have an appetite for a little more complexity with their credit card rewards, there are also plenty of amazing travel rewards cards out there. For a list of five great options, see the article on the Best Travel Credit Cards of 2021, written by my friends at Money.com