In the last 5 plus years, I have shifted the vast majority of my holiday shopping (and shopping in general) to online retailers. Most now have pretty flexible return options and I generally feel like I’m getting the better price online. Online shopping also allows me to easily compare products and prices across multiple sites.
One of the biggest benefits to online shopping is the ability to earn airline miles, hotel points, or cash back though shopping portals. You’ve probably seen those commercials on TV encouraging the use of a shopping portal and earning hundreds of dollars. While they are absolutely legitimate, you’d have to do a fair amount of shopping to earn hundreds. But the ability to earn is real and I would encourage the use of shopping portals for all online purchases.
When I’m searching for something online, I’ll do my research and then go to one of the cash back or mileage aggregator sites such as evreward or cash back monitor. I tend to use evreward most. Once at these sites, just enter the merchant you want to search and you’ll see a list of miles per dollar you or cash back you can earn. For example, if I want to shop at Macy’s, I would navigate to evreward and type Macy’s in the search box.
Once searching, I can see that I have a lot of options that include cash back, airline miles, and hotel points.
While I tend to focus on miles, I would chose Ebates in this instance because 12% cash back is better than any of the mileage offers. I tend to collect Alaska Airlines miles and would choose them if it was more than 8 miles per dollar in this instance (because I can get great value out of those miles).
Next, click on the arrow next to Ebates and I will be taken to the Ebates website where I would need to log in. On the splash screen, it will ask if you are already a member or if you want to join. I would recommend signing up with Ebates using my link (instead of the link on the splash screen) because you’ll get $10 (instead of $5). It’s a win for both of us. My Ebates link here.
In the scenario above, it takes me right to the Ebates Macy’s page.
Ebates keeps track of how much cash back I’ve earned since I joined. To shop, click the red Shop Now button and you’ll go directly to Macy’s website. That’s it. Shop and get cash back.
My Referrals:
Ebates – You get $10
Mr. Rebates – You get $5
Important notes:
- When using any cash back site, your cart must be empty before you start.
- Some stores (Amazon) award cash back for specific categories but not all categories.
- Ebates sends you a check (or paypal) each quarter that your balance is over $5.
- Mr. Rebates sends you money upon request.
- Credit cards also have shopping portals (Chase Ultimate Rewards)
- To get the rebates, you can only use coupons on the website itself (you can’t add your own coupon)
- Some programs (like Alaska Airlines Mileageplan) allow you to link your credit card for in store miles accrual
Happy shopping
The Travels & Tips of Nurse Traveler 