Earning so many rewards is so easy, yet unfortunately, so many people resign themselves to earning a pathetic 1% or 2% back on so many purchases. You can get 40 times more extremely easily!!! Even without this current promotion, at the very least, you should earn 10% on everything! Never less. It’s simple: you should NEVER earn just 1% or 2%.
No wonder so many people think rewards aren’t worth the effort when they think that earning 1% is what the wonderful world of travel rewards is all about…
Maximizing rewards is simple: getting the absolute most rewards possible on the amount you’re spending, and then getting the most value out of the rewards when you use them. That’s all so easy if you know the pro tricks, truly.
Here’s a concrete example of getting ≈ 41.5% back instead of 1%, with 10 typical strategies for earning rewards.
Overview of 10 typical earning strategies
This example is for an Amazon purchase with the current Aeroplan eStore promotion, but if you’ve read our guide on how to earn rewards, you know these promotions are frequent for many types of purchases. We’ll have more examples like this one soon.
Again, you should always earn 10% at the very least. Even if there are no online shopping portals, the retailer has no in-house rewards program, and the reward currency you earn can’t be maximized for a higher value.
As long as you understand the most basic thing about earning rewards with credit cards: focus on welcome bonuses! They give you at least 10% back, but even 20.5% sometimes (like now). On everything you buy! It’s not more complicated than that.
Here’s an infographic with 10 typical earning strategies for an Amazon purchase, from terrible to travel rewards pro!
1. Basic credit card (1% back)
You use a credit card. Congratulations, at least that’s better than using debit or cash. But that’s a pathetic earn rate that you should really avoid.
2. Better credit card (2% back)
You use a better credit card that earns twice as much, that’s 100% more rewards. At the very least do this, but it’s still terrible.
3. Better credit card + Cashback portal (3% back)
You use a better credit card and at least go through the Rakuten cashback portal to get 1% more. It makes no sense to not use online shopping portals, but 3% is still not great.
4. 5x credit card + Gift card trick (5% back)
You use a card that earns 5% and buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store, so you’re already earning 5 times more than most.
5. 5x credit card + Gift card trick + Cashback portal (6% back)
You use a card that earns 5% and buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store and you also at least get 1% more through Rakuten.
6. 5x credit card + Gift card trick + Aeroplan portal + Bad use of points (16% back)
You use a card that earns 5% and buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store and you use the Aeroplan eStore portal that has a great promotion, giving you an extra 11% if you use your Aeroplan points badly (like most travelers).
7. 5x credit card + Gift card trick + Aeroplan portal + Good use of points (20% back)
You use a card that earns 5% and buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store and you use the Aeroplan eStore portal that has a great promotion, giving you an extra 15% if you use your Aeroplan points well (which is pretty easy).
8. 5x credit card + Gift card trick + Aeroplan portal + Great use of points (26% back)
You use a card that earns 5% and buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store and you use the Aeroplan eStore portal that has a great promotion, giving you an extra 21% if you use your Aeroplan points extremely well (which is easy if you want to).
9. Credit card with welcome bonus + Aeroplan portal + Good use of points (35.5% back)
You finally understand that welcome bonuses are the key and earn 20.5% back on your credit card (with the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card, one of the 4 best deals for October 2024). By adding in the 15% from the Aeroplan portal, now that’s finally a decent amount of rewards.
10. Credit card with welcome bonus + Aeroplan portal + Great use of points (41.5% back)
You again earn 20.5% on your credit card, but you also use your Aeroplan points extremely well and maximize everything that can be maximized!
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Summary
It’s so easy to earn more rewards, if you simply take the time to learn the pro tricks and apply them. Whatever you spend should get you at the very least 10% back all the time, and it’s often much higher (like ≈ 41.5%) if the purchase is from a retailer that is on online shopping portals, if there are promotions, if the retailer has its own rewards program, and if the rewards you earn are of the more lucrative type and you use them well.
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Featured image: Amazon earn example infographic (photo credit: Flytrippers)
