 | Flytrippers cofounder |
If you like getting free travel, you absolutely need to use online shopping portals. It’s even more important as the holidays approach, a time when you have a lot of spending! Don’t make the oh-so-common mistake of earning a pathetic 1% back when the exact same spend can give you 47% by being savvy!!!
I’ll illustrate this clearly with the example of a portal promotion that gives you 18%! It’s to make sure you’re ready for the upcoming Black Friday, when portal promotions are even better.
We’ll also revamp our detailed guide on online shopping portals by then. Flytrippers helps you travel for less with its free newsletter specifically about travel rewards, its ranking of the best current offers, and its infographic summarizing all the basics.
Here are the details on how to maximize your rewards.
How to earn 47% back instead of 1%
Earning more rewards is honestly very easy, and on literally all your spending. But you do need to know how.
Here’s an infographic that sums up how to maximize your rewards.
To properly explain the concept, I’m using a very typical example: $100 spent on overpriced clothes at the very popular Canadian retailer Simons.
Today’s post is thanks to the promotion for 18% cash back at Simons on the Rakuten online shopping portal. There are regularly ones like this, but this one is only at Simons and only today. Create a Rakuten account, click on Simons, then buy on the Simons website. That’s it!
Let’s take a closer look.
Basics of how to earn more rewards
Before comparing the 7 different scenarios, the very basics is knowing there are 3 ways to earn rewards on (almost) all your spending:
- Earn with credit cards
- Earn with rewards programs directly
- Earn with online shopping portals
But if you want to be a pro and earn so much more, you need to maximize by taking advantage of promotions as often as possible. For each of the 3 components! That’s the key.
It’s truly that simple.
Then again, you need to know when there are promotions. There are many. Flytrippers is here precisely to let you know about all the promotions. Sign up for our free newsletter specifically for travel rewards.
Simply scan the weekly email to quickly read the headlines and see if there are promotions that are relevant to you (spoiler alert: there probably are).
Scenario #0: Total of 0% back (0 out of 3) 😬
$100 spent at Simons that gives you exactly $0 back (0%):
- $0: Payment by debit card or cash
- $0: No free Simons rewards account
- $0: In-store or online with no portal
The worst of the worst. Don’t do that!
No savvy traveler should go without good credit cards… unless you’re going to spend more than you can pay off. In that case, at the very least, get the EQ Bank Card Prepaid Mastercard, which isn’t a credit card and gives you 0.5% back (that’s infinitely more than 0%).
Scenario #1: Total of 1% back (1 out of 3)
$100 spent at Simons that gives you $1 back (1%):
- $1: Payment by card that earns a terrible 1%
- $0: No free Simons rewards account
- $0: In-store or online with no portal
That’s what most people do, sadly.
Certainly better than nothing, but still objectively terrible.
Scenario #2: Total of 3% back (2 out of 3)
$100 spent at Simons that gives you $3 back (3%):
- $1: Payment by card that earns a terrible 1%
- $2: Free Simons rewards account that earns 2%
- $0: In-store or online with no portal
Well, we just doubled super easily. All you have to do is create a free account in a few clicks. Always take all the rewards!
Still very terrible.
Scenario #3: Total of 4% back (3 out of 3)
$100 spent at Simons that gives you $4 back (4%):
- $1: Payment by card that earns a terrible 1%
- $2: Free Simons rewards account that earns 2%
- $1*: Purchase via the wrong shopping portal that earns a terrible 1%
Already a bit better with a few more clicks. Always use portals! It just makes no sense not to.
But it’s still incredibly closer to 0% than to 47%.
*I rounded up; the Blue Rewards (formerly AIR MILES) shopping portal is so terrible that you earn just 0.5% back compared to 18% at Rakuten
Scenario #4: Total of 30% back (maximized 1 out of 3)
$100 spent at Simons that gives you $30 back (30%):
- $27: Payment by card that earns 27% back thanks to a promotion
- $2: Free Simons rewards account that earns 2%
- $1: Purchase via the wrong shopping portal that gives a terrible 1%
That’s how to maximize as easily as possible. With minimal effort.
If you remember just one thing from the whole wonderful world of travel rewards, please, pick this one: credit card welcome bonuses are the key.
It’s THE most important thing. Welcome bonuses will give you about 10% back on your purchases all year long.
Take advantage of these promotions. It’s as easy as that.
“But I can’t use all my spend on welcome bonuses!” Well, you can use almost all of it, that’s for sure. If you want to maximize. That’s how you’ll maximize. That’s what I’ve been doing for over 15 years.
Having more cards also improves your credit score, contrary to the very common and very wrong myth (if you follow the 3 simple rules). Mine is in the 800s, just like it’s improved for all our Flytrippers fans who have now earned ove 4 million dollars in free travel (with our welcome bonus deals). Having more cards will also give you a ton of benefits and insurance coverage for free.
In this example, I used the brand-new Hilton Honors Amex Card that gives you an incredible 27% back on $3,000 with its special launch offer. A bit better than 1%…
(And that doesn’t even take into account the fact that the welcome bonus can easily be worth $2000 instead of “just” $810, which would give you 67% back on your $3000… I’m not talking about rewards of the more lucrative type to keep it simpler to start!)
If you don’t like hotel rewards, there are plenty of other cards that give excellent return rates, including the 2nd one, which has points redeemable for literally any travel expense made on any site.
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Best credit card offers (November 2026) |
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 LUCRATIVENo min. inc.
 Valuation (BONUS)(≈ 27% back on $3k)
Rewards: ≈ $960
Card fee: $150 (≈ 27% back on $3k)
Rewards: ≈ $960
Card fee: $150
Spend required:
$3k in 3 mos.
Best for: ≈ 27.0% back on $3000 & lucrative Hilton pts
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 SIMPLE12k
Valuation (BONUS)(12.1% back on $7.5k)
Rewards: $1025
Card fee: $120 (12.1% back on $7.5k)
Rewards: $1025
Card fee: $120
Spend required:
$7.5k in 12 mos. (or $2k)
Best for: ≈ 12.1% back on $7,500 & simple points
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 SIMPLE60k/100k
Valuation (BONUS)(13% back on $7.5k)
Rewards: $975
Annual fee: $0 $139 (13% back on $7.5k)
Rewards: $975
Annual fee: $0 $139
Spend required:
$7.5k in 6 mos.
Best for: 13.0% back on $7,500 & simple points
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. |
Scenario #5: Total of 47% back (maximized 2 out of 3) 🤩
$100 spent at Simons that gives you $47 back (47%):
- $27: Payment by card that earns 27% back thanks to a promotion
- $2: Free Simons rewards account that earns 2%
- $18: Purchase via the right portal thanks to a promotion
That’s how to very easily get 47 times more rewards than most people, with very little extra effort. Portals often have promotions.
The exact same purchase… 47 times more rewards. That’s why it’s extremely easy to travel for less when you maximize rewards.
If you were wondering why I travel 10+ times a year, and why Kevin, Flytrippers’ other co-founder, travels full-time… almost everything is paid with all of our many rewards!!!
Scenario #6: Even higher return (maximized 3 out of 3)
Often, you can also maximize earning via rewards programs directly with their own promotions.
It can give you a few more percentage points, but it’s almost always less than the promotions of the other 2 components. But at many times in the year, programs don’t have a promotion, as is the case with Simons currently.
Learning how to travel for less
Flytrippers is here to help you since 2017: join 100,000+ savvy Canadian travelers who already receive our free newsletter with our travel tips and deals. Our fans have earned over 4 million dollars in free travel with the deals from the wonderful world of travel rewards that we share alone!
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Summary
Whenever you spend, you should earn rewards in the 3 different ways. But above all, you should plan your spending well to maximize each of the 3 ways by taking advantage of promotions. Promotions really are the key.
What would you like to know about how to maximize your rewards earned? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: Infographic (photo credit: Flytrippers)
