STACK & SAVE — How to Use Shopping Portals
The easiest way to earn extra points on purchases you’re already making.
Most people shop online without realizing they’re leaving free points, miles, and cashback behind. Shopping portals are one of the simplest stacking wins — and once you learn how to use them, you’ll never check out the same way again.
If you’re new here, this post is part of my 14‑Day Stacking Starter Series — a simple, beginner‑friendly guide that teaches you how to stack points, miles, offers, and perks the way real families actually use them.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to use them—at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools and resources I personally use, trust, and genuinely believe will help you travel more for less. Thank you for supporting No Point Left Behind and helping me keep all of my guides free for everyone.
Today’s goal is simple: Make sure every online purchase earns you extra points.
Let’s stack it.
1. Start With ONE Shopping Portal (5 minutes)
A shopping portal is just a website that gives you bonus points or cashback when you click through before you shop.
Beginner‑friendly options:
Rakuten
Chase Ultimate Rewards Shopping
AAdvantage eShopping
United MileagePlus Shopping
Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping
Capital One Shopping
Pick one to start with — Rakuten is the easiest for beginners.
If you want the deeper version of this, I have a full Shopping Portals Guide that walks through screenshots, examples, and how each portal works.
2. Search for Your Store Before You Shop
Before you buy anything online, do this one step:
Search the store name inside your portal.
Examples:
Target
Walmart
Sephora
Home Depot
Nike
Kohl’s
Best Buy
If the store is listed, click through the portal → shop like normal → earn bonus points.
That’s it.
Rakuten
This is the portal I use most often because it earns Amex Membership Rewards. Read my full breakdown of how I use it here: Rakuten Guide
Rove Miles
My favorite travel‑focused portal — I’ve earned tens of thousands of miles here this year. Here’s my full post on Rove Miles
3. Stack It With Your Credit Card Rewards
This is where the magic happens.
When you shop through a portal, you earn:
Portal points or cashback
Credit card points
…on the same purchase.
If you’re using a card with a category bonus (like online shopping, groceries, or department stores), even better.
This is your double stack.
4. Compare Rates (Optional but Powerful)
Sometimes one portal pays more than another.
Checking a comparison site like CashBackMonitor can help you find the highest payout.
You’ll often find:
Rakuten pays more one day
An airline portal pays more the next
Chase offers a surprise 8x or 10x
This one step can double your rewards.
5. Add Card Offers for a Triple Stack
If you want to take it one step further, check for:
Amex Offers
Chase Offers
BankAmeriDeals
Citi Merchant Offers
Example:
Rakuten pays 10%
Your credit card earns 3x
Chase Offers gives 10% back
That’s a triple stack on one purchase.
If you want to stack even more, my Credit Card Offers Guide shows how to use Amex Offers, Chase Offers, and BankAmeriDeals without overthinking it.
⭐ Real Example: My Away Luggage Triple Stack
Here’s what this looks like in real life:
I started my Away luggage purchase by clicking through Rove Miles
Rove Miles was offering miles back on Away that day
I paid with a card that earns points on online shopping
I also had a $200 Chase Offer loaded to my card
One purchase → three layers of rewards. Portal miles + credit card points + a huge Chase Offer rebate. No codes. No coupons. No extra steps.
This is exactly how I stacked my red Away Carry‑On and the Alabama Collegiate Bigger Carry‑On — and why stacking works even on big, one‑time purchases. Read the full guide →How I Saved $240 on Away Luggage with Chase Offers, Referral Code & Portal Stack
Today’s Action Step
Pick one shopping portal and use it on your next online purchase. Even if it’s something small — a Target pickup order, a Sephora refill, or a pair of socks — the habit is what matters.
Once you start doing this automatically, your points will grow faster than you expect.
Related Guides
Easy Ways to Earn Points
Credit Card Offers Guide
⭐ About the Author
Julie Davis is the creator of No Point Left Behind, where she teaches families how to travel more for less using points, perks, and simple stacking systems that actually work in real life. After 20 years of travel hacking, she’s taken her family on dozens of nearly free trips—from cruises and national parks to Europe and Alaska—while keeping her approach beginner‑friendly and overwhelm‑free. Julie’s mission is to help you build a flexible, stress‑free points strategy so you can see more of the world without spending more.
