Maximize Your Points and Miles This Holiday Season

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According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), it is projected that Americans will spend between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion on holiday shopping in 2019. This estimation excludes additional expenses such as gas, meals, and travel during the holidays.

This highlights that, willingly or not, a significant amount is being allocated for gifts for loved ones. Moreover, many of us are incurring substantial costs for holiday travel, be it a long-distance flight, a road trip, or festive gatherings with relatives nearby.

If you’ve been saving money throughout the year, these figures may not be startling or disrupt your financial planning significantly. Nonetheless, it’s a missed opportunity not to make the most of these additional expenses— particularly since you can utilize holiday expenditures to accumulate bonus points and travel miles.

Leverage holiday spending for point accumulation

Utilizing a rewards credit card for your purchases is generally the most effective strategy for enhancing cash back or travel rewards. Leading rewards and travel credit cards typically offer between one and three points for every dollar spent, thus enabling you to accumulate points rapidly during significant spending events like the holidays.

You can further increase your rewards by using holiday spending to achieve a sign-up bonus with a new card. Many top-tier cards provide 50,000 points or more if you can spend a few thousand dollars within a specified timeframe, and your holiday expenses could easily help you meet that requirement.

Additionally, it’s worth considering that holiday travel costs can allow you to begin earning a different type of rewards if you’re interested in broadening your options. You might sign up for an airline rewards card, a hotel card, or one that offers versatile travel credits, for example.

Boost points through holiday dining

Whether we like it or not, the holiday season often means families dine out more frequently. To make the most of these extra meals, consider enrolling in an airline dining program like Delta SkyMiles Dining or Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining.

By participating in these programs, you can earn miles with every purchase made at eligible restaurants, provided you use a linked credit card. Some programs also offer incentives. For instance, with Delta SkyMiles Dining, you can currently earn 3,000 bonus miles by spending at least $30 at three designated restaurants and posting reviews online within a month.

Maximize holiday shopping through portals

If you prefer online shopping, it’s crucial to identify which portals will help you earn the most points or miles—or specifically the types you wish to accrue. Most major airlines operate their own shopping portals, but hotel chains and bank loyalty programs do as well.

While earning airline miles or hotel points through shopping portals is generally feasible without a co-branded credit card, certain cards are necessary for collecting bank rewards.

In any case, the functionality of shopping portals is consistent. To earn additional points, simply log into your account and navigate through the portal before shopping online at an eligible retailer. You’ll discover well-known stores like Kohl’s, Macy’s, Home Depot, and Best Buy. Moreover, the bonus points from the portal are supplementary to the rewards gained from using a rewards credit card.

Capitalize on category bonuses

It’s wise to verify if any of your rewards cards include bonus categories that align with your holiday shopping or travel plans. Credit cards with rotating categories often feature popular retailers for their end-of-year bonus categories.

Utilize portals for holiday travel bookings

Lastly, remember that you can earn additional points and miles while booking holiday travel for yourself and your family. Creativity and research will be essential to effectively maximize your travel plans.

For instance, if you want to boost points in the Southwest Rapid Rewards program, you’ll be pleased to learn that you can earn points by logging into your account and using their portal to book various travel-related services including hotel rooms, rental cars, and vacation packages. Many airline loyalty programs offer mileage accrual for these bookings, so be sure to consult your preferred airline.

Additionally, some hotel booking sites allow you to earn airline miles for your hotel reservations. Noteworthy options like PointsHound and Rocketmiles enable you to accumulate considerable miles per night with programs such as Southwest Rapid Rewards, Air France/Flying Blue, and Etihad Guest.

Don’t forget to ensure you have a rewards card that offers extra points when you refuel, especially if a holiday road trip is on the agenda. Several cashback credit cards provide bonus rewards for gas purchases each year with no annual fee, making them an excellent choice.