The Ultimate Guide to Earning Miles & Points Without a Credit Card (Using Shopping Portals)
Most people think you need to open credit cards or spent lots of money to rack up travel rewards, but that’s not true. My favorite way to earn points, without a credit check, is via shopping portals.
In the last two years, I’ve earned 64,000 Amex Membership Rewards points just through Rakuten—that’s over $1,200 in travel rewards, since Amex’s points are worth an average of 2 cents each.
If you want to maximize every dollar spent, shopping portals can help you earn Rewards on purchases you were going to make anyway.
What Is a Shopping Portal?
A shopping portal is a website that rewards you in cash back or points just for clicking through, before making a purchase.
🔹 Instead of going straight to a store’s website, you first visit the portal, then click on the store through the portal, then shop as usual.
🔹 Your purchase earns extra rewards, often stacking with credit card points, store discounts, and other promotions.
🔹 Warning: Some outside discount codes (not listed on the portal) can void your rewards—check before using them!
Example: If you buy a $1500 mattress from Mattress Firm through the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping portal, you’ll earn 6 points per dollar spent, meaning you’ll collect 9,000 Southwest Points that count toward the Southwest Companion Pass—without a credit card.
How Do You Use a Shopping Portal to Earn Points?
Using a shopping portal is simple:
1️⃣ Install a Browser Extension
Most portals (Rakuten, Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping, etc.) offer browser plug-ins that pop up when a store has an offer. Click “Activate”, and you’re good to go!
Pro Tip: Always check for confirmation that the rewards are tracking before checking out.
2️⃣ Use the Portal’s Website
If there’s no extension, go to the portal’s website, log in, and search for the retailer. Click their link, and you’ll be redirected to the store’s site with tracking enabled.
That’s it! Once you check out, your points or cashback track automatically.
Extra Nerdy: The Technical Details
When you activate an offer, the portal drops a tracking cookie into your browser’s cache.
🔹 This cookie stays active for that session, telling the retailer that the portal referred you.
🔹 If you close the window and return later without clicking through the portal again, your purchase won’t track.
🔹 After your purchase, the retailer pays the portal for the referral, and the portal shares the payout with you.
Why Do Shopping Portals Pay You?
It’s all about customer acquisition. Stores pay shopping portals for sending them shoppers. Instead of keeping the full commission, portals pass a cut back to you as cash back or points.
Think of it like this: The store saves money by not running ads, and you get rewarded instead. Win-win.
Which Shopping Portals Are the Best?
With dozens of portals available, here are the best for earning rewards:
🔹 Rakuten (Best for Amex Points)
- Earn cash back or Amex Membership Rewards points (1 cent = 1 Amex point).
- Ideal for anyone with an Amex card. Without an Amex card you can only earn cash back, in the form of a check or PayPal deposit.
🔹 Capital One Shopping
- No credit card required—earn Capital One points on purchases.
🔹 Airline & Bank Portals
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall – Earn extra Chase points.
- American Airlines Shopping – Earn AA miles.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping – Great for Companion Pass seekers.
Want to compare payouts? Use CashbackMonitor.com to see which portal offers the highest cash back or points. This is the single most valuable resource for comparing cash back. If you want a pair of shoes, look at multiple retailers and compare the cash back. Sometimes it makes sense to pay a little more for an item and get a higher percent back.
Pro Tip: How to Stack Rewards for Maximum Points
Here’s how savvy points earners stack multiple rewards on a single purchase:
1️⃣ Use a shopping portal (e.g., Rakuten → Amex MR points)
2️⃣ Pay with a rewards credit card (e.g., Chase Freedom Flex → 5x points on Norwegian Cruise Line Q1 2025 only)
3️⃣ Use a store’s loyalty program (e.g., Best Buy rewards)
4️⃣ Check for Amex Offers or Chase Offers on their apps (extra cash back or discounts)
5️⃣ Apply a sitewide coupon for additional savings
6️⃣ Time your purchase around a sale to maximize discounts
Stacking Example Quadra Stack: Buy a $1000 laptop at Dell:
- Rakuten (10x points) = 10000 Amex MR
- Amex Platinum Business (1x points) = 1000 Amex MR
- Amex Platinum Business $200 semiannual Dell rebate.
- Dell Rewards (3% back) = $30 Dell Store Credit
Total Extra Value: 11000 Amex MR + $30 credit + $200 rebate.
11000 Amex points at 2 cents each is $220 in travel credit.
That means we got $450 back in rebates, credits, and points. That’s 45%, not to shabby.
🔥 Stacking Example Tripple Dip: Buy 2 pairs of Crocs for $100 from Crocs:
- Chase Card Linked Offers = $20 off a $100 purchase at Crocs.
- Rakuten (9x points) = 900 Amex MR
- Chase Sapphire Preferred (1x points) = 100 Chase Ultimate Rewards
Total Extra Value: 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards + $20 discount
At 2 cents per point, 1000 Chase points = $20. If redeemed strategically—such as for Hyatt stays—they could be worth up to $40.
With the $20 discount factored in, this equates to a 40–60% rebate in the form of travel—a fantastic return for a simple purchase!
Final Thoughts
Shopping portals are an easy, overlooked way to earn thousands of points without opening new credit cards. Before buying anything online, always check a portal first—those extra points add up fast!
What’s the best shopping portal deal you’ve ever gotten? Drop it in the comments!
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