Shopping Portal Strategy
Some people doomscroll Reddit or Instagram when they wake up. Me? I’m on Rakuten. Monitoring the shopping portal’s latest multipliers has become as much a morning ritual as drinking espresso or reading the news. After the stellar multipliers during the 2025 holiday shopping season, I realized the haul from my first “Big Fat Check” of 2026 would almost rival a credit card sign-up bonus. I wondered: Could I keep this going throughout the year? Challenge accepted. Here's my shopping portal points and miles strategy.
My 2026 Goal: Earn An Extra 300K-400K Points Via Shopping Portals
While I’ve used Rakuten for years, its lure has been stronger for me ever since Bilt was introduced as a new redemption option in November 2025. The chance to collect rewards for Bilt partners like World of Hyatt and Alaska Airlines is hard to resist for my shopping portal points and miles strategy.
Welcome offers for transferable currency cards run from 50,000 to 150,000 points. (Find this month's ToP credit card rankings here.) If I land near the middle—about 75,000 points each quarter—I’ll have enough for a stay at Category 8 Hyatt property (up until the upcoming award chart changes, at least) or a Starlux Airlines flight to Asia booked via Alaska Airlines. And if I can replicate that every quarter, I’ll end up with at least 300,000 bonus transferable points at my disposal this year. With major trips to Japan and Europe planned for 2026, my P2 and I have already depleted much of our balances of Hyatt points and transferable rewards from Chase, Amex, Capital One, Bilt and Citi. It’s comforting to know I have another way to supplement credit card rewards.
My Progress Each Quarter
I’ll update this article quarterly. While I mainly focus on Rakuten, I’ll also include earnings from other programs that are part of my shopping portal points and miles strategy.
| Quarterly Goal | 75,000+ transferable points |
| March 1 Total | 85,638 transferable points (78,355 Bilt Points via Rakuten + 7,273 Rove Miles) |
| Annual Goal | 300,000+ transferable points |
| Annual Progress (as of March 1) | 85,638 transferable points |
Miscellaneous notes:
- Other Earnings: I booked a two-night staycation through Southwest Hotels for 20K miles to cross the threshold I needed to secure the Companion Pass through 2027. I also collected some small dining rewards, about 900 points combined through Bilt’s and Southwest’s dining programs.
- P2's Earnings: As a bonus, my husband racked up 21,570 Bilt Points via Rakuten and 1,500 Rove Miles. All told, the two of us have combined for 108,953 points through shopping portals this quarter.
This total feels both satisfying and achievable for me personally, but I want to stress two things:
- We’ve seen DPs of some much bigger hauls. Particularly from people who have large business expenses. Which means you can do better than this!
- More modest payouts are just as worthy of celebrating, too. Back in February, we asked our Facebook group members to share their quarterly payouts, and earnings were all over the map: 52K, 70K, 130K. All the commenters had one thing in common: They were thrilled with their payouts. Any additional miles on purchases you were already planning is a win in my book.
Rakuten Report – Quarter 1
In the interest of transparency for my shopping portal points and miles strategy, I'll also share specifics of what I bought. Rakuten's February payout included all of my Black Friday and holiday gift shopping, which made this a pretty easy quarter for me. I did not buy anything that wasn't on my shopping list, anyway. The SoFi bank account is one I'd been considering for a while and will likely be a longterm keeper for me. I still have my Kraken account open and active, as well.
| Purchase | Points received |
| SoFi Banking – Account Bonus | 37,500 |
| Kraken – Crypto Purchase | 15,000 |
| 1-800-Contacts ($427.96) | 6,419 |
| Ulta Beauty ($258.47) | 5,170 |
| World of Hyatt ($310.84) | 4,663 |
| Ulta Beauty ($255.57) | 2,556 |
| Belk ($229.94) | 1,840 |
| PGA Tour Superstore ($81.96) | 1,230 |
| Backcountry ($70.66) | 1,060 |
| Misc. (IKEA, H&M, B&N, etc.) | 2,917 |
| TOTAL | 78,355 |
Shopping Portal Sweet Spots
Besides Rakuten and Rove, it’s worth checking bank promos; airline shopping portals; and dining programs. If it’s a loyalty program you care about, monitor its shopping and dining deals. Tip: It can also be helpful to check sites like Cashback Monitor to ensure you’re getting the best multiplier before making a purchase. Occasionally there are unicorns—like a bonkers British Airways Club portal deal on Kate Spade back on Jan. 2, 2026, for 250x. Imagine the first-class and business-class fares you could book! The most lucrative rates tend to fall into these camps:
| CATEGORY | EXAMPLES |
| Everyday purchases | Everything from: Shampoo or soap from Ulta Beauty. Contact lenses. Pet food and gear from Chewy or Petco. New sneakers from Nike or Adidas. I usually wait for 10x–18x so everyday purchases really add up. |
| Banking and finance | Think elevated bank bonuses (Alliant, SoFi, Chime), tax prepartion services and platforms like Kraken, Coinbase and OnePay. |
| Meal delivery | Subscription services like Cook Unity, Factor, HelloFresh, Blue Apron and Green Chef are a dime a dozen on the portals. You can often stack these with card offers, too. |
| Digital services | VPNs, antivirus programs, data-broker removal services and internet and phone plans. Watch for NordVPN, Surfshark, McAfee, Norton Security, Incogni, Lifelock, T-Mobile, Verizon, Xfinity and more. |
| Travel | Viator and Klook are popular for tours. World of Hyatt was briefly on Rakuten during Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year for 15x. Rove Miles has some wildly high hotel deals. Capital One has had excellent Undercover Tourist offers. |
| Appliances | Since these can be spendy investments, it can be valuable to shop Samsung, LG Electronics, Best Buy, Lowe’s, etc., through the portals even when rates are lower. |
How I Scout Shopping Portal Deals
When creating a shopping portal points and miles strategy, start with ToP's guides to Rakuten and Rove Miles—both of which include excellent welcome offer links. From there, here are some tips:
- Check them every. Single. Day: Rates fluctuate daily. And during busy shopping weeks, even hourly. Turn on notifications + subscribe to the newsletter.
- Deep dive the algorithms: On Rakuten, browse pages labeled “Extra Cash Back,” “Deals of the Day/Week,” “Limited Time,” etc. Sweep every section. On Rove, sort by “most miles earned” or “highest multiplier.” When booking a hotel that is part of a major hotel brand, filter by “Loyalty-eligible” to enter your membership rewards number to ensure elite-qualifying nights and/or points on the stay.
- Wait for the right moment: Many promotions are only once-per-account. If you miss an all-time high promo on a non-essential (ie, bank bonus, Kraken, etc.), hold out for its return.
- Ensure they track: Check the terms, avoid outside coupon codes and watch for exclusions. Keep digital receipts—screenshot or screen-record your order process. And as hard as this part is: Be patient. Rakuten publishes official processing times, which can be as long as 17 weeks in some instances. Check the portal’s timelines, and plan ahead for when you might need more miles. For Rove, book nonrefundable hotels for a quicker return.
Redeeming My Shopping Portal Earnings
For Rakuten, you can choose between cash back, Bilt Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards. Deciding which to redeem with will come down to preferences for each bank's roster of transfer partners (and whether you prefer the straightforward cash savings, of course.) It is now easy to switch back and forth before your payouts. If selecting Bilt, keep in mind conversions rate will change once the first 6 months of the partnership have elapsed. After the May 15 payout, Bilt payouts will be:
- Blue: $10 in Rakuten Cash Back = 500 Bilt Points
- Silver/Gold/Platinum: $10 in Rakuten Cash Back = 1,000 Bilt Points
- Bilt Palladium Cardholders: Will have Bilt Gold status throughout 2026 and 2027 (after SUB completion)
I’ve tried all three Rakuten redemption options, but I’m firmly locked into Bilt right now so I can use the rewards for World of Hyatt and Alaska Airlines. For Rove, I plan to transfer all of my miles before the end of the month to Japan Airlines to take advantage of this limited-time transfer bonus.
ToP Thoughts: My Shopping Portal Strategy
A strong shopping-portal routine can turn everyday purchases into a solid source of points and miles. At least, that’s what I’m banking on. I’ll update this article throughout the year to share my latest rewards—and what I’ve booked with them. How are you using shopping portals in your points and miles strategy? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know.
