Shopping Portal Points 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. UPDATE 8/23/26: It's technically still Q3, but last week's Rakuten payout day just made us all a little points-richer. So, here's the latest on my shopping portal points 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 to transfer to partners like World of Hyatt and Alaska Airlines is hard to resist for my shopping portal points strategy. (If selecting Bilt for your Rakuten earnings, keep in mind that the conversion rate recently changed for those who don't have certain Bilt elite status.)
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 a Category 8 Hyatt property (thanks to this year's award chart changes) 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, it's amazing to have another way to supplement my 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 strategy. While my goal feels achievable for me personally, but I want to stress two things:
- Any payout is worthy of celebrating. Back in February, we asked our Facebook group members to share their quarterly payouts, and earnings were all over the map: 10K, 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 on making anyway is a win in my book.
- 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!
| Quarterly Goal | 75,000+ points |
| Q1 Total | 104,738 points, earned from: • 78,355 Bilt Points via Rakuten • 7,273 Rove Miles • 19,100 Southwest Rapid Rewards via Southwest Hotels |
| Q2 Total | 104,165 points, earned from: • 80,240 Bilt Points via Rakuten • 23,925 Rove Miles |
| Q3 Total | 51,725 points, earned from: • 41,093 Amex Membership Rewards via Rakuten • 8,825 airline miles earned via the shopping portals for Southwest Airlines, Atmos Rewards and Delta Air Lines • 1,807 Rove Miles |
| Annual Goal | 300,000+ points + miles |
| Annual Progress (as of Aug. 23) | 260,628 points + miles |
Rakuten Report – Quarter 1
In the interest of transparency for my shopping portal points 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 | 6,419 |
| Ulta Beauty | 5,170 |
| World of Hyatt | 4,663 |
| Ulta Beauty | 2,556 |
| Belk | 1,840 |
| PGA Tour Superstore | 1,230 |
| Backcountry | 1,060 |
| Misc. (IKEA, H&M, B&N, etc.) | 2,917 |
| TOTAL | 78,355 |
Rakuten Report – Quarter 2
Even though I outdid my earnings from last quarter, I honestly found this one more challenging. I didn't have as much shopping to complete as I did during the holiday season. A last-minute postponement of my Japan trip (we had to move our reservations from spring to fall because of P2's job) meant lost earning opportunities for purchases like Viator. Instead, I focused more on bank bonuses and ~100x earning opportunities on digital services. I made a mistake in jumping on the Incogni purchase when it was only 65X, not realizing it would later increase to 100X. In the future, I won't purchase any digital services unless they are close to 100X. The Blue Apron purchase was a nice win that I stacked with a Rakuten coupon and got four great meals from.
| Purchase | Points received |
| Lifelock | 31,499 |
| Alliant – bank bonus | 20,000 |
| NordVPN | 7,938 |
| NordPass | 6,696 |
| Incogni | 5,609 |
| Blue Apron | 2,865 |
| Caldezonia | 2,205 |
| Viator | 1,442 |
| Ulta Beauty | 1,361 |
| IKEA | 300 |
| Misc – Dining, etc. | 325 |
| TOTAL | 80,240 |
Rakuten Report – Quarter 3
This was a slower quarter for me, with a lot of my Rakuten earnings (ie, travel purchases like Viator and StubHub) not confirmed in time for payout day. I also switched my earnings from Bilt Rewards back to Amex Membership Rewards. I love how easy it is swap back and forth between these two currencies. My biggest win, though, was getting to see my earnings in action this month on our trip to Europe. We spent 12 nights at Hyatt properties in Paris, Madrid, Menorca and Porto, several of which were funded by the 211,205 combined Bilt points P2 and I earned during the first two quarters. Now that I’ve crossed the 260,000-point threshold for the year, I need less than 40,000 points to reach my goal of earning at least 300,000 points. I have about 45,000 points pending in Rakuten today, so I know I’ll meet that target. Can I do even better? The next few weeks will be very important in determining how the Nov. 15 payout goes.
| Purchase | Points received |
| Surfshark | 16,945 |
| NordProtect (now Coveron) | 11,976 |
| PetMeds | 4,299 |
| 1-800-Contacts | 3,420 |
| Ulta Beauty | 2,158 |
| Adidas | 1,320 |
| Misc. shopping (Tuckernuck, Away, CVS, Pet Supermarket, etc.) | 975 |
| TOTAL | 41,093 |
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.
ToP Thoughts: My Shopping Portal Points 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 strategy? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know.
