Quick Overview
- An online shopping portal rewards you with cash back, points, or miles when you shop through its platform at partnered retailers.
- These portals earn a commission from retailers when you make a purchase through their links and share a portion of that commission with you as a reward.
- Since shopping portals profit from your purchases, they’re free to use and free to sign up for.
- They let you triple dip on rewards: earn from the portal, the retailer’s rewards program, and the credit card you use to pay.
- There’s no downside to using a cash back portal—it’s essentially free money. Not using one means missing out on free rewards.
- Rakuten Rewards is our top pick for best cash back portal, but other popular portals include TopCashback, BeFrugal, and RebatesMe.
What is an online shopping portal?
An online shopping portal is a website that rewards you with cash back, points, miles, or other incentives when you start your shopping session through their platform.
These portals earn a commission from retailers when you make a purchase through their links. In return, they share a portion of that commission with you as a reward.
Since the portal profits from your purchases, most don’t charge membership fees, making them free to use.
This makes online shopping portals incredibly popular—you’re essentially earning free rewards for shopping online, something you’d be doing anyway. It’s an easy way to maximize your savings or points accumulation with minimal effort.
How does online shopping portals work?
Online shopping portals are simple to use, and most operate in a similar way. Here’s how they work:
- Start at your chosen online shopping portal.
- Search for the retailer where you want to shop.
- Click the portal’s “Shop Now” referral link for that retailer.
- You’ll be redirected to the retailer’s website to shop as usual.
- After completing your purchase, the portal is notified.
- Rewards are then posted to your portal account.
Because the portal redirects you to the retailer’s site, you can log into your retailer rewards account to earn their points as well, effectively "double-dipping" on rewards. For even more savings, use a rewards credit card at checkout to "triple-dip" and maximize your earnings.
Here’s an example of how online shopping portals work:
Let’s say Rakuten Rewards is offering 5% cash back on purchases at Gap. By shopping through Rakuten’s portal, you can earn:
- 5% cash back from Rakuten Rewards.
- Gap Rewards Points by logging into your Gap Good account.
- Rewards from the credit card you use to complete the purchase.
This allows you to maximize your return on spending by stacking multiple rewards. Online shopping portals are a great way to boost your savings, especially when booking travel, where the rewards can really add up.
How do you get paid with online shopping portals?
The payout methods for online shopping portals vary depending on the portal. For cash back portals, common payment options include:
- Paper Check
- PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle
- eGift Card
For shopping portals linked to airlines, hotels, or credit card rewards programs, rewards typically post directly to your loyalty account, allowing you to seamlessly accumulate points or miles.
Best online shopping portals
There are multiple online shopping portals available online that can earn you cash back, points, miles, and everything in-between. Here are a few of the most common ones.
Cash back shopping portals
Cash back shopping portals let you earn cash back when shopping online with thousands of retailers. They’re highly popular because cash back is the most flexible type of reward, easily redeemable as cash back, direct deposits, or gift cards.
For those who prefer travel rewards, Rakuten Rewards (US) offers a unique perk: you can earn American Express Membership Rewards points instead of cash back if you have an eligible Membership Rewards credit card. This is an excellent option for frequent online shoppers who want to maximize travel rewards, as the returns can be substantial.
Here are the top cash back shopping portals. Sign up through The Point Calculator to earn bonus cash back on your first purchase!
Honey and Swagbucks are also top portals.
Other regions
Even if you're based in the US, there are times in which portals from other regions can be of use. For example, I frequently use Rakuten Canada and TopCashback UK if I can find a better deal or offer, especially if it's for travel.
These portals both payout in their respective currencies, but this is not a problem due to them both offering PayPal as one of their payout options.
Airline shopping portals
Several major airlines offer portals that you can use to earn airline miles shopping online at thousands of retailers. These are great if you're trying to earn extra miles with your favorite frequent flyer programs.
Airline shopping portals work similar to cash back portals except that your rewards will be deposited directly into your frequent flyer account.
Here are a few of the most popular airline shopping portals:
We've run the calculations and checked them twice — here are the credit cards that consistently provide outstanding value to our users:
- Best flexible travel card: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Best overall value year after year: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Best for high cash back: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Best for foodies: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Best for heavy business spenders: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
