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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
How to earn more points and maximize elite status benefits by double dipping
Nick Ewen is TPG's editor-in-chief and helps readers leverage credit cards (he has more than 25 of them) and loyalty programs to travel more for less. He's been at TPG for over 11 years.
January 21, 2025 • 13 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Quick summary
Double dipping allows you to earn multiple types of rewards from a single transaction by combining loyalty programs, shopping portals or targeted offers.
Using online shopping portals, dining rewards programs and ride-hailing partnerships can help maximize points or miles on everyday purchases.
Retail loyalty programs and targeted card offers provide additional opportunities to stack rewards for both travel and non-travel spending.
Some programs even allow for triple dipping, such as combining a gift card purchase, shopping portal and loyalty program for extra rewards.
What to consider
Each credit card can only be registered with one dining rewards program at a time, limiting stacking options for restaurants.
Some shopping portals exclude purchases made with gift cards from earning rewards, so check terms before stacking.
Certain partnerships or bonus opportunities may have expiration dates, enrollment requirements or location-specific eligibility.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed examples and step-by-step strategies for stacking rewards across travel, dining, retail and rideshare programs.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Here at TPG, we’re all about maximizing every dollar you spend. Often, you can accomplish that by using the best credit card to enjoy the highest return for a specific purchase. But sometimes, you can go a step further.
Enter “double dipping,” or the practice of earning two (or more) different types of points on a single transaction. Taking advantage of double-dipping opportunities will help you accelerate your points-earning — bringing you that much closer to your dream award trip.
Below, we’ve outlined some of our top double-dipping opportunities that you can (and should) work into your everyday points practices.
Use online shopping portals
One of the simplest ways to double dip is to use shopping portals for your online purchases. These third-party sites partner with various retailers to give you points, miles or cash back when you click through their links. This is in addition to the points and miles you earn from putting the transaction on your credit card. So, you earn one bonus from the portal and another from your card.
No matter what type of points you’re trying to earn, there’s likely a portal out there that will suit your needs. Several airlines and hotel chains have their own portals, as does Chase Ultimate Rewards. Meanwhile, Rakuten allows you to receive your earnings in the form of American Express Membership Rewards points as an alternative to its usual cash back. New members can earn a one-time $30 bonus by joining Rakuten and spending $30 in the first 90 days.
Dining out can be a lucrative activity by itself, with cards such as the American Express® Gold Card offering 4 points per dollar on restaurant purchases worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar). But it’s also an opportunity to double dip using dining rewards programs.
Once you register, participating restaurants automatically award you points or miles when you pay for a meal with a linked credit card. Once again, these earnings are on top of the points or miles you net just for purchasing with your favorite credit card for dining.
There’s just one key thing to remember: Each of your credit cards can only be registered for one dining program, so you can’t earn through two airline or hotel programs for a single purchase.
Earn bonus points and miles when you hail a ride. RAFAEL HENRIQUE/GETTY IMAGES
Whether you use Uber or Lyft, you can make your rides more valuable by linking certain rewards accounts to earn points on every ride.
With Lyft, you have several choices when it comes to earning bonus points or miles, though you must select one of the following as your designated loyalty rewards partner:
Bilt Rewards: Earn 2 Bilt Points per dollar spent on Lyft rides, plus 3 additional points per dollar when you pay with your Bilt Mastercard®. Cardholders must use the card five times each statement period to earn points.
Hilton Honors: Earn 3 points per dollar spent on Lyft economy, luxury and extra-seat rides. Earn 2 points per dollar spent on shared Lyft rides.
The information for the Bilt Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Delta Air Lines also has a partnership with Lyft, but that partnership will end April 7 when it links up with Uber.
The information for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Starbucks Rewards program has lost some of its luster over the years, but it has inked partnerships with a pair of travel brands that may make your morning Starbucks run more rewarding.
This started a few years ago with Delta Air Lines, though the partnership was updated last June. Now, you'll earn bonus SkyMiles when you reload $25 or more to your Starbucks account — up to 200 miles for a $100 reload.
Last year, Starbucks and Marriott launched a new partnership that offers additional bonus opportunities. First, if you make three purchases at Starbucks during any Marriott Bonvoy Week, you can earn 100 bonus Marriott points. In addition, any Starbucks purchases you make while staying at a Marriott property earn double Stars in the Starbucks Rewards program. Finally, you can convert your Marriott points to Stars at a ratio of 1,000 points to 100 Stars.
Neither of these partnerships is worth going out of your way to use, but if you're a frequent Starbucks patron, you might as well link your Delta and Marriott accounts.
Earn bonus points when you rent a home on Airbnb. AIRBNB
Make your Airbnb stays more valuable by booking them through Delta Air Lines’ or British Airways’ online portals. Choose a program and click the booking button on its dedicated Airbnb page to rack up extra miles. You’ll earn 1 mile per dollar spent through Delta SkyMiles and 2 Avios per dollar spent through British Airways Executive Club. So, expensive Airbnb bookings can quickly add up to award flights.
Alternatively, you can earn JetBlue TrueBlue points on your next Vrbo stay, as the pair launched a new partnership last year. This lets members earn 1 point per dollar spent when booking home rentals through Paisly, JetBlue's site for nonflight bookings. These purchases also count toward earning JetBlue Mosaic status.
As with Uber and Lyft, pay with a travel credit card that earns bonus points on vacation rentals to further maximize your points-earning.
This app provides endless double-dipping possibilities for those looking to rack up United MileagePlus miles. It awards you bonus miles for buying electronic gift cards through the app, which you can later use online or in person at shops and restaurants. This is particularly great for merchants not included in popular bonus categories on credit cards.
Use the United MileagePlus X app for bonus miles on gift card purchases at many popular merchants. UNITED
The deal is even sweeter for those with a cobranded United Airlines credit card, like the United℠ Explorer Card (see rates and fees). If you link your United card to the app, you’ll earn a 25% mileage bonus for every gift card you buy, whether or not you use that card to pay for the purchase.
The best part? With MileagePlus X, you can take things to the next level for a triple dip. Simply buy a gift card through the app — earning points from the app and points for the transaction on your credit card — and then use that gift card to make an online purchase while utilizing a shopping portal. Just ensure the shopping portal you use doesn't exclude purchases made with a gift card from earning points.
In addition to reciprocal elite benefits, all members enjoy extra miles when transferring Marriott points to United, regardless of status. While most (but not all) of Marriott’s transfer partners offer a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred, United members get 10,000 bonus miles for transferring 60,000 points. That means you can effectively convert 2 Marriott points to 1 United mile.
Enroll in retail rewards programs to earn extra rewards when you shop. THOMAS BARWICK/GETTY IMAGES
While they won’t get you first-class tickets or luxury hotel stays, many sports retailers, restaurants, office supply stores and pet supply stores offer loyalty programs that you can maximize when shopping. Most of these programs give you rewards in the form of future discounts (e.g., spend $100 and get a $5 coupon) on top of the standard earnings you’d get from using your credit card.
Some of the ones I use frequently include Chick-fil-A One, Jersey Mike's Shore Points Rewards and Dunkin' Rewards — especially since I can receive up to $84 in statement credits each year at Dunkin' (up to $7 per month; only at U.S. locations) when I make a purchase with my Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required.
Applying for a new credit card typically comes with a large number of points or miles as a welcome bonus (after you meet the minimum spending requirement, of course). However, once you’ve opened a card, there are a number of other ways to earn bonus rewards or unlock discounts on everyday purchases.
Most of the major issuers offer a program along these lines, including:
These are targeted to each individual cardholder, and you typically must activate them before making a purchase. You also may find several obscure merchants with whom you have no intention of doing business. However, by frequently checking your online accounts, you may be able to find some good opportunities for bonuses or savings.
Here’s just a sampling of the offers that TPG staffers currently have on their cards:
An Amex offer to receive 10% back on insurance purchases, up to $20
A Chase offer to earn 30% back on purchases with Dropbox, up to $30
Multiple Wells Fargo offers to earn 10% back when you spend $100 with multiple Marriott brands — including AC Hotels, Autograph Collection and Renaissance Hotels
A Citi offer to earn 5% back on Lyft rides
You can also stack these with many of the other “dips” on this list to create a double dip or triple dip. For example, you may be able to stack an Amex Offer at a nearby restaurant with a dining rewards program or an online purchase with a shopping portal.
Bottom line
There are plenty of great ways to rack up points and miles quickly, but everyday spending often gets overlooked as one of them. There are many concrete things you can start doing today that will unlock a world of rewards for tomorrow.
Make these double-dipping efforts a part of your overall strategy, and you’ll build your account balances and get much closer to your next award trip.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
