Skip to content
Go to Home Page
News

TPG Talks episode one: Use online shopping portals and apps to save money and earn miles from home

Richard Kerr
Richard Kerr
Contributor
Richard Kerr is a veteran naval officer and founder of the Award Travel 101 Facebook community. He’s one of the foremost experts in points and miles strategy, featured in Forbes, US News, Money Magazine, Kiplinger Personal Finance and presented at #SXSW 2017. Richard has visited over 45 countries, lived in England and Japan, and spends his spare time dissecting loyalty program award charts to maximize the value of points and miles. Richard holds a BBA in International Business and has his wife and two small children in tow for his travels as often as possible.
April 18, 2020
•
3 min read
Close-Up Of Small Shopping Boxes With Credit Card On Laptop
TPG Talks episode one: Use online shopping portals and apps to save money and earn miles from home
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.

We kicked off our 'TPG Talks' webinar series with an in-depth look at how to use online shopping portals and mobile applications to both save money and earn points and miles from home. Below you'll find the recording of the first TPG Talk along with a few show notes and links to helpful posts we have.

Show notes:

In today's show we discussed the basics of using online shopping portals, best practices to make sure your purchases are accurately tracked, the amazing power of CashbackMonitor.com, some of our favorite mobile apps that allow us to save money and finally the power of stacking multiple saving strategies into a single purchase.

  • 6:33 - Introduction to Shopping Portals featuring the United MileagePlus Shopping Portal
  • 8:50 - Shopping Portal Aggregators featuring CashbackMonitor
  • 11:37 - When do earning rates change?
  • 14:37 - Best practices for using Shopping Portals
  • 15:53 - Overview of Rakuten (formerly Ebates) to earn cash back or Membership Rewards points for online and in-store purchases
  • 20:40 - Apps to utilize for points and savings
  • 29:15 - What security do these apps offer for your credit card information? What risks are there to the consumer?
  • 31:11 - How to maximize purchases through Amazon
  • 32:44 - Stacking for maximum points and savings
  • 39:35 - Do you lose credit card protections by using a shopping portal or app?
  • 40:31 - What options are available for online grocery delivery services?
  • 42:45 - Uber Eats through Rakuten
  • 43:33 - Do apps limit the number of cards that you can add?
  • 44:15 - What apps should you start with?
  • 46:02 - Evreward vs. CashbackMonitor
  • 46:54 - Chrome Extensions
  • 48:40 - Can you scan receipts into multiple apps?
  • 49:22 - How do you not go crazy doing this?
  • 50:58 - Can you pay with a gift card when using a shopping portal?
  • 51:45 - Current no brainer deals
  • 52:44 - Airline dining rewards programs
  • 56:20 - What to do if your purchase isn't credited

Follow-on reading and important links:

The beginner's guide to airline shopping portals

How to use Rakuten (Ebates) to earn bonus cash back or Amex points

Cashbackmonitor.com

Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

Your definitive guide to online grocery delivery services

Sign-up for some of the apps discussed in today's show:

Bottom Line

Be sure to catch all the future TPG Talks webinars live by registering for your spot. You can catch all of our upcoming live events across all of our online channels through our master calendar. You can also re-watch recordings of all previous TPG Talks on the TPG Learning Hub.

Featured image by TEVARAK PHANDUANG/EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.