by Emily Thompson, Newsletter & Partnerships Editor
Shopping November sales is my personal Super Bowl. I keep a shopping list throughout the year, stalk my favorite brands and pounce when their best sales come out.
But as a true TPGer, I know the sale prices are far from the only thing to be on the lookout for.
My favorite great deal trifecta is when I can take advantage of a good sale price along with a shopping portal deal and a bonus credit card earning rate. (And if I can nab a merchant offer on top of those things, even better!)
Most recently, I was able to stack some great deals for this week’s Sephora Savings Event. Sephora is often a tricky place for me to earn rewards, since it doesn’t earn bonus rewards on any of my cards.
But last month, I was targeted for a 40% savings offer on an Amazon purchase of up to $100 when I paid with at least some of my purchase with American Express Membership Rewards points. I got a tip from a fellow staffer to use that deal to get a $100 Sephora gift card, which I could then turn around and use during Sephora’s November sale.
This week, when the sale went live, I was able to use my discounted gift card on top of the sale’s 15% savings. But I didn’t stop there.
I also shopped through my favorite shopping portal, Rakuten, to earn an additional 2% cash back on my order. And even better — I was able to pay for the remainder of my purchase through PayPal, allowing me to earn 5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar thanks to this quarter’s Chase Freedom Flex® bonus categories (up to $1,500 spent each quarter; activation required).
As you prep for the rest of the sales we’ll see this month, consider how you can do a similar stack. Even if you’re looking at a store that doesn’t typically earn bonus rewards, one of the easiest things to do is to pick up a gift card at a store that does earn bonus rewards on one of your cards.
If I hadn’t gotten my Sephora gift card through Amazon, for instance, I could have picked one up at a U.S. supermarket and paid with my American Express® Gold Card to earn 4 points per dollar spent (up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) or my Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express to earn 6% cash back* (up to $6,000 per year, then 1%). Then, ensure you’re always shopping through a shopping portal online to earn even more rewards — Rakuten offered up to 12% back at some of my favorite stores last year during Cyber Week.
And of course, be on the lookout for merchant offers to activate that can help you save or earn even more points on your purchases.
*Cash Back on the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
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