Greetings all! So last week I wrote a post about easy ways to make money online. There are many ways to make money online, requiring varying amounts of time, effort, and/or talent, but the three that I mentioned in last week’s post were taking surveys, using Ebates, and using Swagbucks.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links.
I thought that these all fit the bill as being easy ways to make money online. I did, however, receive some comments that indicated to me that not everyone agrees that these things are worth the effort. Basically, a couple commenters suggested that there are more lucrative ways to make money that may be more worthy of their time.
I think that’s a fair criticism. After all, I am sure that not very many people out there have become rich by just doing these things (if you have become rich by doing just these things- and nothing else- let me know in the comments because I definitely want to hear from you!)
However, the point of last week’s post was to point out EASY ways to make money online, to show folks that there are in fact easy things they could be doing from the comfort of their own homes that would bring in money- and more importantly, often by doing things that they are already doing.
That’s right- by doing things that you are likely already doing.
My favorite comment on last week’s post was from Stephanie, who blogs over at The Broke and Beautiful Life. I think that her comment sums it up perfectly:
I really need to start maximizing shopping portals. That’s one way I’m really leaving money on the table.
What Stephanie is referring to here is the fact that I had mentioned in the post that both Swagbucks and Ebates contain shopping portals on their sites. One of the ways that you can earn rewards on those sites is by going to their shopping portal, clicking on the online retailer that you would like to shop, and entering that retailer’s website and shopping as you normally would.
And Stephanie is exactly right- if you think about it, MANY of us do a significant portion of our shopping online. You earn ZERO rewards if you just type the retailer’s name into your browser and shop directly on the site. The way to earn rewards for your online shopping is to utilize shopping portals.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Online Shopping Dollars
There are LOTS of shopping portals out there. Not only do Swagbucks and Ebates contain shopping portals, but many airlines have shopping portals connected to their websites. Another commenter on last week’s post also mentioned Mr. Rebates and Extrabux, which she has used and likes.
So is it a pain to use shopping portals? Not for me! For example, I am a planner when it comes to holiday shopping. Starting around September-ish, I start thinking about what to get different family members for Christmas. As I go through the fall I start making a list of what I’m going to get for each of the people on my list- and if it’s something I can buy online, I figure out which shopping portal to buy it through (I usually wait until Cyber Monday week to get the best deals though).
For example, this year I already know that I am going to be buying my hubby’s gift online through the American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping mall. That’s because hubby wants something from a retailer that is affiliated with that shopping portal. AND it’s because in October this year, American Airlines sent me an email saying that my 4,000-some frequent flier miles that I have with them are going to expire in March 2015 if I don’t participate in a “qualifying activity” before then.
Annoying, yes. To me the email basically said, “Throw us some money if you want to keep your frequent flier miles.” But the fact remains that I DO want to keep my frequent flier miles, so shopping through their portal is the way that I will make that happen. (Yes, I do know that American has a credit card with nice rewards, but we’re not in the market for another travel credit card right now).
Two birds, one stone. It’s not going to cost me a cent more to keep those frequent flier miles. And I would be shopping online for hubby’s Christmas gift anyway.
As for the rest of my holiday shopping this year, I will be using either Swagbucks or Ebates shopping portals depending on the rewards deals that they have going the week after Thanksgiving. But I will probably be checking out Mr. Rebates and Extrabux as well to see how they compare.
If you are interested in checking out my full Swagbucks review, click here.
Do you use shopping portals for your online shopping? If so, which one is your favorite?
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I am a big fan of online shopping compared to in-store shopping. This is mostly because I work so much and blog in my free time that I love anything that saves me time. During the holidays I tend to just use coupons and watch for sales online instead of using online shopping portals. I should probably use both. I have focused so much on the awesome deals I’m already getting (50% + free shipping, for eg), but there’s no reason I can’t get money back by using a shopping portal as well. I’m going to share this post with my readers – I think it’s a good reminder during the holiday season especially.
Exactly! My favorite thing is to shop through a portal AND utilize awesome discount codes (and even better if I have earned enough Swagbucks to have an Amazon giftcard or something to use as well!)
What a perfect post for today! I’ve been thinking about all the different ways to maximize your rewards when shopping online lately because I’ve realized I don’t just have one option; I have multiple portals to choose from. It’s almost tempting to throw your hands up and not bother. I can shop online via American Airlines to earn extra miles, I can shop online via my bank’s rewards, or I can shop via the portals you mentioned. It’s about your goals (are you striving for miles to use on a vacation?) and which portal gives the most bang for your buck. Does the bank give you more in cash back rewards than the airline does in miles? If you have the time and desire to stretch your money as far as possible, there are many options for shopping portals. Thanks for sharing!
The cool thing is that even if you don’t have time to scope them all out to figure out which one offers the most bang for your buck you can just pick a portal- ANY portal that has an affiliate deal with your chosen retailer- and shopping through it will score you some sort of reward. Which is more than you would get if you didn’t shop through a portal at all!
It is always a plus to maximize your reward points, and all of these websites could help a gal like me living overseas. I use to utilize Swagbucks, but hardly can find time to make it happen. Thank you so much for the information.
I find that I’m using Swagbucks more regularly for my default search engine ever since I put a link for it in my toolbar- it’s hard to forget to use it when it’s staring me in the face every time I’m on my computer 🙂
I always shop through Swagbucks when I can! I’ve used Ebates a little here and there.
I go back and forth. Those are definitely my two favorite. I put links to both on my toolbar, and usually when I want to shop for something I check them both out quick to see where would be the best place to buy through.
I am pretty decent at using shopping portals due to my obsession with credit card rewards! They make it easy to earn additional points, miles, or cash back just for buying something you would anyway.
I know, for years that’s been the way that I keep all my frequent flier miles from expiring. I have FF miles with pretty much all the airlines, but I’m not necessarily loyal to any one airline over the other- I just always buy the cheapest flights regardless of airline. But that means that I often receive emails like the one I recently got from AA telling me that my miles are about to expire. Thanks to shopping portals, it’s been a long time since I lost any of my FF miles to “expiration!”
I’ve become pretty good at using Top Cash Back, but want to really optimize these cash back programs. I know there’s one for Walmart that pays you back in a gift card if you don’t get the best price. That’s the next one I’m looking into!
I love the Walmart app! It has that scanner on it where you can scan your receipt, and they email you a giftcard if you didn’t get the best price based on other local retailers. As far as I know that’s just for in-store shopping though. But I could be wrong- let me know if you find out otherwise!
I try to always check for stores on cash back sites. Once I know if it’s there (most sites have the same stores, but it’s good to check), I just check one site after the next to find out whether Ebates, Mr. Rebates or Extrabux has the best deal. (It’s almost always the last two.) It takes me three minutes or less, and then I’m getting the best deal.
Like you said, it’s all about maximizing time. You may not have the energy to add another item to your endless to-do list. So doing something like affiliate marketing may not be for you. But if you’re already shopping online anyway? Take at least one extra minute — you can always stick to one cash back site if comparing rates seems like too much of a hassle — and go through one extra site. You’ll also find coupons on those that may not be mentioned on the store’s normal website.
Exactly. I love using the portals because I’m shopping online anyway- so why not get rewards??
I used to use Swagbucks but stopped a couple years back. I know of people who have gotten so many things from this site.
Ever since I set it as the default search engine on my browser it’s been pretty easy for me to rack up Swagbucks. The hardest part was just getting myself to remember to use it at first, but now that it’s a habit it’s easy.
Great post! I actually prefer online shopping to in store. I’m more likely to be careless and buy more if I’m in the store. But online adding stuff to my cart instantly updates the total and makes me rethink purchases.
Great point! I have also found that I am much more of a coupon maniac when I shop online. I often forget to take coupons with me to stores. But every time I am checking out online, seeing that empty “promotional code” or “coupon code” box reminds me to search for an online coupon. The VAST majority of the time, I find a great online coupon.
I use a combination of ebates and my credit card. The card I use gives me extra cash back if I shop through their online mall. Whichever site gives me more cash back, that is the site I use to save some money.
I try to compare the rewards sites before I shop as well. It only takes a second to click on the sites and check what rewards they are offering for any given retailer.
I didn’t even know about the shopping portals… but I do always check for discount codes on anything I buy online. You can almost always find something if you search.
Whenever I see a “Discount Code” box on a site when I am checking out, that always prompts me to do a quick search for a code! Even if I don’t have one when I initially go to the website, I would say over half the time I can find one!