10 Money-Saving Tips: Cashback, Rewards, Airline Miles, and More

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Expenses are an inevitable part of our lives. But what if every expense that takes toll on your budget could become a money-saving solution and earn you cashback, rewards, frequent flyer mileage, or “all of the above” and that’s on top of discounts?

It is, in fact, possible, and we will reveal the best solutions available in the following lines.

10 Great Money-Saving Solutions (or How to Earn Cashback, Sign-up Bonuses, Airline Miles, Points, and More)

1. Cashback Credit Cards

Some banks and lenders offer consistent benefits to clients who apply and qualify for a new credit card. The benefits vary from one bank to another, from one type of credit card to another, and according to the applicant’s financial profile and credit score.

They can include sign-up bonuses, cash back, cash back redemption, introductory APR, purchase protection, price protection, and flyer mileage rewards. The credit cards offering the most benefits are:

• Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa
• Chase Freedom Unlimited
• Discover it Card
• American Express Blue Cash Preferred
• Capital One Quicksilver

2. Debit Card Rewards

Debit cards let you pay for your regular purchases and earn you valuable bonuses, from interest on the money you keep on them to cashback, reward points, gift cards, and more. Since you use your own money and not a bank’s credit, you do not have to worry about accumulating debt or, potentially, paying fees and commissions.

The following debit cards seem to come with the most attractive rewards: Bank of Internet Visa Debit Card, American Express Serve, Green Dot Visa Rewards Card, Bank of America Debit Card, Key Bank Debit Card, and more.

3. New Bank Accounts

In their attempt to attract new clients, banks often offer attractive incentives: interest, cash bonuses (up to $500), and more. There are many offers worth checking out, but weigh your options carefully and make sure you qualify for the bonus before applying for a new account.

The banks currently having the most attractive new-account offers are:

• Bank of America (which currently offers up to $300 for new checking customers)
• TD Bank (which offers up to $300 to those who open new checking accounts)
• PNC Bank (as much as $300 in cash bonus on new accounts)
• SunTrust Bank (a bonus up to $500)
• BMO Harris (up to $250 offered in bonuses)
• Chase ($300, interest, and more benefits)

Also, it may make sense to close out your other bank accounts (not to incur any unwanted fees)

4. Frequent Flyer Miles

If you love to travel by airplane, you may be able to do so without paying (anything but airport fees) for your trips, if you earn enough frequent flyer miles (FFMs). There are several ways to earn the miles you need, detailed below:

• Airline-specific credit cards: Alaska Airlines Visa Signature, Delta SkyMiles card from American Express, Southwest Rapid Rewards cards, etc.
• Credit cards whose points convert 1-to-1 into multiple airlines’ FFMs: American Express Premier Rewards Gold and  Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
• Shopping portals and apps: They let you earn flyer miles just for purchases made through their portal. The portals with the most attractive offers at this point are United MileagePlus Shopping and Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal. For those who prefer mobile apps: MileagePlus X app by United Airlines is an excellent option.
• Rental cars and hotel stay: some airlines have partnerships with hotels and car rental companies. Booking a room or renting a car from one of their partners will bring you free flyer miles. In addition to these, there are marketplaces like RocketMiles and PointsHound which help you shop across different brands.

5. Coupons

According to the NCH Year-End 2017 Coupon Trends Analysis, coupons enabled savings of $3.1 billion. You too can save money by using coupons. You can find them on dedicated websites, like Coupons.com, RetailMeNot, SmartSource, Savings.com, ShopAtHome, and more, in the local media, or you can subscribe to the merchants’ newsletter. When shopping online, all you need to do is add the coupon code at checkout. When shopping in physical stores, you may have to print the coupon and take it with you, but it will be worth it.

6. Discount and Coupon-Finder Apps and Browser Add-ons

This category is only beginning to be exploited, so there aren’t many options available. However, the ones we found seem worth installing and using. The idea is simple: once you have installed the app or the add-on, you can shop for any products, on any websites, and the app or the add-on will locate all available coupons and discount codes and help you use them. When it comes to coupon-finding apps, MyVoucherCodes has a great reputation. In terms of coupon-finding browser add-ons, Honey does a great job.

7. Cashback Websites

With cashback websites, you create an account and use it to shop at partner merchants in exchange for a small percentage of the money you spend. The most popular cashback websites are BeFrugal, Coupon Cactus, TopCashBack, ExtraBux, and Ebates. With them, you can get rewards for signing up and for the money you spend with merchants like Amazon, Rakuten, Macy’s, Walmart, HomeDepot, Wine.com, and thousands more.

8. Gift Cards

Here is a really cool concept: instead of paying to the merchant/seller directly, first buy a discounted gift card, and then pay by this card (vs cash). It’s a great method to save money as gift cards often end up costing you from 5% to 20% less (i.e. a $100 gift card sold only for $80). There are numerous places that sell discount gift cards including GiftCards.com, Cardpool, and more.

9. Referrals and Reviews

Some websites, stores, and service providers reward users who refer their products and services to their friends and family or leave reviews for the products and services they buy. The most popular examples are Airbnb, Uber, Amazon Prime, T-Mobile, Delivery.com, Dropbox, PayPal, and more. Some cashback websites reward referrals as well.

10. Manufacturer and Competitors’ Coupons

Do you often come across manufacturer coupons you cannot use or coupons for stores you don’t like? Don’t throw or give them away yet! Some stores accept manufacturer and even competitor coupons. If your favorite store is one of them, you can save money and enjoy your shopping experience even more. Walmart, Lowe’s, HomeDepot, and Petco are just some of the stores honoring such coupons.

Final Advice on Enjoying the Highest Savings and Rewards

As you may have realized, the options are plentiful. Whether you’re into frequent flyer miles or cashback, discounts or sign-up perks, there is something for everyone! To make the most of it all, we encourage you to combine as many of the above solutions as possible on each shopping spree.

Yes, you can shop through through a cashback shopping website, use coupon codes, pay with your credit or debit card, and earn referral points, all at the same time, or with the same merchant. After receiving the products or services, you can review them and earn credit, coupons, or some other rewards for your future shopping sessions.

Sure, learning to combine and apply all these solutions may take a little time and getting-used-to. However, the savings and rewards you will enjoy will be well worth the effort. Just give the above suggestions a try and see for yourself! Don’t forget to let us know which of the proposed money-saving solutions worked best for you and share this post with your friends so they may enjoy some savings and rewards themselves!

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