Credit card sign-up bonuses are one of the quickest ways to earn free flights. But in recent years, banks have taken steps to reduce credit card churning — the American Express once-in-a-lifetime bonus policy and Chase’s 5/24 rule are prime examples. Too many credit cards can be a red flag for lenders, and some also tend to shy away from applicants with credit limits larger than their incomes.
Fortunately, credit cards are not the only method of accumulating points and miles. Aside from building up your balance by flying, here are 10 easy ways to grow your airline mileage stash without credit card applications.
Use online shopping portals
Many airlines, along with banks and hotel programs, offer online shopping portals with anywhere from dozens to hundreds of participating merchants. Some popular options include Shop Through Chase, Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping and American AAdvantage eShopping.
When you click through a shopping portal before making a purchase, you’re typically rewarded with extra points or miles per dollar on top of your regular credit card rewards. Certain items, such as a satellite dish or mobile phone service, may earn a fixed reward.
Here are some tips:
- Always check an online portal first.
- Shop around. The bonus points you can receive per dollar spent may vary by portal.
- To save time, use a shopping portal aggregator, such as Evreward or Cashback Monitor. These sites show you bonus points by retailer, allowing you to easily compare which airline, hotel or cash-back portal has the highest bonus at the time.
- During the period leading up to major gifting holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, many portals run lucrative bonus deals.
If you’re physically at a store, you can utilize United Airlines’ MileagePlus X app, which lets you collect additional miles on in-person purchases at several merchants. The app can be used when shopping online as well.
Partake in dining programs
Many airlines offer extra points or miles through dining rewards programs, and they’re a great way to double dip. All you need to do is sign up for a program, register your credit card(s) and dine in or order takeout from a participating restaurant. I like to “set it and forget it.” I don’t actively seek out participating restaurants, so it’s always a nice surprise if I happen to eat at one and get bonus points for it.
Airline dining programs include:
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Hotel chains such as Hilton, IHG and Marriott also offer dining rewards.
Related: AAdvantage Dining program: Earn American miles and Loyalty Points at local restaurants
Open checking and savings accounts
If you collect American AAdvantage miles or Citi ThankYou Rewards points, you can open checking and savings accounts to increase your stash.
With a savings account at Bask Bank, you can earn 2.5 AAdvantage miles, in lieu of interest, for every dollar you save annually. Miles accrue daily and are awarded monthly based on your average monthly balance. For example, if you maintain an average balance of $10,000 over the course of a year, you will earn 25,000 miles.
Citibank has been known to run targeted or public offers to earn AAdvantage miles or ThankYou points when you open a checking or savings account. Offers and requirements may vary by person and/or location. You’ll typically need to deposit the required sum and keep it in the account for a set time period (usually in the 60-to-90-day range), after which you’ll receive a chunk of miles or points posted to your AAdvantage or ThankYou account.
As always with financial products, check the interest rates and fees against competitors to be sure you’re not paying for the extra miles with significantly higher costs. Miles earned through bank accounts are viewed as interest income, which means you will receive a 1099 form and will need to report your miles earned to the IRS.
Reserve rental cars
Many of the major car rental companies partner with airlines, allowing you to earn airline miles for your rental when you book using a special promotion code. Avis, Alamo, Budget, Hertz and National are some common ones that partner with a host of airlines.
One thing to keep in mind is that a few car rental companies tack on surcharges for earning airline miles, so you may pay more to earn those miles than if you booked a car without the airline promotion code. It’s important to do your homework before you leave home, rather than at the counter.
Related: Best car rental sites to book your next road trip
Take surveys
If you have a flexible schedule and/or an abundance of leisure time, you can earn miles by completing surveys on various topics. Some participating airlines include:
Just be aware that you’ll need to answer a lot of questions to earn a small number of miles this way, so consider the value of your time. This may not be the best method for racking up miles, but it’s a quick way to top off your account if you’re short a few miles for a redemption.
Pay taxes
Facing a hefty tax bill? You can earn points or miles for it by using your credit card to pay the IRS via one of its three authorized payment processors. This option only makes sense if you pay your statement in full every month, but there are hidden advantages: Charging your tax bill may enable you to meet the minimum spending requirement for a sign-up bonus, or it can facilitate meeting a spending threshold that gives you extra perks.
All three processors charge fees, so do the math and make sure it makes sense in your situation:
Send flowers
Whether you’re a true romantic or just a thoughtful person, sending flowers to someone can be an excellent way to rack up points and miles. Many airlines partner with FTD, Teleflora and/or 1-800-Flowers, but once again, double-check to make sure you’re not paying more for the privilege of earning points and miles.
Shop around and be alert for deals around holiday periods such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. It’s not unusual to earn 30 miles per dollar for brightening someone’s life.
Purchase real estate
Buying a home can be intimidating, but United offers a way to ease the pain by earning miles on this huge purchase. The airline partners with Rocket Mortgage to give you 25,000 miles when you close or refinance a home loan.
However, when making such a significant financial decision, the interest rate, points and fees are much more important than earning miles. So, be sure to shop around for the best terms before going this route.
Take advantage of targeted offers
Be on the lookout for targeted bonus point offers via email or snail mail for credit cards you already hold. These are often easy to complete with just a small amount of effort. In the past, I’ve received offers for bonus points from Chase for adding a card to a mobile wallet, opting for paperless statements and making a small number of contactless charges.
American Express has been known to send cardmembers targeted offers, such as 10,000 Membership Rewards points just for enrolling in the Pay Over Time extended financing feature.
Enroll in business frequent flyer programs
Many miles collectors are unaware that some airlines have separate business loyalty programs. Best of all, the points or miles you accumulate as a business are in addition to the benefits you earn as an individual. This ability to double dip makes these programs particularly attractive for sole proprietors and owners of small and medium-size businesses.
- AAdvantage Business awards 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on flights booked for business purposes through an American-owned channel.
- SkyMiles for Business awards 1 to 10 SkyMiles per dollar spent on flights with Delta and some of its SkyTeam partner airlines. The exact amount will depend on the fare class booked.
- United PerksPlus uses a complicated formula for earning points that can then be converted to MileagePlus miles. The amount you earn is based on both the fare class and whether you fly out of a hub or non-hub city.
Keep in mind that many of these programs have requirements for earning miles, such as a minimum yearly spend or number of enrolled travelers.
Related: Complete guide to the AAdvantage Business program
Bottom line
Even if you’ve already maxed out all your potential airline credit card sign-up bonuses, there are still many ways to accumulate airline points and miles, even beyond the options listed here. Just make sure the offers you consider are worth your time and money so that you’re not spending resources chasing extra rewards for more than they’re worth.
