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Just when you thought you’ve gone through every way imaginable to earn points, we need to point out quite possibly the easiest of all — passive point earning. Passive point earning is where you earn points without thinking about it (the most dangerous thing is that you might forget about them!).
You’ve got your credit card in hand that happens to earn you 5X points at Office Supply Stores (Chase Ink Plus), and you shop online through the TopCashBack portal which earns you 3% cash back, and being a smart shopper, you’re a member of Staples rewards, which earns you another 5% back in Staples rewards — you’re triple-dipping already! What if you could earn a fourth type of point? Enter a program like Plink.
You link a credit card to your Plink account and you earn points when shopping with select merchants. You can then redeem these points for gift certificates to places like Amazon.com. The best part is that all of these bonuses and cash back/points/etc. are stackable. We’re now at a quadruple dip, and was it really that hard?
For Plink, my number one use is when shopping at Staples. I use my Chase Ink Plus credit card, which earns 5X points at all Office Supply stores. The math: 5X points + TopCashBack + Staples Rewards + Plink = a quadruple dip!
Plink has a small selection of merchants across different categories…for dining-specific double-dips, you want to check out RewardsNetwork, which offers up 17 partner programs with which you can earn points — Alaska, American, Delta, Hilton, InterContinental (used to be Priority Club), Southwest, Spirit, United and US Airways are the travel partners. You simply register a credit card with the program and then when you dine at a given establishment, points automatically get credited to your preferred account. You can only register a credit card with one of the partner programs at a time, but you can join multiple programs and use different cards across different programs. Or, if you’re an authorized user on an account and have a different account number, this is a great way to cover yourself. As you dine more often, you move up into higher point earning tiers and have access to promotional offers as well. Just for signing up and having your first meal paid for with a linked card at one of the listed restaurants, you receive a bonus.
Occasionally, there will be promotions where you can receive 10 or even 20 miles per dollar spent at a restaurant. If it happens to be a place you frequent, perhaps during that promotion you might decide to purchase a $200 or $300 gift card, which will translate into a bonus 4,000 – 6,000 miles, in addition to the points you earn with your credit card.
RewardsNetwork is a great way to bump up your balance incrementally, but at the same time is a great way to make sure you have some activity in an account (great for those worried about points/miles expiring). There is a great FlyerTalk discussion about RewardsNetwork you can participate in as well. With RewardsNetwork, the best bang for your buck will be using a card that already earns you a bonus when dining. The Chase Sapphire Preferred with 2 points (and 3 on the first Friday of each month) is a big winner here. Take advantage of one of those 20 point promos on the first Friday of the month and you’ll net yourself a nice bump in points.
There are lots of alternative methods to earn points/miles — the best source for this information is on Flyertalk in the Sites with Points and Alternative Miles (SPAM) forum.
Do you use these or other programs to earn additional points?
Have questions about this or other topics? Please comment below or email us.
More Rookie Guide:
- Introduction and Background
- Set Your Goals
- Points, Miles and Credits
- Airline Miles
- Hotel Points
- Rental Cars
- Bank Rewards
- Vouchers and Credits
- How Your Good Credit Can Help You Travel For Free
- Airline & Airline Alliances
- Hotels & Their Programs
- Program Partnerships
- Saving with Consolidators
- Priceline
- Hotwire
- Expedia Express & Others
- Double and Triple Your Bonuses with Online Shopping Portals
- Earning Without Even Thinking About It
- Rewards network dining
- Plink and Others
- Keeping Track of All These Points and Miles
- AwardWallet
- FTG Wallet
- Spreadsheets Galore
- Review Your Goals
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Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
Add to Favorites
- Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card in the first 3 months.†
- Earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $30,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in the calendar year.
- Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
- Settle into your seat sooner with Priority Boarding and enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas.‡
- Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access.‡
- Terms and limitations apply
- See Rates & Fees
Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
| FTG Review | Reward Breakdown | Points Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
Breakdown
Earn (pt.)
Spend
3 months
0
$3,000
Per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Purchases
2.00
$1
All Purchases
1.00
$1
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