Is there anything better than earning free points especially for doing something you were already going to do anyway? If there is, I haven’t found it. There are a number of ways to earn points by linking accounts, using a special link, going through an app, etc. What’s really nice about this is that you can still use whatever credit card you were going to use in the first place. This allows you to easily stack points since you’ll earn the points via your credit card like you normally would plus you’ll earn these bonus points. This is meant to be a complete list so if something is left out, please advise.
Starbucks
By linking your Delta Skymiles account to your Starbucks account, you’ll earn 1 mile per dollar spent at Starbucks. On days when you’re traveling on a Delta flight, you’ll earn double points. All you have to do is go to https://www.deltastarbucks.com
Instacart
Much like Starbucks, you’ll get 1 mile per dollar spent with Instacart. If you’re not already a member, general SkyMiles Members and Silver & Gold Medallion Members get 1 month free when they sign up. Platinum and Diamond Medallion Members get 3 months free.
Instacart announced that they will be ending their partnership with Delta effective November 10, 2023. No word on if either company will find a new partner so I’ll leave this here for a while.
Lyft
You have a bunch of options here with Lyft. I’ll go through each one and then give you my advice.
-Delta Skymiles
1 mile per dollar spent. 2 miles per dollar spent with airport ride. $20 in ride credit for new riders. Tips, tolls, taxes and other fees are excluded.
-Hilton Honors
3 points per dollar spent on ride. 2 points per dollar spent on shared rides. Redeem points for Lyft credits.
-Alaska Mileage Plan
Earn 1 mile per dollar spent. Excludes taxes, tolls and tips.
-Bilt
Earn 2 Bilt points per dollar spent.
Note that most, if not all of these bonuses are for rides in the US. Be sure to check terms and conditions. Don’t be thrown off by Hilton offering 3 points. Those points are valued less. Unless you have no plan on ever getting into Bilt points, that’s the clear winner here. Otherwise, I’d go with one of the airlines.
-Credit card bonuses
Lyft gives you even more bonus points depending on which credit card you use to pay for your rides. They are:
-Bilt Mastercard: 3 Bilt points per dollar spent
-Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink and Freedom cards earn 5 points per dollar spent
-Chase Sapphire Reserve earn 10 points per dollar spent.
Note that this is in addition to the other bonus points. So if use your CSR and then link to Bilt, you’ll earn 10x Ultimate Rewards and then 2x Bilt points. Also with the CSR, you’ll get a free membership to Lyft Pink for a certain period of time.
Regardless of what you choose, you can link your accounts in the app or you can go to https://www.lyft.com/rider/rewards
Uber and Uber Eats
Uber doesn’t have the great selection that Lyft does. All you can really do is link your Marriott Bonvoy account. What’s worse is that you won’t earn points on everything. You’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on Uber Premium rides (which includes Uber XL, Uber Black, Uber SUV and Uber Comfort)
For Uber Eats, you’ll earn 6 points per dollar spent when you order more than $25 from Uber Eats while you’re staying at a Marriott property, and 2 points per dollar spent on all other Uber Eats orders over $25.
To link your accounts you can click this link: https://uber.marriott.com go through the App.
Hyatt and American Airlines
This one goes both ways but you have to be an elite World of Hyatt member. When you link your accounts, you’ll get one World of Hyatt bonus point per dollar spent on American Airlines flights.
You’ll also earn AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on qualifying Hyatt stays.
Members who are elite in both programs can double their rewards on qualifying American Airlines flights and Hyatt hotels stays. AAdvantage miles earned on qualifying Hyatt stays count towards elite status with AAdvantage.
To link your accounts, use this link: https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/american-airlines.html
What defines an elite member for each program? World of Hyatt elite member: Discoverist, Explorist, or Globalist. AAdvantage® elite member: Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey.
If you have more questions on this program, there’s a handy FAQ: https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/landing/aa-faqs.html
Ticketmaster
This one is a little different. In order to earn bonus miles, you have to go to https://www.delta.com/ticketmaster and enter your SkyMiles number. Then buy your tickets and you’ll earn 1 mile per dollar spent. However, taxes, facility, service, parking, insurance, and other fees are excluded from mileage credit. You can can earn up to 2,500 miles per month. I’m sure none of you are spending over $2500 a month on ticket prices so that’s not really an issue.
Airbnb
I’ve left so many miles on the table over the years because I kept forgetting about this one. Pretty sure its finally drilled into my brain. Much like Ticketmaster, you need to take some extra steps each time in order to earn these bonus miles. Just go to https://www.deltaairbnb.com first and type in your SkyMiles number. From there, you’ll be on the regular Airbnb website. You’ll earn 1 mile per dollar spent.
Open Table
Much like the Delta version of Airbnb, IHG has their version of Open Table. It functions just like the regular version of Open Table. What’s nice is that you don’t have to sign up for their dining program which is completely separate. You’ll earn 500 points for your first reservation and then 150 points for each reservation thereafter. These points aren’t worth much but they’re free.
You can earn IHG points by going through https://ihg.iseatz.com/trip-extras/us/en/restaurants
Viator
-IHG
IHG also has teamed up with Viator so you can book tours and transportation through their version of Viator. You’ll earn 1,000 points for each tour that you book. Again, not a ton but they’re free points and I’m not aware of Viator having any other partnerships where you can earn free points. The website is https://ihg.iseatz.com/trip-extras/us/en/activities
-Wyndham Rewards
Wyndham has the same set up with Viator but there’s seems better if you’re booking more expensive tours as you can earn 10 points per dollar spent. Their link is at https://experiences.wyndhamrewards.com/activities
Dining programs
Just about every hotel and airline works with Rewards Network so that you can earn extra points while dining. This will require a separate post but the bottom line is that it only works with restaurants that have signed up with the program. You can only use one credit card per rewards program. So if your primary dining card is CSR, that can only be linked to one program. You could just use your card at every restaurant and hope that some of them will be in the network or you could target those specific restaurants. Either way, all you have to do is register your card and then use it. You’ll then get extra points on top of what you’re already earning.
Shopping portals
This also requires a separate post but I’m usually not a fan of using these. Normally Rakuten or another cash back program will provide better returns. I would only use this if there’s no other alternative or if there’s some type of deal where the math makes sense.
Travel portals and booking other travel through airlines
You can earn extra points by booking through credit card portals. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can get 10x points booking travel through Chase. Sounds like a great deal right? Not exactly. I don’t think you’ll get the best deals but even if everything is equal, you’ll likely encounter problems. The internet is filled with travel nightmare stories about travel portals. Maybe if it’s something simple like a one night stay at a basic property a few hours away. But anything more complicated like an expensive resort in another country, I don’t suggest it at all. If you do tempt fate, be sure to confirm with the hotel at least twice that they have your reservation.
After you book your plane ticket with an airline, they’ll try to sell you things like hotels and car rentals. You’ll also be enticed with booking cruises and other trips through them to earn bonus miles. I don’t suggest this. Even if you get 3,000 extra miles for booking a cruise through an airline, that’s still only about $45. A good travel agent should be able to get you a better deal.
Conclusion
There are some great ways to earn free bonus points and there’s a few ways that might not make any sense. This is meant to be a complete list although some topics will require links to separate posts. If I forgot about anything, please advise and I’ll update the post.
Want to learn more?
Join our Facebook group, Simple Travel Hacks. It’s a great way to learn new things and share what you’ve learned.