- I've had some significant expenses over the last few months, and thanks to new credit card benefits, I've been able to earn extra points on them.
- My
Citi Prestige® Card is offering 5 points per dollar on up to $1,500 spent on online purchases through August 31. I'd usually earn just 1 point per dollar on this spending. - I'm also maximizing my
Chase Sapphire Reserve® card to earn 5 points per dollar on Instacart grocery delivery. - I don't have any plans to travel, but whenever I do, I'll be able to book with points thanks to my ongoing credit card earnings.
- See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards »
While many people have reported spending less since quarantine started, that hasn't been the case for me. Between adopting a dog and upgrading my home office-slash-living room, I've had some significant expenses over the last few months (and they were absolutely worth it).
I'm still only spending what I can afford to pay off each month, though, and the upside is that I'm earning lots of credit card rewards. Thanks to limited-time bonuses for non-travel purchases on credit cards from Citi, Chase, and Amex, I'm raking in more points on my spending than ever before.
Top travel credit cards have new non-travel benefits
Banks were quick to respond to the new reality of quarantine by adding credit card perks for purchases such as groceries and food delivery.
My go-to card for travel and dining purchases, the
I'm also taking advantage of the limited-time statement credit benefit on my
The Citi Prestige is my new go-to for online shopping
Whenever I buy something online, I check to see if there's a bonus for clicking through an airline, bank, or cash-back shopping portal. These portals are run by different frequent flyer programs as well as cash-back rewards providers like Rakuten, and you simply click through to a retailer's website to earn bonus rewards on your purchase.
This is an especially valuable tip for online purchases that don't qualify for credit card bonus points — such as pet supplies and the occasional Sephora splurge. With this spending, I can usually expect to earn 2% cash back at most by paying with the
That's why I was so excited to see that the
I'd been on the fence about keeping the Prestige card, and while this limited-time bonus alone isn't enough to completely move the needle, this plus the ability to use the cards $250 annual travel statement credit for supermarket and restaurant purchases have me using it on a more regular basis.
Whenever I travel again, I'll have plenty of points to use
Even though I have absolutely no idea when I'll travel again, I still value points and miles. I have healthy balances in the Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards programs, and I can't wait to use them at some point in the future. In fact, thanks to the points I'm slowly but surely accumulating, I'll probably have enough points to book a more luxurious trip than I would otherwise.
