Credit Card Reward Stacking: How to Layer Rewards on One Purchase
The layers of a stack
A stack combines independent reward sources on one transaction. The common layers: a shopping portal (extra points for clicking through), your card category bonus (paying with the card that earns the most there), a card-linked offer (an Amex Offer or Chase Offer for a statement credit), and sometimes a discounted gift card bought at a category bonus. Each layer is separate, so they add up.
A worked example
Say you buy from a retailer online. Click through a portal first (earn, for example, several points per dollar), pay with a card that bonuses online shopping, and have an active card-linked offer for that retailer. You collect the portal points, the card points, and the statement credit on the same purchase, a return far above any single card rate. The exact numbers vary by what is live that week.
How to stack without wasting effort
Check the portal rate and your card-linked offers before any planned online purchase (they change constantly). Buy only what you would have bought anyway, since chasing a stack into needless spending defeats it, and pay in full so no interest erases the gains. The biggest, most reliable stack is the portal plus the right card plus an offer. See how to maximize rewards.
Frequently asked questions
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