Even in retirement, we use shopping portals to earn cash back, points, and miles – a safe, simple habit that helps fund future travel and saves us money.
That’s when we found shopping portals, and realized they were a quiet source of what we now call our hidden income.
Click a different link before you shop, and you can earn cash back, points, or miles on the exact same purchase. Over time, those small wins grew into full flights, hotel nights, and experiences we didn’t have to pay cash for.
Today, as full-time travelers, those same habits still help fund our lifestyle. It’s one of the easiest systems we use.
What are shopping portals?
A shopping portal is a simple website or browser extension that rewards you for starting your online shopping there instead of going directly to the store. You:
- Start at the portal
- Choose your store, airline, or hotel
- Click through
- Shop or book like normal
- Earn rewards in the background
- Same store. Same price. Extra value
That’s hidden income in its simplest form – a safe, simple extra step that quietly saves us money every time we shop or book travel.
The two portals we use most
Rakuten and Rove Miles are the two that fit best into our strategy.
| Feature | Rakuten | Rove Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | U.S. & Canada shoppers | U.S. only |
| Type of reward | Cash back (U.S. users can link certain Amex cards to earn Membership Rewards points) | Transferable miles (to multiple airline & hotel partners) |
| Where you earn | 3,500+ stores (Best Buy, Lululemon, Sephora, some airlines, etc.) | Flights, hotels, and 1,000+ online stores |
| Typical earn rate | ~1%–15% (often higher with promos) | ~1x–10x on flights; up to 25x+ on hotels and select merchants |
| Sign-up bonus | U.S.: $50 after $50 spend | Canada: $30 after $30 spend | 500 Rove miles |
| Payout | Quarterly via PayPal or check (U.S. residents can link an Amex Membership Rewards account to earn MR points instead of cash) | Miles often post quickly, especially for nonrefundable hotel bookings |
| Best for | Everyday online shopping – easy, automatic rewards on daily purchases | Everyday shopping and travel bookings – hotels, flights, and online stores alike |
Both are useful. Before making a purchase, we usually compare Rakuten and Rove Miles to see which one offers the better rate. Sometimes we’ll even check other portals – like Capital One Shopping (U.S. residents) or Great Canadian Rebates (Canadian residents) because the best deal can change from one day to the next.
How shopping portals work in 5 simple steps
Use this as the simple mental picture. It applies to Rakuten, Rove Miles, and other portals like the Capital One Shopping or Aeroplan eStore.
Example 1: Turning a Lululemon order into hidden income (Rakuten)
Kristine buys from Lululemon a few times a year. Here’s how that normal purchase becomes part of our hidden income.
- Join Rakuten
- Sign up through our Rakuten link and qualify for the welcome bonus
- U.S.: $50 after your first $50 purchase
- Canada: $30 after your first $30 purchase
- Sign up through our Rakuten link and qualify for the welcome bonus
- Search for “Lululemon” inside Rakuten
- Click Shop Now. Rakuten silently tracks that you’re heading to Lululemon
- Shop normally
- Add what you were already going to buy. Same price. Same site. No extra steps
- Watch rewards appear
- A short time later, that order shows as pending cash back in your Rakuten account
- Get paid
- Rakuten pays out quarterly via PayPal or check
- If you’re a U.S. resident with an eligible Amex Membership Rewards card, you can link Rakuten so future earnings show up as Amex points instead of cash
Result: Same Lululemon order — plus extra cash back or points that go straight into our hidden income stream.
Example 2: Using Rove Miles for hotels and flights
As we shifted into full-time travel, Rove Miles became a powerful layer. We’ve used it to earn miles on bookings and then redeem those miles for stays without touching our main cash budget.
- Join Rove Miles
- Create a free account through our Rove Miles link. Some offers include bonus miles for new users
- Search for your stay, flight, or store
- Inside Rove, search for:
- a hotel you’re booking
- a flight you need
- or a participating retailer
- You’ll see how many Rove Miles you can earn (sometimes 10x–25x per dollar on select hotels)
- Inside Rove, search for:
- Book or shop through Rove Miles
- Complete the booking or purchase through their portal
- Prices generally match public rates, but now you’re earning extra miles
- See miles post to your Rove account
- For many nonrefundable hotel bookings, miles post quickly. You can literally watch your hidden income grow
- Redeem or transfer
- Use Rove Miles for travel directly, or transfer 1:1 to partners like Aeroplan, Flying Blue, or Qatar Airways
- That’s how we’ve covered hotel stays and flights in different parts of the world using miles earned from previous bookings and everyday spending.
Result: Regular travel bookings + some online shopping = a growing stash of flexible miles that make future trips cheaper.
Pros and cons
Like any strategy, shopping portals come with their advantages and a few small trade-offs. Here’s an honest look at both:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
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Tips to maximize your hidden income
- Use a good travel rewards credit card for double-dipping
- Install the browser extensions so you don’t forget to activate them
- Compare rates between portals if you’re making a bigger purchase
- Watch for bonus multipliers during major sales
- With Rove Miles, think about transfer partners for high-value flight redemptions
- Treat points and miles as part of your travel income, not just a perk
The bottom line
Before retirement, shopping portals were a quiet way for us to earn value in the background.
Now, they’re a real part of how we fund our travel – our hidden income stream built from everyday purchases.
- A Lululemon order
- A hotel before a flight
- A few clicks through the right portal
Individually, small. Collectively, they’ve covered flights, hotel nights, and experiences that would’ve hit our cash budget.
If you’re planning for retirement – or already in it – and want your money to work harder without adding complexity, shopping portals are an easy win.
Ready to put this into action?
- Join Rakuten (U.S. link & Canada link): Earn $50 (U.S.) or $30 (Canada) after your first qualifying purchase
- Join Rove Miles (U.S.): Earn miles on hotels, flights, and shopping, then transfer them to major travel partners
Pair both with the right cards from our Favorite Credit Cards for Travel & Everyday Spending to turn everyday purchases into ongoing travel income.
Want to learn how to earn even more?
If you’re just getting started, our free Points & Miles for Beginners Guide walks you through the basics — how to earn faster, redeem smarter, and turn everyday spending into travel experiences.
It’s the exact system we used to turn simple purchases into flights, hotel stays, and travel freedom.