How to earn points, miles and cashback rewards for spending on pets

When Maximize points and miles When it comes to your family, there’s no reason to leave the furriest family members out of the fun.

Whether you have a puppy or a first-class cat, there are plenty of ways to turn monthly orders of food, toys, pet supplies and more into your next vacation. (we are not responsible for what your pets may do when they see your suitcase being taken out – again).

Maximize points and miles on pet food purchases

One of the best shopping revolutions of the 21st century is having 40-pound bags of pet food delivered to your door thanks to online shopping (and strong shipper). Luckily, when you order pet food and other supplies online, you can easily earn rewards like with most other online purchases.

Shop through an online portal

The fastest way to find out how many points or miles you can earn per dollar on your online pet food orders is to visit cashbackmonitor.com and look for online shopping portals that award the most points, miles or cash back per dollar where you want to shop. These prices can and do vary, so check each time, but some current examples include:

• Petco: 1 mile per dollar spent through American Airlines AAdvantage and United Airlines MileagePlus
• Walmart: Up to 3.5 miles per dollar spent with American AAdvantage
• tough: 1 mile per dollar spent through United MileagePlus, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, American AAdvantage and Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Related: Instructions for maximizing online shopping portals

Maximize cash back and 0% APR on pet purchases

Daisy HernandezTPG’s credit card editor, makes monthly purchases for her two puppies, Sonny, a Shiba mix, and Heidi, a Chihuahua mix. She also has a Chewy subscription that delivers food, flea and tick medication, and treats to her door every six weeks. Since she has two fur babies, she often doubles up on certain items, which can add up quickly.

To maximize her pet-related purchases, she has made it a habit to check current offers on her products. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express And Reserve Chase Sapphire® to earn cash back and points every time she buys something.

In addition, she also buys goods over Rakutena cashback shopping portal that offers solid rewards rates. For Christmas 2023, Rakuten offered a whopping 20% ​​cashback on all purchases made using PetSmart. So she bought $80 worth of gifts for her kids and earned $16 in cash.

Unfortunately, emergencies can happen to your pets, and if you don’t have pet insurance, these can create huge veterinary bills. However, credit cards can play an important role here, as many cards offer an introductory annual percentage rate of 0% on purchases for a period of time after opening.

Nick Ewen, TPG’s chief content officer used this exact strategy with his dog, Winston, who underwent emergency surgery to remove a mass on his spleen:

Winston is part of our family, so we will certainly do everything we can to help him. However, instead of using our savings to cover the cost of the procedure and his recovery (expected to be close to $5,000), I used my new money. Pursue Unlimited Freedom®, offers 0% APR on purchases for the first 15 months (after that a variable APR of 19.99%-28.74% applies). This allows me to fit a manageable monthly payment into my budget, and I’ll still earn valuable rewards in the process.

Check out the United MileagePlus X app

You can earn United miles by instantly purchasing e-gift cards in the United MileagePlus X app. For example, if you’re shopping at Petco and your total is $85.84, you can open the app. app and instantly purchase a Petco gift card for that exact amount and earn bonus miles by paying at the register with your new gift card. This also works when paying for an online order.

In addition to Petco, you’ll often find opportunities to earn miles at pet-friendly shopping destinations like Walmart, Sam’s Club, etc. within the app. People with United Airlines credit cards, such as United℠ Explorer CardGet a 25% bonus on miles earned through the app.

Stack and save on Amazon

If you order your pet supplies through Amazon, there are many ways to accumulate income and save money. First, set up Amazon register to get discounts on items like dog or cat food, treats, etc

Next, you’ll want to stock up on Amazon gift cards to really maximize your earnings. You can buy Amazon gift cards at supermarkets in the US with American Express® Gold Card to earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on those purchases (on purchases up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar after that).

Additionally, you can use Ink Business Cash® Credit Card to buy an Amazon gift card at an office supply store to earn 5% cash back (on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year). the Premium Visa card is also an option that offers 5% cashback Buy on Amazon.

Related: The best credit cards to use when shopping on Amazon

Save money on pet supplies

In addition to earning points or miles, you credit card rewards can help you save money on pet costs. The two main ways to save money with your card are through Amex offers And Incentives pursued. To check what offers are available on your card, log in to your account and search the offers section. Some offers are targeted.

Once you’ve added an offer to your card, you can use your card to automatically save money or earn reward points. Accurate offers regarding incoming and outgoing pets; Previous offers TPG staff have seen include:

• Box: 10% cash back (via Chase Offers)
• Kriser’s natural pet: 10% cash back (via Chase Offers)

Best credit cards for pet expenses

Owning a pet can easily cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year, for everything from vet visits and boarding to supplies and medications. yeast. It pays to use the right credit card for pet expenses. For expenses like vet visits and grooming appointments that fall outside the typical credit card rewards category, Solid everyday credit card is probably your best choice for pet expenses. Some of our suggestions include:

For online purchases, this can be a great option Bank of America® Custom Cash Rewards Credit Cardgives 3% back on your rotating choice of categories, one of which is online shopping (up to $2,500 per quarter, then 1%).

Bottom line

the TPG score (or at least their “pawners”) create many of these opportunities to turn dog treats into beach getaways. Once your puppy helps earn all those points and miles, it’s time to discover how take them with you on your next vacation.