With the holiday season coming up sooner than we know it, it’s about time to start thinking about gifts, decorations and seasonal fun—all of which can become costly. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend over your budget to make this season magical. For instance, using rewards programs powerfully is not one powerful way to offset holiday expenses. You’ll find a lot of cashback, gift cards and discounts that add up to big savings on your holiday spending with many rewards programs.
If you want to make the most of your holiday finances then a great place to start is with platforms like get rewards. For instance, BrandBee.io provides a way to gain rewards for pretty much everything one does on a daily basis. They can then be redeemed to give you gift cards, cash back or discounts at popular retailers making it easier to save on your holiday shopping. Read on for a guide on how to best make use of rewards while cutting holiday shopping costs.
1. Begin Early and Rewards from Pours Buy Day by Day
The sooner you begin saving your rewards, the more well set you will be when holiday shopping begins. Rewards platforms have a wide variety of ways to earn cash or points for everyday things like shopping for groceries, filling up at the gas station, or doing online surveys. By heaping up rewards most of the year, you’ll find you have a bigger bag of beans ready for the time you need to spend in the store with your family come holiday shopping season.
If you want your rewards to keep growing, one of the best ways is to use cash back apps and websites, such as BrandBee.io, that pay you points for doing simple tasks like watching videos or filling out surveys. Later on, these points can be redeemed for gift cards at popular stores where you may be shopping for your holiday present.
2. Cashback Credit Card and Double Up with Rewards Programs
Especially around holidays, when banks and issuers run promotions, many credit cards come with cashback, points, or miles, for purchases. Even some of the cards reward even more at certain categories such as groceries, dining, or online shopping, which is ideal for holiday spending.
Cash back credit card is great for savings, combine that with rewards program or cashback site to get more savings. For instance, you can go through a cashback portal linked to your rewards account and use the cashback credit card to do it all, so you can double dip on rewards for one purchase.
3. Sign up for Loyalty Programs and Check Out Holiday Deals
Most companies increase the benefits of their loyalty programs around the holidays, adding extra points, discounts or special perks for members. Be a member of loyalty programs at the stores you visit and watch out for their holiday promotions. Stores offering bonus point days or member only sales give you more to reward opportunities or extra discounts.
Using these points for holiday shopping is one of the ways you’re basically earning discounts on top of discounts. For instance, during the holiday season some grocery stores with a loyalty program give discounts on gift cards. One easy way to save money and compound your reward points is to purchase discounted gift cards to stores you’re purchasing gifts from anyway.
4. Redeem Points in Gift Cards You Can Use As Gifts
Gift cards are a more and more common and convenient holiday gift, and the best part of this is that you don’t have to pay for them. Points from lots of rewards programs can be redeemed for gift cards to popular retailers, restaurants and online stores.
For example, platforms like BrandBee.io also have a choice of gift cards that come from the big names, which make great gifts or they can be used to get gifts at a discount. Redeeming your points for gift cards lets you save directly on your gift buying expenses.
5. Watch for Bonus Opportunities
During their more generous time of the year (i.e., around the holiday season), rewards programs may participate in adding new promotions featuring extra points to be earned (typically if purchased at specific stores or during certain periods). These are a great way to earn extra rewards faster.
For example, some apps give out a ‘holiday bonus,’ where cashback given at partner stores is multiplied. When shopping during these bonus windows you’re making up for every dollar you spend by earning more rewards than usual. Check out reward programs and/or newsletter notifications that feature holiday deals.
6. Find the Best Stacking of Savings, be it Rewards or Coupons
Stacking rewards as well as coupons is one of the best ways to save. Most online shopping websites give you the option to pile up multiple discounts such as reward points, cash back, and promo codes. Before you check out, ensure that you’re using any coupons you have, then pay with your rewards points or a gift card you earn from a rewards service.
This is a way of stacking rewards that can also mean big savings if done well and you will be surprised how fast those small reductions add up. Take for instance, if you’re buying a $100 product and using a 10% discount code and then redeem 10 points receiving 10% off $80.
7. Post Holiday Sales Save Rewards
Most people are focused on scoring deals in the months leading up to and, perhaps, during the holiday season, but don’t overlook January. Discounts on post holiday sales can sometimes be huge and you can still benefit from cashing in some of your rewards points on a sale. If you plan on buying holiday decorations, wrapping supplies, gifts for future events, etc., this approach is very handy.
Keeping a piece of your rewards until the post holiday rush lets you have what you need at lower prices than the high season could.
Final Thoughts
But using rewards in the right way can make holiday shopping easy on your wallet. By getting started earlier, stacking rewards, and using cashback, loyalty programs, and promo codes you can maximize your holiday spend. That’s what platforms like BrandBee.io are for — they simplify it and help you earn rewards year-round and add up when it comes time to buy gifts for friends and family.
By planning your rewards usage for your holiday shopping, using rewards to spend can make a big difference for your finances, so that you can enjoy the festivities without the fees.
