1 Secret Way to Save Even More on Your Holiday Shopping

When it comes to saving money on purchases with credit cards, most people think of rewards programs. Some cards earn cash back, while others earn miles or points. Some have a flat rate for all purchases, while others offer better earning rates on certain types of spending, like gas and groceries.

However, there's another way you can save money with your credit cards. And it could be even more lucrative than the rewards program itself.

Most major card issuers have some sort of affiliate discount portal, where deals offered by partner merchants are posted. As an example, American Express card members have access to the Amex Offers portal, which generally features dozens of offers from merchants of all sizes -- some for cash back, and others for additional Membership Rewards points on purchases.

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What kind of deals are we talking about?

Of course, the deals offered by these platforms change over time. But just to give a few examples, I recently logged into a couple of my cards' online platforms to see what I could find.

I logged into my American Express card's portal and looked at my available Amex Offers (there are about 100 on the list). A few current highlights are:

• $40 back after spending $200 or more at LensCrafters
• 6% back on Pandora Jewelry purchases, up to $250
• $5 back on $25 at Exxon Mobil

I also logged into Capital One and checked my available offers. All of these are in the form of additional Capital One miles, such as:

• Up to 10X miles at Best Buy
• Up to 5X miles at Marriott Bonvoy
• Up to 4X miles at Samsung

These are just a few examples from two offers programs, and there are more from other card issuers. But the point is that they are certainly worth a closer look, as they can help you get far more value for your money.

Also, the deals offered by these platforms typically stack on top of any rewards your card would ordinarily earn. For example, let's say that I use my Amex card to buy jewelry at Pandora as a holiday gift. I'll earn the 1% back my card earns on general purchases in the form of American Express Membership Rewards points plus I'd get a statement credit equal to 6% of the purchase (terms apply).

It's worth noting that you might not see these exact deals. On credit card discount platforms, there are two types of offers: those that are available to all customers, and those that are targeted to the specific cardholder. Some might be specific to a certain credit card product. For example, a travel credit card might offer more hotel and airline bonuses.

It's worth a look for sure

Of course, not every offer in your card issuer's discount portal is likely to appeal to you. As an example, of the 104 offers currently in my Amex Offers list, I found nine that I'm likely to use before they expire.

However, you'll never know until you look, so if you haven't checked your specific offers, or haven't looked in a while, now could be a smart time to take a peek. You might be surprised at how much you could save, even on items you were planning to buy anyway.