Points and Cashback Booking Portals
Book the same room through a rewards portal and the stay pays you back in airline miles, card points, or cash. Card issuers and airlines run their own hotel booking sites, and shopping portals hand back a percentage on bookings made through their link. The nightly rate usually matches booking direct, so the earnings are close to free money, with two catches: portal bookings often earn no hotel loyalty points or elite nights, and support runs through the portal rather than the hotel. We rank on earning rate, how well the redemption value holds up, and how bookings behave when plans change.
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Rakuten's shopping portal returns commission from hotel booking sites like Booking.com and Expedia directly to your account as cashback, with no sign-up fee. Bookings take six to seventeen weeks to confirm, and any changes to your reservation cancel the cashback.
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The Chase Travel portal lets you book hotels with Chase points or cash and earn multiple reward streams at once, though most stays don't earn hotel loyalty points.
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Citi Travel powers hotel bookings for Citi cardholders, earning up to 12 ThankYou points per dollar and offering hand-picked 4-star and luxury collections with exclusive perks.
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ShopBack is a Southeast Asian cashback portal where users earn cashback on hotel and flight bookings through partners like Booking.com and Expedia, with payouts to PayPal and no fees. Rates typically fall between five and nine percent on hotel bookings.
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Hotel booking site where frequent flyer members earn thousands of airline miles per night, often 1,000 to 10,000 miles on each stay. Supports dozens of airlines and loyalty programs.
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Bilt Rewards is a membership program that earns points on rent or mortgage payments and lets you spend them on hotel bookings through a portal with over 700,000 properties.
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American Airlines' hotel portal lets AAdvantage members earn miles and Loyalty Points on stays at partner properties, with elite members getting up to 30% fewer miles when redeeming. Hotel loyalty points are not earned through bookings.
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Cash back rewards program for independent and boutique hotels, offering 5% cash back, 15% towards future stays, or donating rewards to charity. Covers 900+ handpicked properties.
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TopCashback is a cashback portal that partners with over 115 hotel booking sites and retailers, returning up to twelve percent cashback on hotel reservations. The site is free to join and offers withdrawals to bank account, PayPal, Venmo, or gift cards.
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Quidco is a UK-based cashback portal offering up to ten percent cashback on hotel bookings through partners like Hotels.com and Expedia, with withdrawal options including bank transfer, PayPal, and gift cards. Membership is free and serves hundreds of thousands of UK shoppers.
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Capital One Travel is a booking portal for cardholders earning Capital One miles, offering up to 5X earning on hotel stays and hand-picked luxury collections with exclusive perks.
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Hotel booking site offering 900,000 properties where members earn airline miles per night, with flexible redemption across many frequent flyer programs.
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Delta Air Lines' hotel booking portal lets SkyMiles members earn two miles per dollar on room rates, with access to discounted rates at select properties. Hotel loyalty points are not earned through the portal.
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Southwest Airlines' hotel partners portal lets Rapid Rewards members earn points at chain properties like Marriott, Hyatt, and Best Western, with the ability to redeem points or use Cash + Points combinations for stays.
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Free loyalty program earning Stash Points on 350+ independent and boutique hotels, redeemable for free nights with no blackout dates. Points never expire.
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JetBlue's travel booking platform earns one TrueBlue point per dollar spent on hotels, cars, and activities, with flexible redemption options including Cash + Points combinations. Recently rebranded and expanded from its original Paisly platform.
Frequently asked questions
How can I earn airline miles instead of cash back when booking a hotel?
You can use services like Rocketmiles to earn thousands of airline miles per night through dozens of loyalty programs. You can also use airline-specific portals like American Airlines Hotels or Southwest Hotels to earn miles and Loyalty Points on stays at partner properties.
Will I still earn hotel loyalty points if I book through a credit card travel portal?
It depends on the portal you use. While some options like Chase Travel allow you to earn multiple reward streams, most stays through that platform don't earn hotel loyalty points.
Are there any fees to join these cashback portals?
Several options like Rakuten, ShopBack, and TopCashback are free to join and don't charge sign-up fees. ShopBack specifically offers payouts via PayPal with no fees involved.
Can I use my credit card rewards to pay for hotel stays?
Yes, portals like Chase Travel allow you to book using points or cash. Bilt Rewards also lets you spend points earned from rent or mortgage payments on hotel bookings through their portal.
Which options are best if I want to support independent or boutique hotels?
The Guestbook is a specialized program for independent and boutique hotels. You can choose to receive 5% cash back, 15% toward future stays, or donate your rewards to charity.