Have a furry friend? Here are easy ways to earn points and miles on pet purchases
We are the proud owners of two wonderful yellow labrador retrievers. They are a big part of our lives, and we love traveling with them. And if you have a cat or dog (or bunny or guinea pig or insert your animal here) at home, you likely spend a fair amount spoiling your fur baby. With many recurring purchases like food, flea and tick prevention, poop bags, and more, why not maximize the ways you earn points and miles on pet purchases?
The more points and miles you earn, the more trips you can take your pets on!
Chewy
Known for their spectacular customer service, Chewy is a great go-to for pet products. We get our dogs’ food shipped to us at a regular cadence so we don’t have to worry about when we’re getting low. We haven’t figured out how to earn points and miles on the auto-ship, but we do use the Freedom Unlimited for the charge because it earns 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar.
When you’re making a one-off purchase from Chewy, here are some options to earn lots of points and miles on pet expenses.
United MileagePlus X App – Chewy is on the United MileagePlus X app for two miles per dollar. If you have any United credit card, you’re eligible to earn 25% additional miles just for holding the card, regardless of the card used for your purchase. Once you’ve finalized your cart on Chewy, confirm the amount, buy yourself a gift card through the United MileagePlus X app, and check out with that card.
United Airlines Shopping Portal – We’ve previously shared that we are United devotees, so we use the United Shopping Portal when we can. Typically, Chewy is one mile per dollar, but there are times where the earnings are elevated. Our most recent purchase earned us five miles per dollar.
If United isn’t your preferred airline, Chewy is also on the American, Delta, and Southwest shopping portals for one mile per dollar.
*note that Chewy is not on Rakuten, so if you frequently use Chewy, we’d recommend installing your chosen airline’s shopping portal plug-in.
Petco
If you prefer Petco, you have similar options with some noted differences. First, Petco is currently five miles per dollar on the United MileagePlus X app. Second, Petco is on Rakuten for 2% cash back. If you have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards, that 2% cash back will become MR points for future travel. It is important to note that Rakuten does not typically give cash back for purchases made with a gift card. Therefore, if you value AmEx MR points rather than United miles, skip the MileagePlus X gift card and just shop through Rakuten.
In terms of airline providers, Southwest and Delta are currently offering 0.5 miles per dollar, and United and American are giving one mile per dollar. We have historically been able to use United MileagePlus X gift cards with the United shopping portal, so that’s what we would do here. That’s six miles per dollar when combining the two at Petco.
PetSmart
Rakuten offers 4% cash back for purchases at PetSmart. The airline offerings are the same for PetSmart as they are for Petco. Half a mile per dollar for Southwest and Delta and one mile per dollar for United and American. PetSmart is not a gift card option through the United MileagePlus X app.
Amazon
We do leverage Amazon for certain pet purchases, like poop bags and our pups’ favorite treats. Typically, we use our everyday credit card, the Freedom Unlimited with 1.5x for Amazon purchases.
This quarter, however, we’re maxing out our Freedom and Freedom Flex because Amazon is a 5x category.
You also can purchase Amazon gift cards at an office supply store with the Ink Cash for 5x at any time.
Grocery Stores
If you make pet purchases at your local grocery store, don’t forget to use a card like the American Express Gold, which earns 4 points per dollar on groceries. You can also purchase gift cards to places like Amazon or Target at a grocery store and then use those gift cards on your pet purchases.
For all pet purchases
Regardless of where you buy your pet supplies, always make sure to use a credit card that earns you points or miles for travel. We use the Freedom Unlimited because it gets 1.5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on every purchase.
While not explicitly travel-related, we also submit our receipts to Fetch. It’s a simple way to earn points (later to be redeemed for gift cards) for purchases you’re already making. All receipts earn a minimum of 25 points, and Fetch partners with select retailers or companies for elevated points. For example, we recently received 9,000 points for purchasing at least $45 worth of Greenies products through Chewy. It’s a purchase we already make, and that 9,000 points goes towards a gift card at a retailer we frequent (Amazon, Starbucks, etc). More gift cards to use means more money to free up for travel, right? That’s our logic :).
Summary
It’s fairly simple to earn more than just one point per dollar on items for your beloved pet. There are a variety of options to earn points and miles on pet purchases that can be tailored to your spending on your travel hacking aspirations. Tell us your favorite way to earn on pet items!
Additional Reading
3 Comments