5 Ways to Find the Best Deals When Online Shopping

Online shopping provides you with the opportunity to buy whatever you want from the comfort of your own home. Beyond the ease of shopping from wherever you want, online shopping lets you compare multiple sites to find the best price – without the hassle of having to visit numerous stores and waste time (and gas). But finding the best online deals requires strategy. Here are five ways to find the best deals in online shopping and maximize your savings:

How to Find the Best Deals When Shopping Online

Be Strategic About How You Shop

One of the best ways to save is to be strategic when you shop online. Strategy and online shopping go hand and hand, especially when it comes to the time of year.

The holiday season is one of the best times to find online deals, thanks to the fierce competition between brands looking to capture your attention (and money). Mega-sites, like Amazon, might be your first choice when looking for that must-have item, but shopping with department stores can provide additional bonuses.

“Some high-end department stores, like Neiman Marcus, will give you a gift card if you spend at a certain threshold,” says Erik Budde, CEO of GigaPoints. “And Apple has done this with the Apple Watch.”

Leave Items in Your Shopping Cart

Sometimes you talk yourself out of a purchase right before you check out. What you might not know, however, is that leaving that item in your shopping cart can actually save you money.

Leaving items in your shopping cart is known as the “shopping cart trick” and can score you savings of 10%, 201%, or more. Because many sites use cookies to track your shopping habits, leaving products in your cart is a great way to have the retailer send you a reminder email or message – and offer you a discount for pulling the trigger and making a purchase.

Use Coupon Codes

Coupon codes are a lifesaver when shopping, so make it a rule to never shop online without one. There are plenty of online sites that provide the latest coupon codes for a huge assortment of retailers. Using coupon codes takes very little effort but can save you around 10% to 20% when making your next purchase.

Get Special Savings with Credit Card Offers

Credit cards are one of the best ways to maximize savings when shopping online. The benefits of credit cards are two-fold: rewards and deals.

Credit Card Rewards

Many credit cards offer rewards on eligible purchases, with standard rewards structures including points and cash back rewards. Credit cards that earn points are an excellent option for those that want to use their rewards for travel savings, merchandise with select retailers, or gift cards.

Cash back rewards, on the other hand, offer greater versatility. There is a huge selection of cash back cards, with some of the best options offering up to 2.5% back on all eligible purchases. Still others offer accelerated cash back on select categories, such as the Discover It and Chase Freedom Flex.

Payment Network & Bank Deals

Many credit card payment networks offer special savings for holders of that network’s debit or credit cards. American Express, Visa, and Mastercard all provide these savings to cardholders – with deals including travel discounts at hotels, rental car discounts, and even savings on subscription email services.

Banks also provide exclusive online offers for cardholders, with Chase Offers and Wells Fargo Deals two of the more prominent examples. Combining offers from your credit card’s payment network or bank with the rewards the car earns is an excellent way to maximize your savings when shopping online.

Find Online Shortcuts

Some sites provide shortcuts that can help you streamline your online shopping and help you maximize your savings. These sites can make saving money a breeze and help you find deals you might have otherwise missed. One of the easiest ways to find an online shortcut is to use a deals portal that takes all the confusion out of finding deals and combining offers that save you money.

BestCards.com’s Membership portal is one such online shortcut.  The Membership site takes the guesswork out of online shopping and does much of the work needed to save you money. Even better – you can actually earn money when shopping through the BestCards portal.

Select merchant offers through the Membership Portal entitle the user to a cash back payout, meaning shopping with BestCards might make you money. Members can even earn additional rewards when they sign-up new members through referrals – and those users make eligible purchases through BestCards, helping you earn even more cash back! The portal also allows users to save offers for later, view their deals history with comprehensive reporting, and more.

The BestCards Membership platform offers much more than deals, however. Save your favorite credit cards and see how they can help you save. Or compare card offers to find the right one for you. You can even leave cardholders reviews, save cards, and browse through BestCards.com’s over 900 credit card reviews.