Earn Points for Your Holiday Spending

Updated Nov 29, 2024
Fact checked by
Vincent Morin
Vincent Morin

Vincent Morin

Vincent Morin
My name is Vincent and I've been a stay-at-home parent to two young boys since achieving financial independence in 2021 (FIRE). Previously, I worked for 12 years in financial technology for a major US investment bank (G-SIB). I'm passionate about personal finance, stock market investing, reading, writing, cycling and gardening. I'm also the founder of Retraite 101, a personal finance blog followed by over 30,000 people on social networks and quoted in several media, blogs and finance books. Despite early retirement, I continue to write about personal finance to share my passion with Quebecers and motivate them to take charge of their finances.
All posts by Vincent Morin
Temps des Fêtes - Dépenses
To the point The holiday season is a lucrative one for point hunters, especially for earning points with your holiday spending.

You know how important it is to have a good credit rating (or to want to improve it), which starts with sound credit card management. With the holiday season fast approaching, you’re no doubt looking to save money on shopping, gifts and meals. But what about taking advantage of this time of year to earn points with your holiday spending? In this article, we share the best points hunter tips to help you earn points and miles faster.

Optimize Your Restaurant Expenses

The holiday season is a time for gathering with family and friends, whether at home or in a restaurant.

Do what I do for your holiday spending: offer to pay the bill on your credit card, and ask everyone to give you their share in cash, Interac transfer or cheque. Not many people are points hunters… but you are! It’s a great way to earn points on your holiday spending.

Here’s a card that lets you rack up points fast at restaurants and grocery stores: 5 Privilege Points per dollar, or 5% cash back, 5 Aeroplan points, and so on. It’s the American Express Cobalt® Card, of course.

Earn Points With the Purchase of Gift Cards

Buying gift cards with a credit card is a great opportunity to earn points on your holiday spending. Generally speaking, gift cards can be used in three ways:

  • Give as a gift to a loved one
  • Collect points for spending in another store
  • Reaching the required spending level to unlock a credit card sign-up bonus

Gift Card - Give a Gift to a Loved One

More and more surveys show that people prefer to receive money rather than a gift. The gift card is therefore a happy medium: we know that the recipient likes this or that store… but we prefer to leave it up to him to choose the gift that will really please him. And you can earn points on your credit card by giving away a gift card from a grocery store, drugstore or gas station!

Gift Card - Earn Points for Spending at Other Stores

Another use is to accumulate the most points for a purchase at another store. As part of your holiday budget, you could use gift cards to pay for purchases at stores (SAQ, Amazon, Home Depot, etc.) that wouldn’t have offered you a large number of points. It’s a great way to earn points on your holiday spending.

Gift Card - Reach the Required Spending Level to Unlock a Welcome Bonus

Finally, you can purchase gift cards with a credit card to reach the spending level required to trigger a credit card welcome bonus.

Credit cards often require that a certain spending level be reached in order to offer a welcome bonus. Most often set at $500 of spending in the first three months, this level can be higher ($1,000 or even $5,000 for certain business cards).

Buying gift cards for stores you’re used to visiting regularly (gas, grocery stores, etc.) is a way of “triggering the bonus early”. You’re simply “pre-empting” spending that you would have done anyway in the weeks or months ahead.

While buying gift cards is a great way to earn points on your holiday spending, be sure to pay off your credit card balance before it’s due.

Would you like to lighten your holiday spending instead? By opting for a cash back credit card like the CIBC DividendMD Visa Infinite* Card, you can get several hundred dollars back on your holiday spending by taking advantage of the welcome bonus.

Are you a Costco fan when it comes to savings? Double down by using the CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card welcome bonus, which allows you to earn up to 10% cash back in your first few months by using our tip for using a Visa credit card at Costco.

Best credit cards for buying gift cards

The following three credit cards allow you to accumulate a large number of points or cash back not only during the holiday season, but throughout the year:

In addition to these three cards, there are a number of other interesting cards that can also be used to purchase gift cards at drugstores and gas stations. These include the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, with its 2 points per dollar.

Gift Card Ideas for the Holiday Season

Gift cards offer countless possibilities. Here’s a short list of gift card ideas to earn points on your holiday spending:

  • Entertainment: iTunes, PlayStation Store, Xbox Live, Google Play, Netflix, Steam, Facebook, Minecraft, Cineplex, Guzzo
  • Media / culture: Amazon, Indigo, Kobo
  • Do-it-yourself: Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Rona
  • Gasoline: Esso, Petro-Canada, Irving
  • Restaurants: Uber Eats, SAQ, Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Subway, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, SQD, Pizza Pizza, Baton Rouge, Scores, The Keg, Boston Pizza, Cora, M&M
  • Stores: Walmart, HomeSense, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, American Eagle, L’Équipeur, Ardene, Golf Town, La Vie en Rose, La Senza, Simons
  • Phone: Prepaid cards from operators (Fido, Koodo, Bell, etc.)

As you can see, there are plenty of gift card options for the holidays and other times of year! The list goes on…

Maximize your online shopping

For your online purchases, there’s a trick to getting even more rewards or cash back. To do this, you need to use online shopping portals. They’re a great way to earn points for your holiday spending.

The best-known portals are :

Take Aeroplan eStore which is a platform for Aeroplan Members who want to earn points fast. By going through this portal (before shopping at over 250 partner brands), you’ll earn at least 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent. This way, you can spoil yourself and maximize the purchase of an iPhone or laptop, for example.

Keep your eyes peeled this holiday season! Cashback or points multipliers are common on online shopping, as are promotional offers. The latter even begin in November, with Black Friday offers.

Bottom Line

In short, the hunt for points and miles is on this holiday season! Of course, you’ll need to stick to your budget and manage your credit cards carefully. However, it’s a very lucrative time of year, allowing point hunters to earn points on holiday spending: shopping, gifts, meals, and much more.

How do you earn points for your holiday spending?

You can take advantage of this time of year to earn points with your holiday spending. Our best tips apply not only to your online purchases, but also to your spending at grocery stores and restaurants. Additionlly, buying gift cards and using online portals help you earn more rewards.

What is the average Christmas budget per child?

For this year’s holiday season, the average spending of Canadians is expected to reach $1,853, according to a new report from PwC. This amount includes gifts, travel, and entertainment. Thus, the average budget per child for Christmas will depend on the allocation of expenses for each category.

What is the average price of a Christmas gift?

Although the holiday budget is increasing year after year, Canadian consumers will not be buying more this year. Indeed, Canadians are aware of the rising prices of the products and services they regularly purchase. According to a new report by PwC, consumers are not just looking for low prices for their holiday shopping; they are seeking quality items and/or second-hand products.

Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine
Jean-Maximilien, President and Founder of Milesopedia, is a recognized expert in rewards programs, credit cards, and travel in Canada and France. Approaching forty and a father of two, he has travelled to over 100 countries, half of them with his children and his wife, Audrey. Specializing in top loyalty programs like Aeroplan, American Express Membership Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy, he guides travellers to maximize their benefits across North America and Europe.
All posts by Jean-Maximilien Voisine

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