I'm a credit card point maximizer. I'm spending more than planned, but I believe it will pay off.

• Sunny Chanel is a San Francisco-based freelance writer with a passion for finding good deals.
• She shares her strategy for credit card point accumulation: strategic purchases based on available bonuses.
• She writes that while her strategy has led her to spend more, she's confident that it's worth it.

I recently splurged and spent almost $1,000 on tours for an upcoming family trip to Italy. I wasn't originally planning to book any tours at all — we usually just wing it — but the amount of credit card points I saw I'd earn through bonus deals made doing so irresistible.

I'm someone who's always on the search for a deal. It's hard for me to resist the temptation of a discount, a fire sale, or a BOGO. Lately, my focus has shifted to accumulating as many credit card points as I can — even when it means spending more to earn more.

I treat credit card point accumulation like a game; it's a thrill to see my points rack up, especially when I'm earning far more than the typical 1:1 ratio. I do my best to pay my credit card balances off each month, and am acutely conscious of not letting debt snowball — otherwise, the points aren't worth it.

While it's been a significant commitment of both time and finances, and I've noticed my shopping behavior change significantly, it's an investment that I feel is paying off.

I've integrated my search for big bonuses into my routine

The first step for maximizing credit card points is to secure a lucrative sign-on bonus, such as the 100,000-point bonus I got from signing up for my Capital One Venture X credit card in December 2025.

However, that's just a one-time influx of points. I want those balances to grow, which I do by integrating my quest for big bonuses into my daily routine.

After drinking my morning coffee and checking my email, I click around online to see what special offers are available, which can change daily. The two platforms I religiously check are Capital One Offers and Rakuten.

I start with Capital One Offers

Capital One Offers, which I access via my Venture X card, has personalized daily points specials for shopping at specific retailers. I've found that most of the time, the companies with featured deals are ones I haven't heard of or don't really shop at.

A few months ago, I saw a 25x miles deal for SelectBlinds, a company I'd never heard of before. I had been wanting to get a set of blinds for our home office, but it was far from a priority. The bonus became an incentive to pull the trigger. After various discounts, the blinds came out to $320, and I ended up with a bonus of 8,000 points.

Another day recently, I spent about 30 minutes trying to find something that I might need from Columbia Sportswear, due to a one-day 46x miles deal. Although new joggers or a pair of hiking boots were tempting, I didn't end up buying anything since I realized I was only tempted by the points, not the actual products.

Next, I turn to Rakuten

After my daily check-in with Capital One Offers, I visit Rakuten, a cashback site. My account is linked to my American Express card, so my earned points are credited to my Amex.

Rakuten has offers for a few companies that I regularly buy from, like Walgreens, Petco, and Peet's. Based on when I get these fluctuating offers, I stock up on items I know we'll need, rather than waiting until there's an immediate need.

Previously, once we'd run out of coffee, I'd walk into my local Peet's and buy a bag of Ethiopian Fancy in person. Now I order multiple bags through Rakuten when there's a deal. Each purchase might not earn many points on its own, but they add up.

I'm making more extravagant purchases than I normally would

There are some more extravagant purchases that I wouldn't have made if it weren't for the bonus points, such as the aforementioned Italy tours. However, we're taking our art- and history-obsessed kid with us, so I figured we should get the most out of seeing places like the Vatican City and Venice.

I booked a variety of tours through the tour booking site Viator via the Capital One Offers platform, which had a bonus of up to 30x miles. After spending $922 on four tours, I earned 24,021 points.

That's enough points for two economy flights from San Francisco to London at 9,000 points each via Virgin Atlantic's frequent flyer program, Flying Club. With the roughly 6,000 points I'll have left, I'll be able to use them for one of my frequent flights to Los Angeles.

The cash value of all those flights would be over $1,000, but I'll get them for free from points, just from splurging a little and booking tours that will greatly enhance our trip.

I've learned some valuable lessons

I've gotten in the habit of keeping a spreadsheet of what I've spent, what the reward should be, and how long it will take to receive the reward. Points usually arrive in about 45 days but can take up to 90 days, so patience — and good documentation — is key. I started doing this after reading in message boards that bonus points occasionally don't get credited automatically, and that follow-up is sometimes needed.

And not all my choices have been good ones. I impulsively spent $150 on Lands' End items during a bonus points deal. When the clothes were delivered, I realized I'd ordered in such a hurry in the final hours of the promotion that I didn't confirm sizing with my husband for a rain jacket, and the items I bought for myself really weren't my style.

I ended up returning it all and, in the process, lost the extra points — not to mention time, effort, and postage to mail the items back. It made me realize that I need to be more sensible and not make impulse purchases just for the sake of growing my points stash.

I also always make sure to read the fine print of each offer. There are usually exceptions, such as the common "no gift cards" policy.

I've become very savvy at deciding how to use the points I've earned, in order to get the most value I can. For example, I can redeem 12,500 points to get a $100 Amazon gift card on the Capital One site. Or, I can choose to use those same points to cover a flight to Europe — a much higher cash value.

Most importantly, my points accumulation pursuit has led me to improve my life, finally put up those blinds, and take those trips.

Do you have a story to share about maximizing credit card points? Contact this editor, Jane Zhang, at [email protected].