Without question, the fastest way to build up a massive stash of points and miles is to snag a lucrative credit card welcome offer and use that card for everyday purchases.

But what if credit cards aren’t an option – or just aren’t your thing? No problem: You don’t need plastic to pile up points and miles.

From paying rent to grabbing your morning coffee or catching a ride with Lyft and Uber, you can (and should) be earning rewards on all your daily spending. The key to racking up a meaningful amount of points is taking advantage of every possible earning opportunity at your disposal. While you won’t get an instant windfall like a big sign-up bonus, a strategic approach can still lead to serious rewards over time.

Ready to start stacking up points and miles – no credit card required? Check out our top ways to make it happen.

 

In this post

Bilt Rewards

If you're looking to earn points without spending on a credit card, look no further than Bilt Rewards. 

Bilt is a relative newcomer to the world of travel rewards. But in short order, the company that set out to give travelers a way to earn transferable points for paying rent – and soon for their mortgage payments – has become a points powerhouse.

Since setting up shop in mid-2021, Bilt has steadily added more and more ways for members to earn points. Here are a few of our favorites. 

 

Paying Rent (& Soon … Mortgages!)

If you live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance property, you’ll earn 1x point per $1 on rent (up to $100,000 per year) with no fees. If you don't live in a Bilt Rewards Alliance property, you'll still earn a flat 250 points per month on rent payments. Otherwise, you’ll need the *Bilt Mastercard* – yes, a credit card – to earn points on rent.

Not a renter? Bilt plans to offer points on mortgage payments sometime later this year. It's unclear whether you'll need a co-branded credit card to earn points on these payments, but Bilt recently teased new card designs and all of them showed the ability to earn points on mortgages. 

 

Buying a House

No, you shouldn’t buy a house just for the points. But if you’re in the market, Bilt recently introduced an industry-first program that offers a huge earning opportunity.

By purchasing a home through an eXp Realty agent, you’ll earn 1x Bilt point per $2 spent—meaning a $200,000 home nets 100,000 Bilt points. With today’s housing prices, that can add up fast.

The only catch? You must use an eXp Realty agent to qualify.

 

Linking Loyalty Accounts

Bilt has partnered with some of the biggest names in travel – such as Alaska Airlines, United, Hyatt, and IHG – to offer 1:1 point transfers and allow redemptions within those individual award programs. You can currently earn 100 bonus points for every loyalty program that you link to your Bilt Rewards account.

 

bilt rewards transfer partners

 

That means if you link a new or existing account to all 18 of their partners (as of publication), you'll earn 1,800 transferrable points. These are seriously some of the easiest points you'll ever earn!

 

Shop at Walgreens

You can earn up to 2x Bilt points on Walgreens purchases – or a flat 100 points with every prescription refill. So long as your eligible Visa, Mastercard, or American Express – and those don't need to be credit cards – is linked in your Bilt Wallet, you're all set.

Here's how the the points earning shakes out: 

  • Earn 1x Bilt points per dollar spent on all in-store and online Walgreens purchases
  • Earn 2x Bilt points per dollar spent on Walgreens-branded items
  • Earn 100 Bilt points on prescription refills (up to 26 prescriptions per year)

There are some exclusions to be aware of – things like alcohol, tobacco, gift cards, and pharmacy co-pays won't earn rewards – but for the most part, this partnership is great news for anyone who shops at Walgreens.

 

Take a Fitness Classes

Bilt Members can earn rewards and get access to exclusive benefits and experiences with the following local fitness partners:

  • Soulcycle
  • Y7
  • pure barre
  • Rumble Boxing
  • BFT
  • CycleBar
  • YogaSix
  • CorePower Yoga
  • Barry's

The exact amount of points you'll earn varies depending on the fitness provider and class you're taking but it's generally 2x or 3x Bilt points per dollar spent. You can book these classed directly through the Bilt app and some even include extra perks like a free shoe rental with Soul Cycle or a complimentary shake at Barry's. 

 

Booking Paid Travel

This one probably seems obvious – and for years it was the best (and only) way to earn points and miles … but adding your loyalty number (or signing up for one) any time you book travel is a must. 

Exactly how many miles you'll earn for a flight depends on the airline, type of ticket you're booking, and any elite status that you may have. Same goes for hotels.

While scoring a big limited-time sign-up bonus or swiping a co-branded credit card for all your daily purchases will likely get you get you a free trip faster, you can still earn a significant chunk of points and miles by booking paid travel instead. 

 

Shopping Portals

One of our favorite ways to pile up points without a credit card is to click through a shopping portal for every online purchase.

Exactly how many miles you'll earn varies by merchant and the portal you're using. Before clicking through to begin your online shopping, it's always a good idea to check a site like Cashback Monitor to ensure you're getting the best possible return. Simply enter the name of the online store you're planning to shop at, and Cashback Monitor will list all the current payouts for a variety of portals.

 

Rakuten

Rakuten is easily our favorite online shopping portal, as it allows you to earn cashback – or valuable American Express Membership Rewards points – at thousands of online merchants. Just know, in order to earn Amex points, you'll need to first have an eligible Amex card in your wallet. But you don't actually have to use that card to pay! 

Regardless, you'll still want to start at Cashback Monitor to ensure you're getting the best possible return before making a purchase through Rakuten. But in our experience, Rakuten is a safe bet – especially when the company rolls out one of its frequent 

Sign up for Rakuten now and you'll get an automatic $40 bonus (or 4,000 Amex points) after making a purchase of $40 or more!

 

Capital One 

Capital One recently introduced a feature that allows select cardholders to earn miles on every purchase. Much like earning Amex Membership Rewards through Rakuten, you'll need a Capital One card to get started, but that doesn't mean you have to use it for your purchase. 

Here's just a small sample of the hundreds of offers from clothing retailers and big box stores to online travel agencies and even airlines currently available as of publication. You can see offers for 3x Capital One miles on your purchase to as much as 30x miles. And these offers are changing all the time.

 

New deals and offers from Capital One

 

Just log into your Capital One account, check out your current offers, click through to the retailers site, and make your purchase. While you'll obviously need a Capital One card to be eligible for these offers, the terms and conditions don't require you to actually make the purchase on your card in order to earn the extra miles. 

 

Airline Shopping Portals

All of the major U.S. airlines have a shopping portal you can use to earn bonus miles on most every online purchase.

Say you're planning to pick up a few items from Macy's. Head to Cashback Monitor to get started and type Macy's into the search bar. This will bring up the current payouts for 42 different shopping portals, including several different airline programs. In this case, it looks like both United and Alaska are your best bet, offering up to 3x miles per dollar spent on purchases at Macy's.

 

Macy's Cashback Monitor portal payouts. United and Alaska Airlines are both offering 3x per dollar.

 

If you haven't yet signed up for these individual airline shopping portals. Here are the big ones to be aware of. 

United Airlines is unique in that it has a separate (and different) program for rewarding shoppers with miles when making an in-store purchase. It's the United MileagePlus XSM app and it's available for both Apple and Android devices.

With MileagePlus X, you can earn up to 10 miles per dollar by shopping and dining at local businesses and national brands. Here’s how it works:

 

Download, search, spend with the United MileagePlus X app.

 

Admittedly, using the MileagePlus X app can be a bit of a burden, as you'll need to first purchase an eGift Card and then use that to pay. But it's still a great way to earn miles on purchases where you otherwise wouldn't – and it can even help you out in a pinch.

I once found myself at a Walmart self check-out with a basket full of items and no wallet in sight. Since Walmart doesn't accept tap to pay, I couldn't even use my phone. Thankfully, Walmart is an eligible merchant on the MileagePlus X app so I was able to quickly purchase an eGift Card for my total amount and use that to pay instead. 

 

Dining Portals

Dining out is another great way to earn points and miles without a credit card. Each of the major airlines (and several hotel chains) have their own dining portals that allow you to earn points and miles at select restaurants in cities big and small. 

Just know that most (nearly all) of these portals run on the same network, so it's be possible to double-dip and earn miles with multiple carriers on a single purchase. You'll have to pick the one that works best for you and your travel patterns, but there's no harm in trying them all. And you can switch it up at any time. 

Simply add your preferred payment method (including debit cards) to the portal and if it's used at an eligible restaurant, you'll earn bonus points (or miles) on the total purchase. Exact rates vary by restaurant and are changing all the time. 

 

Airline Portals

Here are the major airline and hotel dining portals to be aware of. 

 

Bilt Neighborhood Dining

Without question, our favorite dining portal is Bilt's Neighborhood Dining as it allows members to earn ultra-valuable Bilt points that can be transferred to a whole slew of airline and hotel programs. Rather than earning a single airline mile or hotel point, you'll have access to many more options when it comes time to redeem – including many of the same programs listed above. 

If you're not already a Bilt Rewards member, you should be (it's free). After signing up, you'll want to download the Bilt Rewards mobile app, available for both Apple and Android users. While you can link cards to your Bilt wallet online or through a mobile browser, using the Bilt app to find eligible restaurants will make for a far better user experience.

Once logged into your app, you'll want to navigate to the “Neighborhood” tab at the bottom and make sure Bilt Dining is selected at the top of the screen. 

 

Bilt Dining

 

If you currently hold the Bilt Mastercard, it will automatically be added to your wallet and linked up with the neighborhood dining program. Other cards can easily be added to your Bilt wallet down below. 

Even if you don't know when you'll be able to take advantage of the Bilt Neighborhood Dining feature, it's still worth adding cards to your Bilt Wallet right now.

After linking cards to your Bilt Wallet, you'll want to toggle on “Enable rewards at all restaurants” button. Even if you've previously used Bilt Dining, you'll need to turn this on in order to earn points at the restaurants that were recently added. 

 

Bilt Dining (All Restaurants)

 

Just know that by turning rewards on for all restaurants with Bilt Dining, it will forcibly unlink that card from other participating dining programs. Again, you can't double dip by earning Bilt Rewards and AAdvantage Miles or SkyMiles, for example. But given the value of Bilt points, you're almost certainly better off earning them for your dining purchases, in favor of something else. 

 

Savings Accounts

No credit card? No problem! Credit cards aren't the only bank product you can earn points and miles on these days. 

If you have a little excess cash on hand, parking it in a savings account is wise move for a variety of reasons. But instead of earning interest, you can earn points and miles instead. What's more, you might even be able to score a big bonus just for signing up for a new account.

 

Bask Bank

The Bask Mileage Savings Account is a savings account, marketed towards avid travelers as an innovative way to earn additional airline miles.

While this is subject to change at any time, the Bask Mileage Savings Account currently earns 2 miles for every dollar saved annually. The account doesn't carry any monthly maintenance fees or deposit requirements, so you'll earn miles on every dollar in your account no matter how many or few you have in it. Since Bask Bank is backed by Texas Capital, depositors can rest easy knowing that their deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.

Miles are paid out on a monthly basis. So, for example, if you had $10,000 deposited in a Bask Mileage Savings Account for a full month, you'd be paid out 1,666 AAdvantage miles for that month. Over the course of a year, that's an extra 20,000 AAdvantage miles.

The more you have deposited in this account, the more miles you'd earn on a monthly basis.
 

Bask Mileage Savings Graphic 

Speaking of earning additional miles, through May 31, Bask is offering 10,000 bonus AAdvantage miles when you open a Bask Mileage Savings Account and fund it with at least $50,000. You must maintain this balance for 180 consecutive days out of the first 210 days following your initial deposit. While there are certainly bigger bank account welcome offers out there, this is still a nice bonus – if you have that kind of money to spare!

Need some inspiration on how to use your new stash of miles? Check out our post on the 10 best deals we've found using AAdvantage miles!

 

American Express

American Express has been synonymous with credit cards for decades. But the titan of travel rewards cards also offers other banking products like a checking account for small business owners … complete with a debit card that earns points.

Amex is currently sweetening the deal for new business-checking customers. Small business owners (and that might be you!) can earn 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points for opening an American Express Business Checking account and completing a few qualifying activities – namely, by depositing $5,000 or more and making at least five transactions in the first 60 days.

 

amex business checking graphic

 

Keep in mind: You don't need a massive business to qualify for an Amex business credit card or checking account. Everything from a sole proprietorship to a side hustle will work.

And now you don't even need to be a current American Express customer to qualify. That's right: Even if you don't have an Amex personal or business credit card, you're still eligible to open a new Amex Business checking account and earn this big bonus.

 

Hitch a Ride With Uber or Lyft

If you frequently use apps like Uber and Lyft to get around, you can (and should!) be earning points and miles for every dollar you spend. Both rideshare services partner with a number of travel rewards programs to offer riders bonus points for every dollar spent. 

 

Uber

Delta SkyMiles

After announcing the rideshare loyalty swap during a splashy Las Vegas event back in January, Delta's new partnership with Uber is officially live. SkyMiles members can now link their Delta and Uber accounts and start earning SkyMiles on rides immediately. 

With Uber, SkyMiles members can earn: 

  • 3x SkyMiles per dollar spent on Uber Reserve – rides scheduled at least two hours in advance
  • 2x SkyMiles per dollar spent on premium Uber rides
  • 1x SkyMiles per dollar spent on UberX rides, but only to and from the airport
  • 1x SkyMiles per dollar spent on eligible Uber Eats restaurant and grocery delivery orders

These miles are in addition to any points, miles, or cash back you are earning on the credit card you use to pay for your ride.

 

Marriott Bonvoy Points

Whether you’re ordering with Uber Eats or getting a ride with Uber, you could be earning Marriott Bonvoy points in the process. Exactly how many points you'll earn depends on the type of ride you're ordering, or how much you spend with Uber Eats. Here's how it all shakes out. 

 

Earn 3x or 2x Marriott Bonvoy points on Uber rides. Earn 1x Bonvoy points on Uber Eats orders over $40 and 2x on Uber Eats orders to select Marriott hotels.

 

Lyft

Bilt Rewards

  • When you link your Bilt and Lyft accounts, you'll earn 2x Bilt points per dollar spent on private Lyft rides in the U.S. If you pay with the Bilt Mastercard®, you'll earn an additional 3x points for 5x total. 
  • You can also pay for Lyft rides with Bilt points directly in the Lyft app (after linking your accounts) … but you shouldn't. When redeeming Bilt points for a ride, you'll get a relatively poor, .7 cents per point – far less than what you can get when transferring to one of Bilt's partners or even redeeming them for a flight or hotel through Bilt's travel portal. 
 

Hilton Honors

  • When you link your Hilton and Lyft accounts, you'll earn 3x Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on private Lyft rides in the U.S.
  • You'll earn 2x Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on shared Lyft rides in the U.S.
  • These bonus miles are in addition to any points and miles you are earning from the credit card used to pay for the ride.
  • These earning rates are capped at up to 10,000 points per calendar year.

 

Alaska Mileage Plan

  • You'll earn 1x Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan mile per dollar spent on all Lyft rides in the U.S. and Canada.
  • These bonus miles are in addition to any points and miles you are earning from the credit card used to pay for the ride.

 

Order Coffee from Starbucks

Delta practically broke the internet with this. SkyMiles for Starbucks?!

Yes, it's real. Delta and Starbucks teamed up in late 2022, allowing SkyMiles members to earn bonus miles on their coffee orders while double-dipping with extra Starbucks Rewards Stars on select orders, too. While there have been some modifications to how SkyMiles are earned since the partnership launched, Delta SkyMiles members can link their accounts with Starbucks Rewards at deltastarbucks.com and start earning miles by loading money into the Starbucks mobile app. 

  • You'll earn 25 miles by loading $25 – $49.99
  • You'll earn 75 miles by loading $50 – $74.99
  • You'll earn 125 miles by loading $75 – $99.99
  • You'll earn 200 miles by loading $100 or more
  • You'll also earn double stars with Starbucks when you make a purchase on Delta travel days

 

delta and starbucks program overview

 

Book an Airbnb or Vrbo

Airbnb has multiple travel partners, including airlines like Delta and British Airways, which offer loyalty program benefits for Airbnb stays.

With Delta, you’ll earn 1 SkyMile for every dollar (or foreign equivalent) spent on qualifying Airbnb reservations, excluding taxes and fees. You'll need to enter your SkyMiles number every time you book to qualify for this mileage offer. Meanwhile, earning British Airways Avios is even sweeter: You'll earn 2 Avios for every dollar spent on qualifying Airbnb reservations, excluding taxes and fees.

While Delta SkyMiles might seem like the obvious choice if your rarely (if ever) fly with British Airways, Avios can be extremely valuable … even for travelers who never plan to leave the U.S. Avios unlock one of the cheapest ways to fly to Hawaii using points and miles (still), in addition to some other cheap domestic award tickets on American and Alaska Airlines. You can also use them to fly to Europe and back for just 34,000 points – plus much, much more. 

 

Take a Survey

Admittedly, this isn't the best option for earning points and miles without a credit card … but it does exist. Simply sign up and answer a few questions to see if you're eligible to take any of the surveys listed.

What makes this a mostly forgettable option is the amount of time it will take to complete each survey, and the limited amount of miles you'll earn in the process. But if you're only a few miles short of pulling off a dream trip and don't otherwise have a way to earn them, this can come in handy in the right situation. 

 

Bottom Line

We write ad nauseam about the power of earning points and miles through big credit card sign-up bonuses and daily spending – for good reason. But for some, that's not possible.

If you're looking for additional ways to rack up points and miles on all your purchases, without a credit card, look no further than this list.