Here’s How To Save Money With Rewards Stacking

Sure, earning rewards on your purchases won’t make you rich. But it does help stretch your ringgit, save money, and gives you the opportunity to brag to friends about your savvy discount-hunting skills.

Besides, earning rewards can save you more money than you think. Enter rewards stacking. This refers to earning multiple tiers of rewards for a single purchase.

For example, say you want to book a hotel on Agoda for a total of RM500. You access the site through ShopBack, a cashback platform that gives you 5% cashback on your transaction. In addition, you pay through a credit card, which gives you another 5% cashback. This could mean getting a total of RM50 in cashback!

What do you need to stack rewards?

Here’s what you need in your toolbox to claim multiple rewards on each purchase.

a) Credit cards

Most credit cards reward you through cashback, points or air miles.

To max out your rewards, you can use your credit card to top up your eWallet. This lets you take advantage of credit card rewards, as well as your eWallet’s loyalty programme. But some credit cards exclude eWallet top ups from being eligible for rewards, so just remember to read your card’s fine print before you make a transaction.

b) eWallets

There are tons of eWallets in Malaysia, but only a few of them reward you for every single purchase. Here’s how GrabPay, ShopeePay and Boost’s loyalty programmes compare:

	Points earned for every RM1 spent	Points redemption	Equivalent cashback value
GrabPay	0.75 to 1.5 points	500 points = RM5 1,000 points = RM10 2,000points = RM20	0.5% to 1.5%
ShopeePay	1 Shopee Coin (max 150/day and 300/week)	100 Shopee Coin = RM1	1%
Boost	1 to 3 Boost Stars	1,000 Boost Stars = RM1	0.1% to 0.3%

What’s great about eWallets is that you won’t only be rewarded for transactions made on its platform, but everywhere else that accepts that eWallet as a payment method. This could mean getting points for spending on petrol, groceries or other daily necessities.

c) Online shopping portals

Shopping portals like ShopBack gives you cashback of around 5% or more for a huge list of retailers, including Shopee, Lazada, Zalora, Guardian, Watsons. This means getting cashback for almost every type of purchase you make.

You just need to access your retailer through ShopBack platform. After your purchase has been confirmed, your cashback will be credited into your account. You can cash out your money to a bank account any time, as long as you have a minimum of RM10.

d) Loyalty programmes

Signing up for every loyalty programme that’s available can be tempting, but it’s not easy to keep track of multiple memberships. Besides, some programmes require you to use physical cards, which just take up valuable real estate in your wallet.

So just sign up for those that offer significant savings (like a frequent flyer programme), or for those whose services you regularly spend on (such as petrol).

How to stack rewards

Okay, so what does reward stacking look like? Here are a few combinations to try.

1. General purchases: credit card + eWallet + ShopBack

ShopBack offers cashback for almost every category of spending, so it’s worth doing a quick search on the platform to see if it supports your retailer.

Your payment method depends on your retailer, so if it accepts eWallets, you could top up your eWallet with your credit card. If it doesn’t accept eWallets, just use your credit card directly.

2. Dining: credit card + eWallet + Fave/Eatigo/cash vouchers

Looking to save on dining out? Use your credit card to top up your eWallet, then use your eWallet to purchase discounted dining offers through one of these sites.

Site	Deals	eWallets accepted
Fave	Discounted offers for restaurants, retail and more	GrabPay, Boost, Touch ‘n Go
Eatigo	Make restaurant reservations at discounted prices	Depends on restaurant
FunNow	Discounted cash vouchers for restaurants	GrabPay

3. Travel: Shopback/credit card promo + credit card + travel booking platform  + airline loyalty programme

If you’re booking travel accommodation, try to book it through a platform like Agoda, Booking.com or Trip. These sites have their own loyalty programmes that may reward you with points or cashback whenever you make a booking. You can use them to offset the cost of future bookings.

You can use ShopBack to access these platforms for cashback. Alternatively, your credit card will typically give you a discount for booking through a dedicated landing page. For example, if you have a Maybank credit card, you can get 8% off your Agoda bookings.

On top of that, your credit card may also offer separate cashback, rewards or air miles on your transaction.

There’s also a final perk – some travel booking platforms let you connect your airline loyalty programme for free. So every time you make a booking, you’ll get points or miles on programmes like AirAsia BIG or Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich Miles.

4. Petrol: credit card + eWallet + petrol loyalty programme

Most cashback credit cards will allow you to earn cashback on petrol purchases. For example, the RHB Cash Back Credit Card gives up to 5% cashback on petrol, dining, and groceries (plus up to 10% cashback on dining & groceries delivery).

Alternatively, your favourite petrol station may accept eWallet payments. If your credit card gives you cashback for eWallet spending, use it to top up your eWallet, then use your eWallet to pay for petrol.

Then pair that with the loyalty programme of the petrol brand you use the most:

• Petronas – Link your card to Setel or top up with Boost. For every RM5 spent on fuel with Setel, you’ll earn 1 Mesra point. You can exchange 100 Mesra points for RM1 in Setel top-up.
• BHPetrol – Pay with your credit card, then use the BHPetrol eCard mobile app to claim ePoints. You get 1 ePoint for every RM1 spent. You can exchange 950 ePoints for RM10 in fuel.
• Shell – Pay with your credit card or use Boost, GrabPay or ShopeePay. Then use Shell BonusLink to collect points. You get 1 BonusLink Point for every litre of fuel. You get bonus points for hitting minimum purchase amounts every month.

Shop within your budget

It can be tempting to justify a large purchase by pointing out that it’s on discount, or that you’ll receive lots of rewards for it. That’s okay, as long as you stick to your budget. Just remember – reward stacking only helps you save money on purchases you were going to make anyway.

This article was first published in January 2022 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.