Rate Watch #1: the biggest portal moves right now

Rate Watch is our monthly look at where shopping portal rates actually moved: cashback and airline miles rates that went up or down, and the stores sitting at a high. A shopping portal is a site that pays you cashback, miles, or points for starting your purchase there. We track rates over time so we can answer two questions: what changed, and is any of it worth acting on? (New to this? Start with the shopping portal glossary.)

(This is the first issue. The sections below update with the latest rates, so the numbers stay current between issues.)

Stores at their highs right now

If you're hunting deals, start here: stores sitting at or near the highest rate we've seen for them in the days we've tracked it. The ones actually at their high carry a "highest yet" tag. If you were already planning to buy from one of these stores, check its current rate before you go. A high isn't a promise the rate will last, and a store's own high can still pay less than another portal does, so compare the other portals for that store too.

See every current high on the rate highs page.

Latest cashback rate changes

Here's the latest batch of rate moves across the 44 portals we track, newest first (not ranked by size): rates that went up, rates that went down, and stores a portal stopped offering. Some moves are one-time bonuses, a flat amount rather than a percent or points-per-dollar rate. A one-time bonus pays once, so it isn't comparable to an ongoing earn rate.

Rates going up mean a store is paying more than it was; rates going down mean it's paying less. The rate changes feed has the full list. To see why portal rates move in the first place, read why rates change. For how we judge whether a rate is good, see how we decide a rate is good, or is 10% cashback good? for a quick rule of thumb.

How to use this

• Scan the highs for anything you were already planning to buy. Don't invent purchases to chase a rate; that's how "saving money" turns into spending it. But if it's on your list and it's at a high, that's a good time to buy.
• Keep an eye on the down-moves at stores you buy from often. If a store's rate just dropped, that's worth knowing before you shop, and worth a look at whether a different portal now pays more. To get an email when a store you use moves, set an alert on its store page.
• Let it come to you. Rather than checking back each month, you can get the weekly newsletter (sign up at the end of this post). It's sent each weekend and shares the week's most interesting portal moves.

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