6 Mother’s Day Gift Ideas (2019 Miles & Points Edition!)

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INSIDER SECRET:  You can get your mom (or any special lady in your life!) a great gift and earn travel rewards at the same time!

Spring is finally here and Mother’s Day is just 3 weeks away.  Have you thought about gifts for the special women in your life yet?

If not, we have ideas!  Plus, we’ll show you how to make the most of these purchases to earn a few extra miles & points for yourself.  With enough travel rewards, you might one day be able to treat your mom to a trip of a lifetime!

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My Mom’s the Best! Here We Are Enjoying Every Minute of Our Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Flight to Thailand!

Earn Miles & Points for Mother’s Day Gifts 2019

Some moms might argue the best gift on Mother’s Day would be a day off.  Unfortunately, they don’t sell those at Target. 😉

But if you’re looking to buy the mom in your life a special treat, here are ideas for gifts that will bring her joy and get you a few extra miles & points.

I’m a mom AND a miles & points fanatic, so I might just go ahead and treat myself – and you should too!

1.   Flowers

You could surprise your favorite mom with a bouquet of fresh flowers on Mother’s Day.  There are usually promotions and increased shopping portal bonuses that will earn you lots of extra points when you buy flowers.

Here’s a guide explaining everything you need to know about shopping portals.

For example, United Airlines is offering 15 miles per $1 spent at 1-800-Flowers using the code “MP69” at the time of writing.  And American Airlines is offering 20 miles per $1 spent at Florists.com.

You can check sites like evreward and Cashback Monitor to find the best deals!

It’s Nice to Compare Deals In One Spot With Shopping Portal Aggregators

If you have an American Express card, be sure to check for any applicable AMEX Offers too.  AMEX Offers are targeted deals that can get you automatic discounts or bonus points when you add an offer to your card and make a qualifying purchase.

I found a deal to get $20 back on purchases of $50+ with Bouqs.com that’s valid through July 18, 2019.  I’ve used Bouqs multiple times and can personally attest to the quality of their bouquets!

2.   Delicious Food

One of the best gifts for the mom in your life is simply spending time with her.  You could take her out for dinner to her favorite restaurant or treat her to a spectacular meal.  Just make sure you’re using one of the best credit cards for restaurants to pay the bill!

For example, Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card cardholders earn unlimited 4% cash back on dining.  And redeeming the cash back you earn is easy.  You can request a check or statement credit, any time, with no minimum redemption amount.

And when you apply for the Capital One Savor card, you’ll earn a $300 cash bonus after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Best Credit Card For Restaurants
The Food in Portugal Is Absolutely Amazing! I Paid for This Delicious Meal of Portuguese Favorites, Like Fava Beans, Mushrooms and Chorizo, Cod Cakes, and Wine With My Chase Sapphire Reserve. And Earned 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards Points!

If you prefer earning (my favorite!) Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you could use your Chase Sapphire Preferred card to get 2X points, or Chase Sapphire Reserve to get 3X points on dining.

3.   Travel

If the beloved mom in your life lives far away, you could redeem your miles and points for a plane ticket or hotel stay.  Maybe she doesn’t get to see you often or wants to visit her grandkids.

But if you can’t find award tickets or hotels in 3 weeks, you could splurge on travel using your Chase Sapphire Preferred to earn 2X points per $1 you spend.  I don’t think any mom I know would refuse a vacation!

And remember, if you use points to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, your points are worth up to 1.5 cents each (instead of 1 cent) if you have the right credit card.  With the Chase Sapphire Preferred your points are worth 1.25 cents apiece – and with the Chase Sapphire Reserve they’re worth 1.5 cents each!

4.   Gardening Tools or Cooking Gadgets

A home improvement store might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about buying a gift for Mom.  But you can find lots of Mother’s Day gifts at Lowe’s, for example (where you earn 5X points or 5% cash back per $1 you spend this quarter using the Chase Freedom card), or other home improvement stores.

The information for the Chase Freedom® has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets.  The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

You Could Buy Your Mom a Beautiful Potted Plant and Earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards Points While You’re at It

Maybe the mom in your life is an avid gardener or cook?  You could buy her some new gardening gear or kitchen gadgets.  And most home improvement stores have a garden center where you can buy plants, flowers, and pretty hanging baskets.

Don’t forget, you can shop online through a portal and get extra points for a lot of home improvement store spending, too.

5.   Amazon (for Books, Chocolates, or Just About Anything)

Does your favorite mom like to read?  Maybe she loves mysteries, biographies, or romance?  You could stock up Mom’s library by shopping at Amazon and earning rewards with any one of the best credit cards for travel.  Amazon really does sell just about anything.  And you can have the gifts shipped directly to your favorite mom, too.

Plus, be sure to check and see if you’re eligible to save on Amazon with certain Chase cards, Discover cards, or even by using just a single AMEX Membership Rewards point.  With so many deals, you’ve certainly got options!

6.   A Day at the Spa

With all the stresses of parenthood, I bet most moms would love a day of pampering at the spa.  This could be a great way to earn travel rewards, too!

Check to see if there are any chain hotels nearby that have a spa and offer services.  For example, you could pay for mom to enjoy a day at the Ritz-Carlton Denver’s spa, and earn 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points for using your Chase Sapphire Reserve card!  That’s because the purchase should code as travel, given it’ll be a charge from Ritz-Carlton.

Bottom Line

When you’re thinking about what to get the moms in your life for Mother’s Day, remember you can earn extra points or cash back by maximizing the bonuses available with the best credit cards for travel, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Capital One Savor cards.

Taking your mom out to a nice brunch?  Use your Capital One Savor card and earn 4% cash back on that dining purchase!  Or use a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred to earn bonus Ultimate Rewards points on travel, and fly your mom home to visit the grandkids.

And don’t forget, check out shopping portal bonuses through a site like Cashback Monitor to double dip on rewards and to be sure you’re getting the best rewards rate.

You have 3 weeks to find Mom that perfect gift!

Meghan Hunter is an editor for Million Mile Secrets. She covers points, miles, credit cards, airlines, hotels and general travel. Her work has also appeared in The Points Guy.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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