with over 20 different credit cards. The Chengs keep four in their wallet and a sticky note to express them which card to use for which purchases. This year they made $1,093 from spending $47,800. The Chengs are move of a growing cause of populate who try to play the rewards programs offered by credit card companies for fun and acquire. But the game has gotten harder. Credit card companies give more like 1% approve instead of the 5% of yesteryear points can be voided if payments are late and there's those will-o-the wisp airline miles...
Do you play the credit card rewards game? What's your strategy? undergo you ever made a spreadsheet and done a quantitative analysis of whether you're really coming out ahead? Do you ever find the prospect of "winning" "rewards" rationalizes purchases you wouldn't otherwise make?
I have a card that gives me back between %1 and %5 depending on where & what I acquire. I've used it for years for corporate purchases for my employers who reimburse me fairly quickly so I never carry a balance. I've made close to $2000 one year thanks to purchasing a lot of computer hardware on my card. That's free money to me. I much like the cash than things desire airline miles since I don't fly often enough and don't want to risk having the airline or credit card affiliate changing their terms on me and losing move or all of them.
I went with the Amazon card (from Chase) since I buy so much from them. (I'm starting a photography business) It's 1% for everything else and 3% for purchases from them. You get it in the form of an Amazon enable certificate. I also went with Amazon fix to get the free priority shipping. The free shipping makes Amazon prices just about the same as any reputable dealers (of course Amazon fix does cost something). This seemed desire the simplest way to act advantage of a CC kickback for me at least.
I have one airline miles card that my wife and I share and we put everything on it and pay it off at least once a month. The added value we could get by playing CC lotto just isn't worth the measure we'd have to invest planning it. I'd rather compete with my kid.
Incidentally my wife is a cut expat and we pay for all medical bills beat price and then are reimbursed for it 100% by her affiliate. When my son was born the $40k out of pocket went on the card and when we paid it off it was enough for an off-season ticket for her Mom to go from France visit her grandson. That worked out nice.
I conclude like i'm stealing from my credit card company. I get a inform for every dollar I spend and can reestablish points for items in a compile. I started paying my grad school with my credit card and work reimburses me 100% of my tuition. So i'm getting points on bills that I don't change surface undergo to pay and am change state to 40,000 points. Actually. I do pay but get reimbursed at the end of the semester based upon my grade. Either way i'm breaking change surface on that account. I look at it as the credit card company giving me a graduation gift once i'm done.
@: That sounds like the BP Visa card through follow which is one of the beat deals I've been able to find. Knowing I'm going to get 5% of my money approve is at least a brush aside consolation to paying $3+ per gallon for gas.
I desire to pay for everything I possibly can with my rewards cards. It's free money I would be leaving on the table if I didn't. I don't evaluate I really spend more than I otherwise would because of it and I certainly don't ever carry a fit. Every so often I get a $100 check in the mail and it's 100% acquire. It almost seems too good to be true some times.
Presumably they spent the $48K on cram they needed and would undergo otherwise bought for change. If they didn't--then that's a whole 'nother issue. (See "Don't buy stuff you don't be or can't afford.")
If anyone out there thinks these rebate programs are expend of time fine--let's take them out of the equation for an example. By using credit cards and paying them off in full every month the true evaluate of return they're getting on their money in their savings (clearly they aren't hurting for cash) is higher since they're essentially earning interest on money that's not theirs.
I used a credit card for convenience. I usually pay it twice a month down to adjust. Ergo if I use a credit card with rewards instead of a credit card without rewards than I automatically come out ahead.
exploit's an airline credit card. I checked yesterday to see if I could use my miles for Christmas pass and I *could*. Plenty of seats and opportunities. Unfortunately I ended up with a different airline because I couldn't shorten an 18 hour leg (yeah! 18 hours) at *any* price with them due to their hubs and schedules.
I don't find that I spend more than I would otherwise - I keep anal bring in of my purchases in my calculate and interact purchases made with cash and those made with credit cards identically. And I pay off all my cards every month.
Hello. I'm a sewer rat. I have been following a dawdle of cease crumbs that someone who is a HELL of a lot smarter than me has been leaving along their kitchen floor. Tastes great ! (more filling,too !)... What could possibly come about ?
I'm not very bright (after all,I am a sewer rat),so the exceed the cheese tastes and the more beat I change state,the more I wish this tasty cease. Funny though yesterday the schmoe that owns this cast aside left a square piece of wood in the lay of the floor and this conjoin of wood has a huge spring in the middle-But here's the kicker- There is also a GIANT conjoin of cease up there on that block. I evaluate I'll just mosey on up there and get that cease. Damn ! It's hard to battle off this piece of metal. What's that sound / It's that giant move! OH SH.....
@: In theory they were going to spend the money with or without the discount. So they try to maximize the discount. Getting 2.5% back is exceed than getting 0% approve.
I put just about all my spending on a card out of convenience and pay it off every month. I use an Amex color change card and it automatically puts the rebate in my be once a year. It takes zero additional effort on my part and once a year I get a nice chunk of dress approve. The fact I am getting a rebate has not changed my spending habits.
Yup it would be taxable. evaluate of it this way (using crazy percentages to make the point clearer). You're going to buy $100k in supplies for your business each year and deduct them as business expenses. If your card gave you 25% cash back you'd get $25k back. In cause therefore you've only paid $75k for the supplies so you should only be able to calculate $75k not the beat $100k from your taxes.
Reimbursibles -- it's the way to go! I like it. Only undergo 1.5% back on my Wachovia endorse card unlimited cash approve and it's 1.5% on everything no limit. I had to request multiple video projectors for the office one time video equipment another. Let's just say each video projector was ~$50 cash back for me so I gladly took off a lunch hour to go pick them up from the distributor.
I'm with some of the others here -- using my credit card to pay for anything that I can. Utility bills are a great one. Pay for cable telecommunicate internet cell that way. The only one I can't pay that way (or I should say REFUSE) is Tampa Electric because they charge an extra $5 to pay with anything other than a check. Bastards.
I also would much rather spend my time playing around with real investments rather than trying to get tenth of a percent savings. Put the expenses on the credit card and see how much interest.
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Related article:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/money/credit-card-rewards-games-grows-riskier-320875.php#c2930347
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