Month: September 2024

Sometimes the path a dollar takes through a loop during advanced manufactured spend is staggering; As a semi-real world hypothetical, a manufactured spender might loop money around with a recipe like:

  1. Run a charge with credit card on a fintech (earn on spend, perhaps pay a load fee)
  2. Use a fintech virtual card to load another fintech (earn on spend, perhaps pay a load fee)
  3. ACH out of the second fintech into a bank with a rewards debit (no earn or fee)
  4. Pay the original credit card with your rewards debit (earn on spend, perhaps pay a payment fee)

Most of those steps have an earn component, and most have a fee component too. Calculating your total earn is really just a matter of adding all the earn and subtracting all the fees, and the goal is that the entire loop earns a nice spread.

Once you’ve developed a money loop like this, it’s easy to think of all spend fitting into the loop in someway.

But, and here’s the point of today’s article:

Sometimes skipping the middle steps earns just as much as the loop you’ve developed, or maybe earns slightly less but loops faster. Sometimes simplicity wins.

Have a nice weekend!

Simplicity can go too far, or sometimes not too far enough; which one is this churner’s house?

  1. Check for targeted spend bonus offers on your Chase cards, but only if $15 off of $100-$150 in spend on utilities, insurance and other less useful categories is worth your time.

    Side note: I can’t decide if this deal is above the line or below the line for this site. $15 is below, but n*$15 may not be, so I’m choosing metaphorical violence today I guess. #sorrynotsorry
  2. Kroger has a 4x fuel points promotion on Happy, Choice, One4All, and sportsbook gift cards through September 24.
  3. The best way to cash out Shop Your Way Rewards points, at least since Sears effectively disappeared from the planet, is Visa gift cards. Those cash-outs are 5% off through September.

    Side note: Again, violence I guess.
  4. Chase Offers and BankAmeriDeals have spending offers for 10% back, up to $57 each, at various Marriott Brands:

    – Townplace Suites
    – Renaissance Hotels
    – Sheraton Hotels
    – Aloft Hotels

    As usual, the least sus way to game these is to buy gift cards at the front desk. What’s the most sus way? Look, I’m not choosing that much violent. (Thanks to DDG)
  5. US Bank has updated its regular business checking sign-up bonus for new accounts with promo code Q3AFL24 or Q3BUS24, depending on your state. The bonus:

    – $300 with a $5,000 deposit
    – $800 with a $30,000 deposit

    If you deposit the money on day 29 and withdraw on day 61, then you’ve only got the money tied up for 32 days and are still eligible for the bonus. You can’t have had an existing US Bank Business checking account in the last 12 months.

Apparently, today’s motto.

  1. US Bank has opened a waitlist for its annoyingly named Smartly Visa credit card. The card’s earning structure is 2%-4% cash back depending on your balance in an equally annoyingly named Smartly Savings account; you’ll need to keep $100,000 parked there for 4% earning.

    The annual fee is currently unspecified. (Thanks to LiftBroski)
  2. Southwest has a fast-track promotion to earn a two month Companion Pass. The requirements are:

    – Book two one-ways or one round-trip by tomorrow night
    – Fly both legs by November 20
    – Both legs must be paid flights, and existing bookings don’t count

    The promotional companion pass is valid between January 6 and March 6, 2025.
  3. Rakuten in-store offers has 1% back or 1 Membership Reward per dollar spent at Giant Food stores. As usual, once you use the promotion you’ve got to re-add it to your account after an hour, though any purchases in the first hour after use will continue to track.

    Apropos of nothing: Giant Food stores sell gift cards.
  4. AirFrance and KLM’s FlyingBlue program released its September promotional rewards. North American cities include Phoenix, Las Vegas, Washington DC, New York, Montreal, and Ottawa.
  5. Breeze Airways has 50% off of base fares with promo code BIGDEAL for travel between September 18 and May 13, 2025 booked by tomorrow night.

    What they’re not telling you is that the big deal isn’t as big as you’d think because they blocked out lots of days from the promotion, so don’t listen when they say “I’m kind of a big deal”. In fact, that’s just good general life advice. (Thanks to FM)

Happy Wednesday!

Sioux City takes a swing and a miss at Lubbock.

  1. Clear has an offer for a $75 Uber voucher with a new membership, using the same promo code as in August, BETTERTRAVEL75 through September 6.

    This remains one of the best ways to cash out AmEx Clear credits, especially because you don’t need to show up in airport to validate anything.
  2. Rakuten In-Store has:

    – 4% or 4x back on Lowes purchases
    – 1% or 1x back on Food Lion purchases

    Both offers are good for 75 days after adding, and have to be re-added to your account one hour after purchase, and both stores sell open loop gift cards too.
  3. Publix stores have $10 off of $150 or more in Visa or Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit one per transaction, and you must clip the digital coupon.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  4. American Express Membership Rewards has a 30% transfer bonus to Hilton Honors points through September 30, making the transfer ratio 1:2.6. Note that you’ve got to login to see the transfer bonus.

    If we value Honors points at 0.5 cents each, then, since America Loves Math™, value = 2.6 * 0.5 = 1.3 cents per Membership Reward. It’s pretty big I guess.
  5. American Express Membership Rewards also has a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways, Ibera, and Aer Lingus Avios through September 30.
  6. Thirteen Star Alliance airlines have a status match for SAS Eurobonus elite members, which may or may not work with matched status from last week.

    Star Gold is a sweet spot for elite status, since it gives access to United Clubs even when flying domestically, provided the status isn’t from United. (Thanks to Connor)

How is E.T. like today’s post, asked no-one?

  1. Do this now: Try and register for Hyatt’s targeted promotion for 5,000 bonus points for each 5 nights stayed in the next 90 days, up to 45,000 total bonus points.
  2. Do this now: Register for Marriott’s fall promotions:

    – 2,000 bonus points per 2+ night paid stay (+2,000 if it’s an MGM property)
    – 2,000 bonus points per 2+ night paid stay for Marriott credit card holders

    These stack, but honestly 4,000 bonus Marriott points is probably worth $20 at best so don’t go nuts.
  3. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300 or more in Visa gift cards through Saturday. For best results:

    – Buy in even multiples of $300
    – Link your cards to Dosh
    – Remember that the variable loads work too

    Just don’t be like me last week and try and load $500 on a $200 card. The register will take it, but I promise nothing good happens.
  4. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, the most sung of Unsung Heroes, has released new beginning of month offers, each is slightly complex because #extra. Each is good monthly for September, October, and November, and each will stack with other offers as applicable. We’ve seen:

    – $60 statement credit for a purchase $450+, good twice per month
    – $60 statement credit after six $75+ purchases
    – $50 statement credit for a purchase $375+, good twice per month

    I’ll be knocking this out with two $1,000 purchases at a grocery store to combine with outher outstanding credits. (Thanks to Brooke and birt)
  5. Rakuten has 15% back or 15x Membership Rewards on purchases at Dell, likely ending today. Use a friends referral if you don’t already have a Rakuten account, or use George at TBB’s otherwise.
  6. Avelo has $50 off of round-trip fares booked by Tuesday, for travel between September 17 and February 11, 2025 using promo code LABORDAY.

Pictured: The source of my instructions to load $500 onto a $15-200 variable load card.
(Thanks to IAD_Flyer for the picture)