Category: MS Hints

1. The Point debit card has a new offer for 10x at Amazon, up to $500 in spend. Last time they ran this deal my +9x posted three days after the purchase, then another +2x posted to my account the day after that, probably because they always give 3x at Amazon and their system wasn’t coded to not do that with the 10x offer. Hopefully it happens again. Thanks to SideshowBob233 for the heads up.

If you don’t have Point already, find a referral for $250 or $100 because the non-referral sign-up bonus is a measly $10. I’d rather you get a referral from a friend because I’m not here to monetize you, but you can reach out to me if you can’t find someone that has it because I am here to help you. (My link is the $250 variety).

2. Prime Day, which really should be called “operation kersplode the entire internet with posts about trinkets for 2% off at Amazon Day”, has made a bunch of other retailers go into full-blown sale mode, which has pushed up BestBuy gift card demand like it was Q4. Yesterday I saw rates get as high as 96% with essentially an unlimited capacity, and I expect that today will be the same. If your gift card buyer isn’t within 1% of that number or so, I’d say it’s time to find a new gift card buyer.

I’ve had a few of you ask me how a 96% resale rate is worth your time, and the answer is: 1) grocery store rewards, 2), grocery store reward shenanigans, and 3) grocery store credit card bonuses. When you put the first two items together, that 96% can turn into 100-103%, and the third item should be at least 4x Membership Rewards or 5x Ultimate Rewards, but of course there are better spend bonuses beyond that like 10x with the American Express Platinum card. Also, another answer is sometimes the rate is 97-99%.

A tee shirt on a purple background that says: PRIME DAY SHIRT NOW ONLY $29.79!! was: $29.99
Amazon Prime day official company swag.

So, I started out with a Weekend Wisdom post but then got excited by item #1 when I found it on FlyerTalk, then I got excited that I found a useful piece of info on FlyerTalk for the first time in years, and then finally I felt like I had to throw a few other things along with it to fill out your weekend. Here’s my disconnected result:

1. Did you pound the Discover Q2 5% bonus at Warehouse Clubs? Yeah, neither did I. But, there’s a reason to step foot in a Sam’s Club again: $500 Vanilla Visa and Mastercard gift cards are coming back to Sam’s brick and mortar stores. The fee on these is $4.95, so an all around good deal. In case you’re not a Sam’s Club member, you can join for $45 and get a $45 Sam’s Club gift card either online or in store. If you do it online, go through a shopping portal — it may work.

2. Now let’s talk about easy minimum spend from home for a moment, especially given all this week’s American Express offers. Good options are: Plastiq, Bravo, and Fluz. With Bravo, you can do some archeology on older APK files and find a way to get the fee down to 2%, but it’s not for the feint of heart. With the right options on Fluz, you can approach 0%. On Plastiq, you’ll pay 2.85%, but you can be really creative with your targets to get your money right back in your pockets. There are other payment processors too; if/when you find one, try small charges on Visa, Mastercard, and American Express because often you’ll get different results with each.

Of course these aren’t the only at-home options. There are others that you’re no doubt passingly familiar with like gift card reselling, buyer’s clubs, Kiva, and online arbitrage (that last one is a ton of work though, but you can do really well if you’ve got the stomach for it).

3. Starter Bros locations in California are offering $10 off when you buy a $50 gift card and $10 in groceries. This might seem like a sleeper but you can scale it. Side note: Until very recently I just assumed Starter Bros was like AutoZone, O’Reilly Auto, or Pep Boys. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

This post posing as an electrical circuit.

1. If you sign up for a free Target RedCard debit card (no credit pull) by July 17, you’ll earn a $40 coupon off of a $40 purchase at Target. Is this deal churnable? I’m not sure yet. This pairs well with the NBA basketball cards that some of you are slinging. I haven’t touched the card resale market yet, but I know some are making five-figures before being banned by Target and spinning up a new account to start all over.

2. News has been trickling in about the Citi Custom Cash card for about a week. The latest developments are that you’ll soon be able to product change to this card from another card (for me, the AT&T Access card that I can’t convert to an AT&T Access More card no matter how hard I try), and now that Citi will give a $300 bonus after $1,000 spend through Thursday for opening the card in branch. The card is probably going to turn into a Miles Earn and Burn “Unsung Heroes” card in the future but we’ll need some real-life experience with it first. In theory it’s an easy-ish $300 cash back every year card with no-annual fee. Stay tuned.

3. Try this link or this link for a no-lifetime language American Express Business Platinum card with a 150,000 Membership Rewards sign up bonus after spending $15,000. Keep in mind that there are credible rumors that the annual fee on this card will jump to to $695 in July, so plan accordingly if the card is interesting to you. I would go for this card other than I’m already over the supposed American Express ten charge card limit with my eleven charge cards and I don’t want to push it any further because frankly American Express is just too valuable. I’ll be able to close some of them starting next month. Thanks to yt-nthr-rddtr for the links.

4. Cash.app is back with a 5% off offer for each online purchase at Sam’s Club from now until Thursday, limit $400 spend per day. I like these for getting Visa and Mastercard gift cards, just make sure you shop through a portal. Portals don’t always track gift card orders at Sam’s, but often they do. When the portals track, it makes this nice two-pointer layup deal more like a three-pointer deal. See how I can sportsball metaphor with the best of them?

My new shirt in Cash.app green, because reasons.

1. Chase Ink Business cards (Cash, Preferred, Unlimited, and Plus) have a targeted offer for 5x on Home Improvement Stores and Shipping, up to $10,000 spend per card. Visit chase.com/mybonus to see if you were targeted. My go-to for knocking this one out will be $500 Visa or Mastercards gift cards at Lowe’s. In case the generic page doesn’t work, you can try one of these specific ones which were pretty easily guessed:

Thanks to Reddit user TheSultan1 for the initial tip.

2. You probably know how I feel about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (it’s a decent card, but way over-hyped and probably not the best option out there for most of you). So, you know that if I’m writing about it it’s probably worth taking a look, and now there’s a twist that indeed makes it worth a look: If you apply in branch, the annual fee is waived for the first year and you still get the 100,000 Ultimate Rewards sign-up bonus after $4,000 spend. Of course make sure you don’t hold a Sapphire card currently, you haven’t had a Sapphire bonus in the last four years, and that you’re under 5/24. Or just go for an Ink Preferred 100,000 offer and skip most of the nonsense, though you will pay the $95 fee.

3. Chase green star offers are back. As a reminder, these offers bypass the usual 5/24 and prior bonus restrictions. To see if you’re targeted, log in to your Chase online account, click the hamburger menu icon (☰) in the upper left, click on “Just for you”, and look for offers that have a green star or black star icon.

Personally, Chase punked me with my only green star offer. Oh how I miss the US Bank / TD Buxx cards.

The great Chase punkage of June, 2021.

Unless you’ve been stranded on a desert island all weekend, then you’ve almost certainly heard about the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s 100,000 point sign up bonus because it pays affiliate bloggers a hefty commission when you open a card with their link, and in fairness it is indeed a historically high sign up bonus (my link is not an affiliate link, it’s not my style). Should you go for it? Maybe, but it’s definitely not the best thing that happened in travel hacking since AA retired its torture-tube E-140 fleet. A few things to consider about the card’s 100,000 points:

  • You’ll have to be under Chase’s 5/24 limit to even get the card, with or without a bonus
  • You can’t have earned a Sapphire sign-up bonus in the last 48 months
  • You can’t currently have a Sapphire product open
  • This is only 10,000 points more than the current usual 90,000 points offer, hardly something to write home about UPDATE: Harv notes that 80,000 points is the usual offer, thanks for the correction
  • The Chase Ink Preferred has a normal 100,000 point sign up bonus, and you can churn it — repeatedly

That last bullet is of particular note. You can get multiple Ink Preferred cards (even in the same week), they earn the exact same Ultimate Rewards, they don’t count against 5/24 when opened, you don’t have to worry about them showing up on your credit report, you get essentially the same benefits as the Sapphire Preferred, and they’re honestly pretty easy to get as far as Chase cards go. You can product change them to a no annual fee Ink Cash for 5x at office supply stores when the annual fee hits the second year too. Even better, Chase regularly targets business owners for 125,000 Ink Preferred sign up bonuses by mail or just for asking a banker in branch.

So, if you’re excited for the 100,000 point Sapphire Preferred bonus and it still fits given everything, by all means go for it but make sure you do the Chase Modified Double Dip which will earn you 160,000 points rather than getting the Sapphire Preferred 100,000 points by itself. Otherwise though, maybe consider opening an Ink Preferred or two instead.

Where you’d have to be to not have heard about the Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus.

It’s a good week to be hacking:

  • Get a free year of TripIt Pro and access to an $800 First Republic checking account bonus ($50,000 deposit, 90 day lifecycle) by signing up for a free year of Founders Card, which is a glorified coupon book for … people. They have other coupons of dubious value in case you want to poke around too. Sign up with code VIPTRIALRIUN12, and use a burnt out gift card or a virtual credit card number when you sign up so they can’t charge you in renewal fee in a year.

    For what it’s worth, I really like TripIt and use it weekly despite its old, clunky, IE6 era interface. Deal from Holly at DoC.

  • Check your Southwest Rapid Rewards profile page for a few great earnings bonuses. So far, I’ve seen or heard of:
    • 10,000 points toward the companion pass
    • 10,000 points toward elite status (A-List or A-List Preferred)
    • 3x bonus Rapid Rewards points one or more flights, depending on the offer
    • 2x bonus points on flights to and from Southwest hub cities (I saw Houston)
  • Plastiq is offering a widely targeted offer for $10 in gift cards for each $1,000 in payments sent, up to $3,000 in total spend. Look for an email with the subject “Earn up to $30 when you make a payment this month”. Hint: If this feels like a snoozer, honestly it’s actually not. Try a few things!

Hack away!

A black and white photo of a woman in overalls with an axe slung over her shoulder, smiling.
Getting ready to hack away at Plastiq.

Today’s triple is ordered by increasing difficulty — you know, for fun:

  • Link your Marriott account to your Emirates Skywards account to earn 1,500 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points. In case you don’t have an Emirates Skywards account like me, you can easily create one here.
  • Check CashApp for a 5% back on online orders at Sam’s Club boost, usable once per day for up to $400 in spend each day through Thursday. I’d buy a couple of Visa or Mastercard gift cards each time, and don’t forget to go through a shopping portal, which often tracks gift card purchases at Sam’s Club (though not always). If you don’t have CashApp, find a friend for an invite and you’ll earn $15 after sending another CashApp user five bucks.
  • Ting SIM cards with $30 credit are now $0.99 at BestBuy and $1.00 at Target. The Visible $100 Mastercard deal is still running strong, and reader Yun let me know that TopCashBack is currently at $40 for new bring your own phone plans with a port-in of an existing phone number, in addition to the $100 Mastercard that you’ll get from Visible after two months. Additional background is available here and here.

Those last two bullets will pair well together. If you don’t have CashApp, I guarantee someone out there that you know has it. Reach out, say hi, and get a referral. I reluctantly put a referral for Point in a post last week because it was the only way to get a good sign-up bonus, but I can’t bring myself to do it again this week, that’s not why I’m in this; so find a friend!

Shout out for another triple in the house.

Three month long spending bonuses on co-branded credit cards seems to have become a regular event at Chase. The current iteration started on Saturday and runs through August 15. Going to chase.com/mybonus used to be the easiest way to get registered; however in the current iteration that link won’t always show your bonus. Instead, you’ve got a much better chance of getting an offer by going to one of the following links, painstakingly compiled by JC, with a few minor edits and updates:

  • Amazon Prime Rewards Visa: 5% back on travel and gas purchases, up to $1,500 combined
  • Amazon Prime Visa: 5% back on travel and gas purchases, up to $1,500 combined
  • British Airways, Iberia, Air Lingus: 9x on Air Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Level purchases, and 5x on all other travel up to $1,500 combined
  • Disney Visa: 6% back on Disney purchases, 5% back on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Disney Premier Visa: 5% back on Disney purchases, 5% back on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Hyatt Visa: 8x on Hyatt purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • IHG Classic Visa: 6x on IHG purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • IHG Premier Visa: 14x on IHG purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Marriott Bonvoy Visa: 7x on Marriott purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bold Visa: 7x points on Marriott purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa: 10x points on Marriott purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Marriott Bonvoy Premier Visa: 9x points on Marriott purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Ritz Carlton Visa: 10x points on Marriott purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • United Club Visa link 1 or link 2: 8x or 6x points on United purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards (RR), RR Plus, RR Premier, RR Employee, RR priority Visa link 1, link 2, or link 3: 6x or 5x points on Southwest purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • United Explorer Visa: 6x on United purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • United Gateway Visa: 6x on United purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • United MileagePlus Explorer Visa link 1 or link 2: 6x or 5x points on United purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • United MileagePlus Select Visa: 7x points on United purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined
  • United Presidential Plus Visa: 6x points on United purchases, 5x on travel and gas purchases up to $1,500 combined

For the “travel and gas” category, personally I’d pick up $500 Vanilla Visa Gift Cards at 7-11, $500 SecureSpend Visas at Speedway, or $500 BestBuy gift cards at Speedway. For the United cards in particular, consider funding the United Travel Bank. Of course, there are other options — a hint for experts that I’d use with extreme caution only: refunds usually only refund at 1x.

Finally, why are there so many damn versions of Marriott cards between Chase and AmEx? I actually don’t really care to know, so don’t tell me.

A picture showing a fire bellowing out of the top of a tower on a Marriott hotel
Oh my god, we’re having a fire …. sale.