In sales, computing, and likely a dozen other disciplines, there are two commonly accepted types of scale:
Vertical, which means making a single thing do more
Horizontal, which means using more things to do more
A simple example for a rideshare business owner is: do you buy a school bus or more cars to move more people, and nearly as important, does your business earn 10x on a Sapphire Reserve?
In manufactured spend, scaling is possible in both ways:
Vertical MS: Open more cards, visit more grocery stores, run bigger charges
Horizontal MS: Using more accounts, usually with more players
There’s a third type of scale for manufactured spenders too, which is often a great way to make fintechs go further, and that’s what we’re going to call diagonal scale because reasons. Examples of diagonal scale:
Multiple players, each with multiple phones
Multiple players, each with 99 employee cards
Multiple players, each with multiple virtual assistants
Multiple players, each with multiple FinTech accounts
Multiple players, each of whom calls the CEO simultaneously, collectively known as a basket of Jimmys
For scale, always go diagonal, and remember, a bunch of diagonals = a plaid, and a plaid = a FinTech (we’ve gone full circle friends; now, we just need another square geometry joke or two. Oh wait, we definitely don’t need that.)
EDITORS NOTE: In 2024, I’ve introduced Guest Post Saturdays. Today’s guest post is from the witty, inspiring, and definitely-not-a-giga-chad irieriley.
If you’re like me, you likely didn’t set out in this hobby thinking you’d end up where you did. I was a backpacker when I started back in 2016, dreaming of free economy flights and upgrading from hostels to Hyatt Houses.
I did not think it would lead to hours spent probing fintechs, the rise and fall of the world’s greatest bodybuilding supplement company, and using developer tools to identify offer codes and account masking patterns.
Of course, there’s a lot of steps and shifts in perspective between seeing a TPG ad on TSA bins at LaGuardia and not giving a second thought to 99x Amex AU offers.
MEAB‘s wisdom posts contain a lot of thought provoking questions, but my all time favorite post is this one – concerning perception of dollar value, scaling your spending, and how things change as you go deeper down the rabbit hole.
To build on Matt’s original premise, I’d posit that the same perception shift occurs with redemption. For the sake of discussion, let’s look at the value of 150k Amex MRs – a sign-up bonus that anyone with a pulse can earn with a personal Platinum card.
Non redeemer: What are transferable points? I’m just a giga-Chad cashing out my points for Home Depot gift cards.
Beginning redeemer: Wow, $6k of spend in 3 months is a lot. But 150k points transferred to Delta Skymiles must be enough to get to the moonroundtrip to Europe in business class apparently, a one way basic economy award to Lubbock.
Intermediate redeemer: Look at those fools wasting their points on gift cards and transfers to domestic carriers – I got 30cpp by transferring to ANA and booking last minute one way J flights to Japan.
Advanced redeemer: Things have come full circle – I have so many points that I will never be able to redeem them all for travel. I’ll book my travel a year out, and I’ll cash out the rest. 150k MRs = $1,650 with a Schwab Plat or ~$1,950 depending on my bargaining skills.
Pictured: A local business owner/giga-Chad on his way to Home Depot to convert the spoils of $7m of Amex spending into a patio furniture set.
Depending on your situation, each viewpoint can make sense. However, I’d imagine most MEAB readers fall into the final segment.
And in a community that is largely a perfectly aligned Venn diagram with other optimizer communities like FIRE, cash is king, especially when you hit the inflection point where your ability to earn wildly outpaces your ability to burn.
I was talking to my P2 (and fellow Waldorf Pedregal enthusiast) about how poorly I had strategized earning and redeeming early on, and she provided some much needed perspective on the whole thing when actually looking back at those first redemptions.
Some of our first cards and subsequent redemptions:
Citi AA Platinum pre-derAAilment – SUB used to fly AA Y to Europe, where we attended music festivals and yacht cruised as backpackers
Chase Southwest chasing Companion Pass – used to book Y flights to the Caribbean, where we got engaged
Capital One Venture – I hit the SUB on the engagement ring, and used the cashback to erase the insane VS surcharges on our first J redemption for our honeymoon
Pictured: Mr. and Mrs. irieriley in 2017 enjoying the spoils of their very first award redemption
While the strategy was akin to SideShowBob233 stepping on a rake over and over again, those first few forays into earning and burning provided more to enrich P2 and I’s lives than another $2,000 into VTI ever will.
I think it’s ok to occasionally zoom out of doing finger math to avoid looking like a kiter or mourning your Paypal burner to remember why you started this hobby in the first place, and it’s very unlikely that you started because you wanted what sometimes feels like a second job. Instead, you wanted a way to take a trip for free, or some extra cash for bills.
Pictured: MSers determining whether they’re clear to pull back into their hub account
If there’s anything the last 4 years have taught us, it’s that life is short. This is a friendly reminder that points can be used for something besides booking T-355 Qsuites, cashing out or selling – they’re also a tool for engineering unique experiences for you, your friends, and your family.
Personally, I’m blowing the Chase Sapphire Reserve grocery cash out equivalent of $1,700 of URs to spend 3 nights at a Hyatt SLH 20 miles from my home. A year ago, that would have really pained me. It still does, a bit. But hey, the Hamptons in summer is otherwise too rich for my blood – may as well enjoy it before this particular hotel joins Hilton and becomes 95k120k 150k HH/nt. And we’re definitely not going because P2 wants to be in the background of Summer House.
And yes, even for those who don’t travel and are firmly #teamcashback. Don’t forget to use your proceeds to treat yourself or a loved one every once in a while. Even if it’s just a boba during a money order run.
– irieriley
Pictured: In keeping with the Simpsons motif, a fitting desk decoration for a MSer deep in the weeds of earning looking for some perspective
As we’ve discussed in the past, the holidays present a rare opportunity for manufactured spend because:
It’s normal to buy lots of gift cards during the holidays
Opening new credit lines is passé, perhaps even normal
Some cashiers are care-free when you’re wearing a turkey or Santa hat
Stores are busy, so cashiers have more to worry about than a gift card at self check out
The holidays also typically mean plenty of gift cards go on sale at relatively steep discounts, hot merchandise commands a huge resale value, and plenty of stock everywhere.
If you’re playing the third party or gift card resale game, you’ll need buyers, naturally. The best rates will come from sourcing buyers directly, but there’s also plenty of value in letting a specialized broker take a cut of your spoils, also known as the Homer garbage man philosophy: “can’t someone else do it?“
So, let’s talk about some generally well respected goods and gift card buyers, in randomized order. Note: I’m not endorsing any of these buyers, but generally speaking I’ve had a good experience with all of them. Please do your own research and make sure you’re comfortable before engaging. Sometimes things go wrong. My general advice applies: Never float more than you can stand to lose if everything goes pear-shaped.
Manufactured spend typically does strange things to your perception of dollar values. Let’s illustrate through some made-up internal monologues with corresponding made up numbers that you may encounter along your journey to mastery:
[Newbie]: $3,000 over three months for a sign-up bonus? *Overwhelmed* That’s a lot!
[Intermediate]: $15,000 for a Business Platinum over three months? Shouldn’t be an issue
[Advanced]: $50,000 for a Capital One Business card sign-up bonus? I can do that this week
[Whale]: $100,000 a day, every day for a month? 🤏
Basically as you advance, bigger numbers don’t look so big; a $35,000 ACH into your bank account looks like just another boring Wednesday.
The Deep Freeze
Of course it’s all fun and games when profits go up and point balances explode, but something tends to happen to people that operate somewhere in the advanced – whale spectrum:
When one of these events happens, you may find your $35,000 ACH held for up to six months, and your perception of the dollar amount will probably come crashing back to reality, like Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne mission.
The Takeaway
Alright, let’s get to the concrete, actionable content for the day:
Make sure you’ve got a plan in place for if and when your exploits come to a screeching halt, and don’t ever put yourself into a position where a freeze of accounts at a particular bank or issuer will ruin you financially. Some common insurance policies for big spenders: Untapped HELOCs, margin loans at brokerages, balance transfer checks, manufactured float, and cash reserves.
Happy Wednesday!
Elizabeth Holmes says “🤏”, and she turned out ok, right?
The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, an original MEAB Unsung Hero, now allows for points redemption to Visa e-gift cards at the same redemption rate as other gift cards, making this the new best points cash-out option and making the card even more valuable.
Lowe’s has an in-store promotion for a $15 Lowe’s gift card with the purchase of a $200 Mastercard gift card. The Mastercards are Pathward and have an activation fee of $5.95 to $7.95 depending on the variety, and the resale rates on the Lowe’s card are between 82% and 84% making this a profitable deal without considering credit card rewards.
There’s a limit of two per $15 Lowe’s cards per email address, but someone told me it’s possible to get more than one email address. I know, sounds weird right?
The action item on this one? Start thinking up new names for the Bilt rewards program and share them around your circles. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.
You’d better sit down for this, because I think you’re going to be blown away, err, wait. The opposite actually:
Staples will be selling fee free $200 Visa gift cards in-store starting Sunday and running through the following Saturday, limit eight per transaction. As usual, try for multiple transactions back-to-back to minimize the time spent in a 12,000 square foot store manned by two employees, one of whom is in the back room watching TikTok.
American Express’s Delta co-brand cards have increased sign up bonuses:
– Personal Gold: 75,000 SkyMiles after $2,000 spend in six months – Personal Platinum: 75,000 SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM after $5,000 spend in six months – Personal Reserve: 100,000 SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM after $5,000 spend in six months
AmEx used their random number generator with these offers so if you don’t see them, switch browsers, go incognito, connect to a VPN, try mobile, yell at Richard Kerr between lawsuits, or something similar until you do see them. (Thanks to rep-swe)
Have a nice weekend!
The real surprise isn’t Staples, it’s what’s at the bottom of the slide.
– 10% back in statement credits on $700-$800 in spend at restaurants, grocery, or gas
This offer is good once a month for January, February, and March, so $240 over three months for the math challenged. Check for the subject: “[Name], activate your limited-time offer now for sweet rewards!”
Reddit and Doctor of Credit are going nuts about some supposedly new Dell rules about order limits and myriad theories about what they mean. There’s quite a bit of alleged truthy information and mis-information floating in both places, so let’s talk about the rules as I understand without speculation. (These rules have been around since at least January 2022):
– Any more than five orders in the last six months will get you tagged as a reseller – The time limits are rolling – If you order five items in a single order, that still counts as a single order – Cancelled digital orders do count against the limit, physical goods orders don’t – Just because you’re tagged as a reseller doesn’t mean your orders will be cancelled, but there’s a much higher likelihood of cancel if so
Maybe it’s not as well known as I thought, but you can have multiple Dell accounts to side-skirt these limits, and the order limitations are on a per-account basis as long as you’re not flagged as a reseller. If you get flagged as a reseller, then all accounts at your address have the combined order limit, and possibly further restrictions like the inability to order digital goods. You can get the reseller flag cleared, but it’s extremely ymmv even if you talk to the right department and person, and you’ve got to get it cleared on all accounts at your address to boot.
– Sapphire Reserve: Grocery, gas, and annual fee at 1.25 cents per point – Sapphire Preferred: 1 cent per point for nearly all categories – Ink Business Preferred: Internet, cable, cell phones, and shipping at 1.25 cents per point – Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited: Internet, cable, cell phones, and shipping at 1.10 cents per point
Most of these cards get an extra 0.25 cents per point at select charities too. (Currently I can’t find an official list of the select charities on Chase’s website, though there are random lists on the internet which are likely correct.)
Happy 2023!
The official motto of Reddit’s Dell rules threat on January 1, 2023.
– Open another round of Bank of America cards as soon as possible – Make sure your credit lines are paid off by November 3rd – Set aside time on November 5th to maximize your earnings – Bypass the Preferred Rewards 90 day waiting period by opening a business account in branch and asking to be part of the program
And some related but general advice prosthelytized by Sam and Robert at Milenomics: You should always be ready with a basic game plan for when a big event like this lands so you can spring into action.
Kroger online has $10 off of $150 or more in Visa or Mastercard gift cards through Tuesday with promo code OCT2022, and you’ll earn fuel points to boot. While Kroger offers better cards in-store, the online variety is Metabank. (Thanks to GC Galore)
Any guesses about what the next link will look like? Yeah, me neither.
Check your American Express offers for $50 off of $100 or more at Dell for purchases through October 20. You can stack this with another offer for 10% back, and with the Business Platinum’s $200 credit for a net of $275 in spend.
As of this writing Dell is also 10x at Rakuten, meaning you’ll get 2,750 Membership Rewards or $27.50 cash back on top of the credits.
The Chase Ink Premier card is now available for online applications. The sign-up bonus is $1,000 after $10,000 spend in three months, and the annual fee is $195. The card earns:
– 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more – 2.0% cash back otherwise
Simon.com/volume has 72% off of purchase fees on Visa and Mastercard gift cards. The usual warnings with these: these are Metabanks, American Express won’t award cash back or points for Simon transactions, and never feed the mogwai after midnight.
For some reason my computer isn’t giving good results when I try and compute the pattern of Pay-over-Time links.
