Another CC card offer I actually went for

[GTFan]

General comment, I'm always impressed by the new angles members here come up with to work the system.

You want to really work the system, research manufactured spending with the Wells Fargo unlimited 5% cash back on gas/grocery/drug store purchases for 6 months credit card.

Quick summary - buy Visa gift cards at drugstores (which are really debit cards with PINs) and then cash them out in various ways like money orders, bill pays at certain places, loading to certain prepaid cards and then doing bill pays etc. You pay off the card by liquidating the GCs and earn a net 4% on thousands of dollars in spending every month.

Tons of free money, but does require some effort (and a little risk). And I'm totally not going to get into the ins/outs of it here, but for savvy ERs with free time looking for some play money it's a fairly easy way to make a lot of it.

 

[Gone4Good]

You want to really work the system, research manufactured spending . . .

Does this still work? I heard that most of the card companies have cracked down on this particular technique.

And the folks who do this kind of stuff aren't going after the small 1-2% cash back rewards on purchases. They're targeting credit card sign-up bonuses that are worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars a pop but often require several thousand dollars of charges on the card to qualify.

Most folks don't spend enough on their own to qualify for signing bonuses on tons of cards so they "manufacture" spending in the way you describe.

 

[audreyh1]

Guess I'm in the minority here regarding BOA. We have used BOA/Merrill Edge for decades with no problems. Until yesterday however we never used BOA for credit cards. The other exception is with our stashed savings where we chase yield, but we always set up on line transfers so no biggie. So we have been enrolled in the Platinum Preferred Rewards program in order to take advantage of the freebies such as account maintenance fee waiver and free trades. I never paid attention to the 75% reward increase for CC's so thanks to the OP for starting this thread. dde0d We will now get 2.65% rewards and no annual fee and no FTF. Bye bye Capitol One. Can't beat that. And I set up an additional Rollover IRA yesterday and will transfer $200,000 from my TRowe Price Solo 401K into it today for the $1,000 bonus in 6 months. I'll then merge that account with my old BOA IRA after 6 months and was told I could easily do that by phone. I'll do the same thing next year and the year after for a total of $3,000 in bonus'. A win win.

As regards the universal bad reputation of BOA for customer service, we've never experienced this. We pay them zero in fees every year, love their on line platform which shows all accounts including both BOA and Merrill Edge accounts as well as my business accounts. I love the bill pay platform, free intuit payroll service including free generation of W-2's and all federal and state filing of employer forms and also like the Merrill Edge Research tools and online trading platform. I am one rare happy customer.

We've also been a BofA customer for a long time. I read about the horrible customer service, but that hasn't been our experience in person or over the phone. We are very careful to avoid fees, however.

They did a great job with the online bill pay early on, and it is still really good.

We don't use their ATM cards overseas because the fees are higher for foreign transactions. We've opened other accounts for cash overseas and for ATM fee reimbursement (Schwab, Fidelity). I'm more comfortable having a separate bank account for cash withdrawals when traveling anyway, as if something goes wrong, my principal checking account is out of the loop.

Our checking is free, and we get the free checks (one glitch which was readily handled at a small local branch).

The credit cards are good, have great online features like travel notification and tons of alerts. They are strict with foreign purchases, but I know how to work with them to make sure a foreign charge goes through.

Don't know if I'll take the Merrill Edge step, as that's might be a lot of trouble for an additional 1%. If their CDs were more competitive, I'd consider that route, but the rates currently offered on CDs and savings accounts are pathetic - almost 0!

 

[2017ish]

Guess I'm in the minority here regarding BOA. We have used BOA/Merrill Edge for decades with no problems. ...

As regards the universal bad reputation of BOA for customer service, we've never experienced this. We pay them zero in fees every year, love their on line platform which shows all accounts including both BOA and Merrill Edge accounts .... I love the bill pay platform.... I am one rare happy customer.

We are in the same camp as you; happy BoA customers for over ten years with our needs met by the online platform, mobile deposits, and the like. But, the fee structure (like at many financial institutions) may not be attractive for all--especially those just starting out, to whom being "platinum preferred" is a pipe dream. (and it would be nice if they still offered medallion signature guarantees!)

 

[Fedup]

I put a lot of stuff that I normally paid cash or online on my credit cards like insurance, cable fee, Verizon. They all add up, surprisingly. I don't spend any more than I normally do.


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[Chuckanut]

I put a lot of stuff that I normally paid cash or online on my credit cards like insurance, cable fee, Verizon. They all add up, surprisingly. I don't spend any more than I normally do.

I think most of us do that. Though I still have a niggling voice in my ear telling me that in the long run I am running up costs that I will eventually end up paying.

OTOH, the stores must have some increase in efficiency in handling quick CC transactions, rather than taking in cash and making change. And they can avoid much of the counting and record keeping that is done to prevent theft and mistakes with cash. And, of course, they avoid the delays that occur with the people who write checks. Then, again, maybe not.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We don't use their ATM cards overseas because the fees are higher for foreign transactions. We've opened other accounts for cash overseas and for ATM fee reimbursement (Schwab, Fidelity). I'm more comfortable having a separate bank account for cash withdrawals when traveling anyway, as if something goes wrong, my principal checking account is out of the loop.

We use a Capitol One Checking Account for foreign travel with no foreign transaction charges and no ATM fees as long as using machines in the ALLpoint system. We transfer a limited amount into that account before each trip and can always transfer more money in via on line linking if needed.

 

[GreenER]

Thanks for the tip Lsbcal! I opened the B of A card today and was able to get the free temporary lift on my credit freeze. We have a larger purchase coming up this month and that will take care of the required $1000 purchase in order to get the $200 worth of points. They told me that the free lift of the freeze would last for 72 house, so I also applied today for the Fidelity 2% card I'd been wanting to open. Once the dust settles we will use the B of A for foreign travel to take advantage of it's no foreign transaction feature. We will then cancel the Chase Sapphire to ditch the annual fee. We will plan on using Fidelity for most other purchases and continue to use Chase Freedom when their quarterly category applies. We do use an Amazon card for Amazon purchases. Now we just need to find cards that pay better than 2% on gas and groceries on a year round basis!

 

[Fedup]

I think most of us do that. Though I still have a niggling voice in my ear telling me that in the long run I am running up costs that I will eventually end up paying.

OTOH, the stores must have some increase in efficiency in handling quick CC transactions, rather than taking in cash and making change. And they can avoid much of the counting and record keeping that is done to prevent theft and mistakes with cash. And, of course, they avoid the delays that occur with the people who write checks. Then, again, maybe not.

I checked receipts when I paid using credit cards. Some restaurants tend to over charge. I caught a few once. I make sure they give me the itemized list so I can check. Some don't.


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[misanman]

I just submitted the online application for the Fidelity 2% Visa but I have a freeze in effect at all three agencies. I'm assuming that Elan will contact me when they can't access my credit info and then I would be able to temporarily unfreeze whichever credit bureau they are using. Is this a fair assumption?

 

[Amethyst]

I wonder about this too. You'd think contractors would welcome credit cards, so they don't have to worry about bad checks. Nevertheless, every contractor we've dealt with (ten of them in the past 5 years) prefers to be paid by check. Otherwise, they charge a 3 or 4% service charge to cover the card company's fees. Don't the stores pay fees, too?

OTOH, the stores must have some increase in efficiency in handling quick CC transactions, rather than taking in cash and making change. And they can avoid much of the counting and record keeping that is done to prevent theft and mistakes with cash. And, of course, they avoid the delays that occur with the people who write checks. Then, again, maybe not.

 

[Golden sunsets]

The credit cards are good, have great online features like travel notification and tons of alerts. They are strict with foreign purchases, but I know how to work with them to make sure a foreign charge goes through.

Audrey. You say they are strict with foreign purchases, but you know how to work with them to make sure the charges go through. Would you elaborate? Do you have to do more than notify them that you will be abroad and the dates?

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey. You say they are strict with foreign purchases, but you know how to work with them to make sure the charges go through. Would you elaborate? Do you have to do more than notify them that you will be abroad and the dates?

Yes I do.

If you give them a travel notification including all country details before going overseas - you can actually do this online - things should be fine during your trip. I've rarely had trouble once overseas.

But if you need to make a foreign purchase before you leave like train tickets, tour deposits, pre-paid whatever, you will probably have to call them (the fraud department) to alert them about a charge coming through. The more specific you can be, the better.

One not so large foreign charge might be OK, but when it gets to number 3, things will likely be shut down until you talk to them by phone. It just gets a bit tricky when you're not yet traveling.

I had to call several times last year. I had a few train tickets to buy, and I'd already made a couple of deposits. I got blocked a couple of times and called their fraud department to get it to go through. I called again to notify them of a large charge expected from Europe and gave the details of exactly when it should occur, the amount. That worked OK.

Just be prepared....

 

[nwsteve]

Yes I do.

If you give them a travel notification including all country details before going overseas - you can actually do this online - things should be fine during your trip. I've rarely had trouble once overseas.

But if you need to make a foreign purchase before you leave like train tickets, tour deposits, pre-paid whatever, you will probably have to call them (the fraud department) to alert them about a charge coming through. The more specific you can be, the better.

One not so large foreign charge might be OK, but when it gets to number 3, things will likely be shut down until you talk to them by phone. It just gets a bit tricky when you're not yet traveling.

I had to call several times last year. I had a few train tickets to buy, and I'd already made a couple of deposits. I got blocked a couple of times and called their fraud department to get it to go through. I called again to notify them of a large charge expected from Europe and gave the details of exactly when it should occur, the amount. That worked OK.

Just be prepared....

Ditto
We just got back from spending Feb in greater Australia. To get hotels and flights for our trip--Sydney-Canberra-Tasmania-Melbourne-Adelaide, we had to make a number of reservations in advance. Called Chase ahead of time, and let them know of trip and charges coming through. I called again before we did our airfare on AirNZ since that was not going to be in Australia to be sure the purchase would process. No problems with any of them and I had a card hack half way through the process. To Chase's credit, they connected all the advisories to the new number.
Nwsteve

 

[GreenER]

I just submitted the online application for the Fidelity 2% Visa but I have a freeze in effect at all three agencies. I'm assuming that Elan will contact me when they can't access my credit info and then I would be able to temporarily unfreeze whichever credit bureau they are using. Is this a fair assumption?

It was the B of A offer that had the free unfreeze of Trans Union. I decided to apply for the Fidelity card immediately thereafter hoping they would just use Trans Union too since I also had all three frozen. I would think Fidelity will contact you and let you know which credit rating company they want you to unfreeze. In my state you have to pay to unfreeze each account and that's why I jumped on the free unfreezing of Trans Union offered by B of A and then decided to try to get the Fidelity card through at the same time. Also trying to beef up my arsenal in my last year of employment. Two tasty birds with one free stone is hard to beat.

 

[Lsbcal]

I just submitted the online application for the Fidelity 2% Visa but I have a freeze in effect at all three agencies. I'm assuming that Elan will contact me when they can't access my credit info and then I would be able to temporarily unfreeze whichever credit bureau they are using. Is this a fair assumption?

I talked with an Elan rep before and he told me they use 1 of the 3 credit bureaus at random. Did not give me a warm feeling that I'd get through the process without some hassle. So I just did nothing.

Maybe you'll be lucky or they'll tell you to reapply until you hit the right one. What a way to do business.

 

[Sunset]

I wonder about this too. You'd think contractors would welcome credit cards, so they don't have to worry about bad checks. Nevertheless, every contractor we've dealt with (ten of them in the past 5 years) prefers to be paid by check. Otherwise, they charge a 3 or 4% service charge to cover the card company's fees. Don't the stores pay fees, too?

The fees are around 2 -> 2.5% unless you are really big.

I think contractors want check/cash because once a check is deposited, you cannot dispute the charge.
They probably charge the 3 or 4% service charge as they want to discourage you, or they will use a 3rd party to run the charge and give them the money.

Contractors are not like stores that have to worry about dozens of employees stealing the money during the processes of collecting, counting, moving, depositing, etc.
Often with contractors its the owner/boss that gets the payment, not the workers, so why trade away 2% for the security that's not needed.