Ethical Ways To Harvest Credit Card Reward Points?

[james.hendrickson]

I use an online broker called Loyal3 to buy stock commission free. Back in 2014 they stopped allowing people to purchase shares using a credit cards as a lot of people were churning - or buying the shares to get the points, then immediately selling them to recoup the cash.

So, what this has me wondering is: are there ethical strategies for harvesting credit card reward points?

Obviously you'd want the strategies to be scaleable and not harm anyone.

Thoughts?

[Singuy]

There's a secret hidden cult surrounding the tips and tricks of maximizing CC points. In fact there's a conference/secret meeting yearly in Vegas about it. Some of the schemes people use will blow your mind...but also very tedious. My co-worker is working a scheme that utilizes shell gas rewards from Winn-Dixie shopping center and buying money orders. It's pretty complex stuff but I guess it's worth it for him getting free gas.

[disneysteve]

I used to do something with my Discover card and a money market account but then they changed the cash advance fee which made it no longer worthwhile.

I've read about people churning by using a credit card to buy prepaid cards and then using those to pay off the credit card bill. The problem is that slowly but surely, the banks and card companies are catching on and changing policies to make it harder and harder to do those things.

I'm sure there are still loopholes to exploit, though. The problem is that as soon as a loophole becomes common knowledge, the banks work to close it.

[~bs]

the prepaid card method works. But you need a high enough cashback card to do it because prepaid cards carry a lot of fees. The lower the cash back the card, the less sense it makes to do it. And I've heard of instances where the card companies cut people off once they notice it's in abusive territory.

Assuming a 5% card
- buy prepaid cards from whatever category it may be, grocery store, gas station, etc. It'll register as that type of purchase.
- use the cards in lieu of using your normal cards while spending.
- OR close your prepaid card account and get a check.

I forget what actions generated the fees. It costs around $5 for the card itself, and maybe 1% fee to deposit the funds on it. I think each spending transaction also incurred a fee.

My card had a $1500 per quarter limit on the bonus category, which was gas stations. I ended up netting maybe $60? not sure. Only did it once before deciding it wasn't really worth my time.

[HundredK]

RadPad was doing a promotion so you could charge your rent to your cc fee-free for the rest of the year if you pay using Android Pay. Quite an opportunity, and the world took advantage. To the point that they had to end the promotion due to budget constraints. Crazy!

It's true, you might find a way to maximize points as a one or two time thing, but generally it isn't feasible for the banks to support that.

[disneysteve]

It's true, you might find a way to maximize points as a one or two time thing, but generally it isn't feasible for the banks to support that.

It's never feasible for the banks. You can usually only do it by taking advantage of a loophole before they catch up and close it.

[HundredK]

American Express (and I'm sure other banks) often has deals you can sign up for. Like, double points on all purchases from X place, things like that. I can log in at any given time and see slews of offers for point bonuses.

[GoodSteward]

The only sustainable offers are the normal monthly ones that are offered by major banks that are making a killing off people with high-interest balances and fees.