The Credit Card Rewards Game

Roadwarrior

Roadwarrior

Member
A couple years ago I got into a somewhat heated discussion on this here 'Financial' thread, my argument was about the rewards game that is played out in the personal credit markets. I was against the concept of the managing of the rewards, credits, payments & gotchas that seniors could expect from playing that game. My point was the bookkeeping headache some - not all seniors would have trying to keep their head above water in that ocean. I apologize since I now have embraced the credit card game wholeheartedly.

I converted my 3 cards to reward cards, setup a personal budget on my spreadsheet program & jumped in with both feet. I like to think I'm capable with most of my faculties to play such a game. Paying off the cards monthly, knowing how to manipulate the balances so they are low but not paid off at credit bureau reporting time. Not paying interest, using the cards to pay things you have to meet monthly, utilities, groceries, dining out,,,etc. How to maximize your charges so you get all the discounts available & also double dipping with the rewards.

I've been doing this since June '17 I would redeem my rewards monthly, pay off the card but knowing I needed up to a 10% balance to maximize my scores. I converted, actually opened a new card with an old issuer in Jan '18 that had a $150 sign up bonus after I had charged $500 before 3 months, easy to do. Got the rewards, my total this year so far is $265 back. I also have a loyalty card with a national grocery chain store, that discount for membership again maximizing my return.

I still try to play the 'cash' card whenever able if they refuse out comes my best card. I'm not paying for someone's 2.5% charge. I have an Amazon Store card with a 5% cash back, since I order a lot of things from them I do watch & compare shop, driving miles out of my way to save a buck. It even gave me a $5 discount on my $99 membership fee. Knowing that this is a game that the providers hope I fail at adds a little excitement. Kind of like the games (not to be confused with the table or slot games) played out in Las Vegas casinos, another game I play to the maximum. Free rooms, comped meals, even gas to drive there. Now if I can figure out how the eliminated the hotel fees I win.

I guess if you figure out the hourly wage it wouldn't make you rich, I have no other hobbies that I can spend thousands on to make hundreds. It is fun as long as I'm on the winning side. I have setup an on line bank account that pays a decent (Hah!) savings rate to manage all my card balances & monthly payments, hope my wife can figure it all out when I pass.
 

I use my Kroger MC for all my insurance pmts as I enjoy getting the check every now and then. I pay the card in full each month. I had a $30.00 check I used today to buy groceries. I am not into it as much as you are but I only have a credit card if it has cash rewards. Another one I have I arranged for them to credit the account with the cash rewards.
 
Discover card is sneaky about maximizing their rewards. You got extra reward percentages at certain stores, but only during certain periods, and you had to log in and apply for it every time. Capital One started competing. Same rate all the time, slightly higher than standard Discover. Now Discover almost begs you to apply for their extra rates. It's funny. I've almost quit using Discover now. Too sneaky.
 

NancyNGA said:
Discover card is sneaky about maximizing their rewards. You got extra reward percentages at certain stores, but only during certain periods, and you had to log in and apply for it every time. Capital One started competing. Same rate all the time, slightly higher than standard Discover. Now Discover almost begs you to apply for their extra rates. It's funny. I've almost quit using Discover now. Too sneaky.
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I don't have a lot of friends to text with so to keep my eyes glued to the little smart phone constantly I've downloaded & installed all the apps available for my rewards cards. Check my bank balance, check all my credit card balances, check my emails, I don't even have to play 'Freecell' to keep my eyes constantly checking. I've even allowed my wife to do all the driving so I can stay current with my finances.

Well off to the dentist be back later, hope he has wifi my data plan is getting low.
 
NancyNGA said:
Discover card is sneaky about maximizing their rewards. You got extra reward percentages at certain stores, but only during certain periods, and you had to log in and apply for it every time. Capital One started competing. Same rate all the time, slightly higher than standard Discover. Now Discover almost begs you to apply for their extra rates. It's funny. I've almost quit using Discover now. Too sneaky.
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I seldom use my Discover Card, but I like the perks of the free credit score and their other ID security like free "dark web" scans. :D

For most purchases we use our Amazon Visa and get the rebates in Amazon "rewards."
 
Back from dentist, emergency extraction involved grinding bone away from the root, 2 options simple (NOT!) $180, surgery (YEP!) $290 with 10% discount for full payment plus xray exam ($49) paid $310 but I paid with my 3% rebate card, saved a whopping $9 on that bill.

C'est Moi said:
I seldom use my Discover Card, but I like the perks of the free credit score and their other ID security like free "dark web" scans. :D

For most purchases we use our Amazon Visa and get the rebates in Amazon "rewards."
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I observed that some retailers don't accept Discover most do but some don't. Never applied for one. Opt out many years ago to selling my score to the credit card issuers. Option has never come up. 3 is enough to generate debt.
 
We have been using our Discover card for years and appreciate their keeping an eye on our account when there's fraudulent activity, which happened a little over a year ago. I'm vigilant about looking at our CC accounts (only have 2) and our banking so when Discover called us and said they suspected fraudulent activity and would we please contact them. I called them right away and, long story short, there was over $5000 worth of merchandise charged to our card. They were quick about checking these charges, canceling our card and issuing a new one. Within a couple weeks, all the charges were taken care of and it did not jeopardize our credit rating. I don't know if other CC company's are as conscientious as they were but we really appreciated it.
 
Glad you've seen the light Roadwarrier. I've long been a proponent of and "preach" the tactic of making money with your credit cards. Within the last year and a half, I've gotten $400 in cash back reward card sign up bonuses (just 2 cards) in addition to my rewards for charging things.

I charge every possible thing on my cards. Exception: our carrying charges (CC...co-op speak for HOAs) because the system is not set up for credit card payments and our utility bill because they charge a $5 fee for using a credit card.

I have been doing this for years and I'm pretty sure I've gotten back $5,000 or more in cash back rewards. In 2017 I got back $677. Lets face it...you don't get that kind of money for writing checks and that money pays for at least one month of CCs and groceries. I pay off my balances in full each and every month no matter how high because paying interest eats into the rewards (plus Muslims are not supposed to pay nor charge interest anyway).

I usually take my rewards during the months I don't get a pension check, which is 4 times a year (I get two checks each of the preceding months). I've tried to encourage anti-credit card friends to get reward cards and follow my method but people do what they want to do.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Glad you've seen the light Roadwarrier. I've long been a proponent of and "preach" the tactic of making money with your credit cards. Within the last year and a half, I've gotten $400 in cash back reward card sign up bonuses (just 2 cards) in addition to my rewards for charging things. I charge every possible thing on my cards. Exception: our carrying charges (CC...co-op speak for HOAs) because the system is not set up for credit card payments and our utility bill because they charge a $5 fee for using a credit card. I have been doing this for years and I'm pretty sure I've gotten back $5,000 or more in cash back rewards. In 2017 I got back $677. Lets face it...you don't get that kind of money for writing checks and that money pays for at least one month of CCs and groceries. I pay off my balances in full each and every month no matter how high because paying interest eats into the rewards (plus Muslims are not supposed to pay nor charge interest anyway). I usually take my rewards during the months I don't get a pension check, which is 4 times a year (I get two checks each of the preceding months). I've tried to encourage anti-credit card friends to get reward cards and follow my method but people do what they want to do.
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How does it work that you got $400 in cash back reward sign up bonuses?? I'm confused...did you get new cards? Explain please...I'd like to get more money back, too...haha :)
 
Colleen said:
How does it work that you got $400 in cash back reward sign up bonuses?? I'm confused...did you get new cards? Explain please...I'd like to get more money back, too...haha :)
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Hi Colleen: Yes, I got new cards. I cancelled one of my old ones that I wasn't using first (not that you have to do that). One was a TD Bank Visa which paid $250 after I spent $1,500 in three months (not that hard for me to do). The other was American Express Blue which offered $150 after spending $500 in three months, definitely easy for me. I noticed that the pre-approved offers I received for both paid different amounts than the offers shown online so do your research and check several reward cards to see what's offered. All of mine are cash back reward cards, not bonus miles type cards.

As long as your FICO score isn't affected by signing up for new cards...go for it as many times as you can get away with. Someone on this forum had written months ago that her husband does that and it's what opened me up to taking a serious look at those pre-approved offers. I had my credit frozen a few years back because twice people tried using my card number for purchases (each time...one was very small and another was hundreds). It happened with two different banks' cards and each time the banks caught it. So I have to unfreeze my credit for X number of days every time I apply for a new card ($5 fee). I'm leery about unfreezing for too many days otherwise I'd probably take more of the offers. I never use the TD card so I'm ready to cancel that and try find another bonus offer. :D Good luck!
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Hi Colleen: Yes, I got new cards. I cancelled one of my old ones that I wasn't using first (not that you have to do that). One was a TD Bank Visa which paid $250 after I spent $1,500 in three months (not that hard for me to do). The other was American Express Blue which offered $150 after spending $500 in three months, definitely easy for me. I noticed that the pre-approved offers I received for both paid different amounts than the offers shown online so do your research and check several reward cards to see what's offered. All of mine are cash back reward cards, not bonus miles type cards.
As long as your FICO score isn't affected by signing up for new cards...go for it as many times as you can get away with. Someone on this forum had written months ago that her husband does that and it's what opened me up to taking a serious look at those pre-approved offers. I had my credit frozen a few years back because twice people tried using my card number for purchases (each time...one was very small and another was hundreds). It happened with two different banks' cards and each time the banks caught it. So I have to unfreeze my credit for X number of days every time I apply for a new card ($5 fee). I'm leery about unfreezing for too many days otherwise I'd probably take more of the offers. I never use the TD card so I'm ready to cancel that and try find another bonus offer. :D Good luck!
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Hmmm.....I am going to do some research on cards! My husband is "old-school" and has had a certain card for many years, but he never uses it and I don't think it gives any kind of rewards. It's not easy teaching an "old dog" new tricks...haha. I'm sure if he saw cash back he'd be more than willing to change.

I don't think I'm utilizing my reward card, which is Amazon Chase, to it's full advantage. I don't use my card for anything other than Amazon purchases. Hubby has never liked Chase so I limit my purchases with them.

How do you keep your credit score from being affected by opening new cards??? Boy....I've got a lot to learn :)
 
RoadWarrior; I applaud you that you were open minded and honest enough to do some research and change your mind.

I've been doing credit card rewards for years. And with multiple cards. I keep track of which card gives the best rewards on different things like; amazon, gas, restaurants, groceries, dept. stores... And I have a card that gives 2% on everything, that I use for everything else.
I put a label (via a label maker) on each card for what to use it for. And yes, I need to change the label on the discover card every quarter.
One lesson I learned, is that buying groceries at WalMart doesn't get the grocery discount (it's not a grocery store).
I always pay ea bill in full. Actually, I round up to the next even dollar amount (it makes in fast n easy to enter them into my check register spreadsheet).
 
I wasn't aware that using a credit card with a cash back incentive was a game. Not paying interest on purchases since I pay the balance no matter what it is makes it possible to earn interest on the money to be used during the payment period. Buying something that is on sale & getting cash back has worked since we began. My wife wanted a smaller car so we charged the $19,000.00. The cash back on that of course will be used to other buy her "stuff" she needs. Not unusual to get several hundred dollars back every year. Sure beats using a check or paying cash with no return on money spent.
 
Knight said:
I wasn't aware that using a credit card with a cash back incentive was a game.
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I didn't coin the phrase 'Credit card rewards game' I'm not sure who named it first. I watched a documentary about the game on PBS. Very interesting, informative & full of ways the game is won by the issuers. I became a non-believer when I was clawing my way out of debt years ago. I had played the game wrong. Lost a lot of money through interest payments & fees. I researched the rules, gleaned as much information as I could then finally was ready to re-enter the arena.

Been playing it for awhile now & haven't lost a dime. Pay my balance down to less than 10% of the card limit but making sure I pay at least the balance due off. Thereby building my FICO score back up. Cost me points when I paid it completely off, something about debt to credit limit, an algorithm used by the credit rating big 3. The thing I have to watch is the impulse buys that come my way.

Amazon plies me with suggestions, deals & flashy ads. I get 3-4 daily reminders or offers daily from them. I'm starting to get more mailers with credit card offers, I had opt-out of them but now that the 5 years are up I'm getting more ads. The game is to stay out of debt, don't buy more than you need & avoid the traps of spending more money for 'stuff'. I hadn't kept track last year but now I see an advantage to monitor the rewards as earned income.

When I was in my gambling days I played that game as well, play just enough on the low risk games to get the comps, I spent many free nights, had meals comped when I was more active. I kept a watch to monitor my time, limit myself to length of stays in any one casino, never ordered a 'free' drink, avoided the tips to the scantily clad cocktail waitresses. Cashed in my chips as I won, never pulled any winnings out of my pocket to give them back to the tables.

Walked outside to get my bearings on what time of day it was, stood in the sunshine & then moved on. It is definitely a game. No windows or clocks, no real money played, only funny money. They want you to forget that it's real. Bright lights, bells, & whistles at every turn, locate the bathrooms out of the way to keep you at the machines longer. Not many places to sit down, except at the machines but don't use them to rest, they're for players.
 
.

For many years, I have I put every purchase I can on my rewards credit card, then pay it off every month.
The rewards are certainly worth it... and the reward percent given has gone up through the years.

I have not paid an annual cc fee or any cc interest in decades. The CC company pays me to use their credit card.

.
 
We retired in 2001 and sold our CA home and almost everything we owned so we could buy a 5th-wheel and truck and we traveled around the country for 3 1/2 years. Even if you don't have a piece of land to call your own, you still have bills and you need a way to pay them. So, back then, the only way we had to pay our bills was through our cell phone with Verizon. It was a slow hook-up...and sometimes we had no hook-up if we were in a campground with lots of trees or our west were there's a whole lot of nothing in the deserts. We stopped in Las Vegas and bought a laptop so I could set up automatic bill pay with our bank account. We had a physical address in TX where all the full-timers like us went to become Texans and then we could have a PMB box. It worked great. We just notified them where we were staying for a few days and they would send all our mail to us. Back then, we didn't use our CC much. Be bought everything with our debit card. We didn't know about rewards.

So, all this time I've continued to have our bills auto paid with our bank account. This whole discussion has me thinking....should I be having my bills auto paid with a cashback CC and making myself a few extra $$$$???? I use my debit card for all my groceries and gas (I don't shop WalMart...haven't set foot in a store in 5 years). I don't ever write a check unless I have to....like a couple weeks ago when we had our 2 bathroom s tiled or when we had our propane filled or when we had a delivery of stone for the back yard). Sometimes, I can't use a debit or CC, but a lot of other situations, I should be using my CC more often instead of my debit card...right??
 
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@ Colleen

I've never had a debit card because it can potentially be more dangerous than a credit card.
If your debit card info is lost or stolen the money comes straight out of your checking account.
If there is fraud involved your money probably will be replaced, but that might take time.

I arranged for my monthly natural gas and cable bills to automatically go to my rewards cc.
But my electric company would charge me extra for that, so I have that one auto-debited
directly from my checking account.

I recently put a new roof on my house. While the insurance company paid most of it,
I put my deductible share on my rewards cc... and got back over $100 in rewards.

.
 
i charge everything i can and use the combo of the chase trinity .

i have the chase freedom for the 5% catagories each month , the chase unlimited for 1.50% on everything , and then the chase sapphire reserve card which is our crown jewel in cards . we get 3x on travel and restaurant's plus loads of other perks but :

we can transfer all the other points to the reserve card and they get multiplied by 50% for travel through chase's expedia portal . that means the 5% is 7-1/2% , the 1.50% is 2.25% and the 3% is 4.50% .

since october we had 170,000 points . the 500 fee for the reserve card is well worth it .

we get a 300 dollar travel credit a year , so it really cost 200 dollars . we got 60,000 points for taking the card , they paid for my tsa precheck , we get priority pass access at airport lounges and up to 27 bucks in food and drink for up to 3 of us . free travel insurance and a whole lot of other stuff . that 500 bucks for the card got us 2000 bucks in perks since october .
 
KingsX said:
.

@ Colleen

I've never had a debit card because it can potentially be more dangerous than a credit card.
If your debit card info is lost or stolen the money comes straight out of your checking account.
If there is fraud involved your money probably will be replaced, but that might take time.

I arranged for my monthly natural gas and cable bills to automatically go to my rewards cc.
But my electric company would charge me extra for that, so I have that one auto-debited
directly from my checking account.

I recently put a new roof on my house. While the insurance company paid most of it,
I put my deductible share on my rewards cc... and got back over $100 in rewards.

.
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after we had some attempted fraud on our checking account we tightened things up a bit . fidelity investments can actually create what is called a Z account . it is an isolated account with no links to any other fidelity accounts or links . we keep enough in it to pay bills and add money via check when needed . if anyone gets in to the account they are very limited to what they see as a balance or linked to other accounts . there is no check writing or atm card assigned .

even though we don't use a debit card , someone got the numbers and charged over 2k against the checking account . luckily i got a pop up message and saw the debit . i ran down to the bank and they killed the transactioon and the debit card . they could actually clean out a checking account that way .

so we keep our checking accounts isolated now . we also killed any over draft or auto refunding from other accounts if the balance hits zero .
 
KingsX said:
.

For many years, I have I put every purchase I can on my rewards credit card, then pay it off every month.
The rewards are certainly worth it... and the reward percent given has gone up through the years.

I have not paid an annual cc fee or any cc interest in decades. The CC company pays me to use their credit card.

.
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Ditto
 
We never believed in a credit card only used a debit card until our bank of 37 yrs. for us, told us about the credit card cash rewards, and how it would really reward us in a big way and it sure has! we got $500 (free money) in the first month and rewards on almost everything we buy, plus because we have many acts. with our bank, when we redeem the bank tacks on an extra 75% and they automatically pay off the full amount for us each month as we directed. We redeem online when we have enough to redeem and it goes right into our savings or checking act. as we wish. We love getting Free money and the credit card is safer then the debit card we hardly ever use anymore. It's a Win, Win for us, so sorry we were not aware of this a few years sooner.
 
I have an Amazon Prime Visa card that I use for purchases on Amazon and I get 5% back. I usually just use that cashback on another purchase. Should I be using this card every where??

I went to NerdWallet and filled out the questionnaire to see what CC I should be using. The recommendation was Chase Freedom Unlimited. I have one in a drawer somewhere that I've never used and it expired in 2016.

My questions are: should I get a new one and when you apply for a new CC, doesn't it affect your credit score?
 
Colleen said:
Hmmm.....I am going to do some research on cards! My husband is "old-school" and has had a certain card for many years, but he never uses it and I don't think it gives any kind of rewards. It's not easy teaching an "old dog" new tricks...haha. I'm sure if he saw cash back he'd be more than willing to change.

I don't think I'm utilizing my reward card, which is Amazon Chase, to it's full advantage. I don't use my card for anything other than Amazon purchases. Hubby has never liked Chase so I limit my purchases with them.

How do you keep your credit score from being affected by opening new cards??? Boy....I've got a lot to learn :)
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Here's what factors affect your FICO score.
fico-factors-chart.png
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Here's what factors affect your FICO score.
View attachment 52718
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The amount you owe breaks down to what amount of credit card balances you have compared to how much credit card amount is available to you. So if you quit a card, that could reduce your credit score. Also, how well you have paid off loans such as car loans, personal loans, mortgages loans, etc. counts toward your score. So the more loans and the better you've paid them off on time, the better for your score. If you get rid of an old credit card to get a new one, that's a ding against how long your credit history is. There's more to this, of course.
 

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