Author Topic: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?  (Read 9844 times)

azjessie

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How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« on: October 16, 2014, 09:41:38 AM »
Hello,

I am interested in opening the Chase business ink card for the awesome 70k points.  However I don't have expenses totaling $5k in the next 3 months that is required to received the points.

I thought about enrolling at the college for spring courses.  If I pay for them with the card in November and then cancel before classes start in January do you think I will meet the credit card requirement?

Thanks for your input!

seattlecyclone

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2014, 10:11:36 AM »
Please don't do this. Buy some gift cards for stores you will visit anyway over the next year, or pay your taxes, or pay for some classes you actually plan to take. Don't make a huge charge with the plan to get a refund the minute the points show up in your account.

mrigney

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2014, 10:17:00 AM »
Won't work. If you cancel the classes, the charge will be taken off the card. If you've already received the points, they can/will revoke them.

Your best bet, especially w/the Ink card is to buy pre-paid cards from an office supply store. They used to (haven't checked lately) give the 5x points even on purchases of pre-paid cards at office supply stores. So, you can go buy several $250 or $500 (do they sell them that large) cards. Then use them for groceries (or whatever) over the coming months. If they still give the 5x points on those, even better!

mrigney

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2014, 10:18:08 AM »
To add.. a good chance that doing this will also likely prevent you from being approved for future rewards cards.

Paul der Krake

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2014, 10:42:45 AM »
Ask friends and family if anybody is planning on buying a laptop or other big purchase in the near future. This only works if you know people who don't collect points themselves.

innkeeper77

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2014, 11:01:40 AM »
What everyone else said. Put ALL of your regular spending on the card, and also buy some gift cards. You can consider things like AMEX Bluebird for more flexible usage, and even charging to your own amazon payments account. DO NOT try to get a charge cancelled....

azjessie

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2014, 11:31:49 AM »
Thanks for the great advice everyone!

Bob W

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2014, 11:48:10 AM »
Love this way of working over the credit card companies.  Keep these threads coming!

chicagomeg

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2014, 12:06:50 PM »
What everyone else said. Put ALL of your regular spending on the card, and also buy some gift cards. You can consider things like AMEX Bluebird for more flexible usage, and even charging to your own amazon payments account. DO NOT try to get a charge cancelled....

Amazon Payments with CC ends sometime this month. Oct. 18th if I remember correctly.

Staples right now has $20 easy rebate when you buy $300 in MC gift cards, so it's a money maker AND you get credit towards your minimum spend.

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #9 on: October 16, 2014, 03:27:04 PM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

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geek101

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2014, 10:36:05 AM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #11 on: October 17, 2014, 10:46:30 AM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

Yeah, that too, but 1k in manufactured spending per month is pretty small when you need to do 70k over a few months (speaking from experience).  ;)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

dragoncar

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2014, 12:22:06 PM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

Yeah, that too, but 1k in manufactured spending per month is pretty small when you need to do 70k over a few months (speaking from experience).  ;)

Wait, are you really sitting on 70k of gift cards?  I'm guessing capital improvements would be your best bet.

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2014, 12:26:00 PM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

Yeah, that too, but 1k in manufactured spending per month is pretty small when you need to do 70k over a few months (speaking from experience).  ;)

Wait, are you really sitting on 70k of gift cards?  I'm guessing capital improvements would be your best bet.

No, I use them to pay off the CCs.  Currently I have about 5.5k waiting to be deposited.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
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Sylly

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #14 on: October 17, 2014, 12:32:34 PM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Would you mind breaking the numbers down for me? I've just heard of Serve, and trying to get a better idea of how it works.

Isn't there usually a 4.95 (or 3.95) fee for purchasing a $500 debit gift card?


Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

And do you know if that counts as purchase, or cash advance?

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #15 on: October 17, 2014, 12:53:41 PM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Would you mind breaking the numbers down for me? I've just heard of Serve, and trying to get a better idea of how it works.

Isn't there usually a 4.95 (or 3.95) fee for purchasing a $500 debit gift card?

Yes, I noted that (added bolding, above, to make it clearer).

To break it down, as requested: I pay $2.95 per $500 card.  That's $29.50 for 5k spending.  And then you do the free stuff, like loading straight to Serve, as geek101 mentioned (sadly Amazon Payments ended, that was another free 1k/mo of MS, saving about $5.90 and some time each month, per account).  :)


Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

And do you know if that counts as purchase, or cash advance?

Purchase.
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Sylly

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #16 on: October 17, 2014, 01:15:32 PM »
Thanks ARS.
I don't think I've seen 2.95 for $500, but I don't generally pay too much attention to those gift cards. Is it fairly common, or just through a few vendors?

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #17 on: October 17, 2014, 01:32:34 PM »
Thanks ARS.
I don't think I've seen 2.95 for $500, but I don't generally pay too much attention to those gift cards. Is it fairly common, or just through a few vendors?

I donno, I just went the path of least resistance, and that was the price.  I'm not sure if more or less or what is common.

For me I'd rather pay an extra buck or two for ease, knowing that if I'm spending $30 to make $600 or spending $40 to make $600, I'd rather spend the 40 if it makes me go "this is easy and worth my time" versus "this is frustrating, is it worth my time?"

The outlet mall near me is where I get the gift cards for that price, and any malls run by Simon (google it and search for their malls, you may be surprised) should have a customer service/help desk kiosk or similar where you can buy them.  If you aren't near one, you'll have to find what options are near you.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

geek101

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #18 on: October 17, 2014, 02:03:58 PM »
Yeah, that too, but 1k in manufactured spending per month is pretty small when you need to do 70k over a few months (speaking from experience).  ;)

That's intense. I'm not nearly committed enough to try to generate that much spending, but the Serve makes doing a few cards per quarter extremely easy for anyone. The 5k in 3 months that Sylly is looking for is now a trivial 2k in 3 months, which normal spending should cover easily. Those 70,000 points can be acquired with amazingly little effort.

dragoncar

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #19 on: October 17, 2014, 04:01:43 PM »
Buy visa debt gift cards, load them to Serve at a money kiosk (often at Wal Mart).  Will cost about .6% for the purchase fee of the card.

Total to manufacture spend 5k would be about $29.  Plus you'll pay the initial $95 fee.  Then you can redeem the 70k points for $700 cash.  Net profit = 576, for maybe 30 minutes of work.  Now go sign up your SO.  And then get the Ink Bold (not just Plus).  And then ...  ;)

Also keep in mind you can load $1k per month from a CC onto the Serve directly from the web in your pajamas with no fees.

Yeah, that too, but 1k in manufactured spending per month is pretty small when you need to do 70k over a few months (speaking from experience).  ;)

Wait, are you really sitting on 70k of gift cards?  I'm guessing capital improvements would be your best bet.

No, I use them to pay off the CCs.  Currently I have about 5.5k waiting to be deposited.

You can pay off CCs with a gift card?  How?

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #20 on: October 17, 2014, 07:35:34 PM »
Load the gift card to Serve, pay your CC bill with your Serve account.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

dragoncar

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #21 on: October 18, 2014, 10:03:47 PM »
Load the gift card to Serve, pay your CC bill with your Serve account.

I think that's what they call a "loophole"

Hotstreak

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #22 on: October 18, 2014, 10:24:35 PM »
Load the gift card to Serve, pay your CC bill with your Serve account.

I think that's what they call a "loophole"


Sounds like a pretty great loophole.

electriceagle

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #23 on: October 19, 2014, 12:18:31 PM »
October/November is property tax time for many people.

Can you pay your property taxes with the card instead of letting your lender pay from your escrow account?

chicagomeg

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #24 on: October 19, 2014, 02:39:31 PM »
Be careful with the serve CC online. It seems that just this week a few cards started coding it as a cash advance. See this flyer talk thread for details:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1199432-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments.html

NinetyFour

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #25 on: October 19, 2014, 02:51:36 PM »
Thanks ARS.
I don't think I've seen 2.95 for $500, but I don't generally pay too much attention to those gift cards. Is it fairly common, or just through a few vendors?

I donno, I just went the path of least resistance, and that was the price.  I'm not sure if more or less or what is common.

For me I'd rather pay an extra buck or two for ease, knowing that if I'm spending $30 to make $600 or spending $40 to make $600, I'd rather spend the 40 if it makes me go "this is easy and worth my time" versus "this is frustrating, is it worth my time?"

The outlet mall near me is where I get the gift cards for that price, and any malls run by Simon (google it and search for their malls, you may be surprised) should have a customer service/help desk kiosk or similar where you can buy them.  If you aren't near one, you'll have to find what options are near you.

It looks like you can also buy these Simon Visa Gift Cards online at https://www.giftcardmall.com/

dragoncar

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #26 on: October 19, 2014, 03:56:53 PM »
Thanks ARS.
I don't think I've seen 2.95 for $500, but I don't generally pay too much attention to those gift cards. Is it fairly common, or just through a few vendors?

I donno, I just went the path of least resistance, and that was the price.  I'm not sure if more or less or what is common.

For me I'd rather pay an extra buck or two for ease, knowing that if I'm spending $30 to make $600 or spending $40 to make $600, I'd rather spend the 40 if it makes me go "this is easy and worth my time" versus "this is frustrating, is it worth my time?"

The outlet mall near me is where I get the gift cards for that price, and any malls run by Simon (google it and search for their malls, you may be surprised) should have a customer service/help desk kiosk or similar where you can buy them.  If you aren't near one, you'll have to find what options are near you.

It looks like you can also buy these Simon Visa Gift Cards online at https://www.giftcardmall.com/

But you can't use a visa gift card to pay your cc right?  You need something linked to a bank account?

arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #27 on: October 19, 2014, 05:12:32 PM »

Be careful with the serve CC online. It seems that just this week a few cards started coding it as a cash advance. See this flyer talk thread for details:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1199432-serve-another-paypal-amazon-payments.html

That rumors been flying around for awhile.

It's not true from everything I've read, and my own experience.
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arebelspy

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Re: How to charge the initial credit card sign up?
« Reply #28 on: October 19, 2014, 05:13:53 PM »

Thanks ARS.
I don't think I've seen 2.95 for $500, but I don't generally pay too much attention to those gift cards. Is it fairly common, or just through a few vendors?

I donno, I just went the path of least resistance, and that was the price.  I'm not sure if more or less or what is common.

For me I'd rather pay an extra buck or two for ease, knowing that if I'm spending $30 to make $600 or spending $40 to make $600, I'd rather spend the 40 if it makes me go "this is easy and worth my time" versus "this is frustrating, is it worth my time?"

The outlet mall near me is where I get the gift cards for that price, and any malls run by Simon (google it and search for their malls, you may be surprised) should have a customer service/help desk kiosk or similar where you can buy them.  If you aren't near one, you'll have to find what options are near you.

It looks like you can also buy these Simon Visa Gift Cards online at https://www.giftcardmall.com/

But you can't use a visa gift card to pay your cc right?  You need something linked to a bank account?

You load them to serve and use serve to pay your cc bill.

Giftcardmall is more expensive than doing it in person, but it works if there's nothing near you.

Make sure you go through a cashback portal so you get a small percentage of the giftcardmall purchase back.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.