Author Topic: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards  (Read 4745 times)

Vanguards and Lentils

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(These figures are cash, except a $100 amazon gift card; I've been doing mostly cash bonuses since I don't travel a lot.)

The end of last year while analyzing my finances, I realized that I made ~$700 from a few credit card bonuses and cash back, without really thinking about it. After hearing someone on the forum say they made over $2000 in one year from checking account bonuses, I decided to take both of them seriously. In 4 months, I've already made more than 10% of my annual salary as a grad student! Don't worry, it's all going into index funds...

6 new credit cards: $1600.
The bigger bonuses tend to come with annual fee cards and high spend requirements. Given that my living expenses are less than $1000/month (with rent and other expenses not even payable with credit cards), this would put most bonuses out of my reach. However I found a pretty easy way to "manufacture spend" about $600/week, so at this point I can do a $4000 spend in 7 weeks.

I am on a hiatus from doing more credit card bonuses, because I started having my applications declined. It takes about a year for one's credit score to stop being affected by inquiries.

13 new checking accounts: $1400 (with another $800 receivable)
These are reported as 1099 interest income, so I need to set aside 20% of it for next April. They are also a bit more complicated to do, but on the plus side, banks accept basically everyone since there's no score to get you rejected as there is for credit cards.

I follow doctorofcredit.com, and the vast majority of the bonuses I've completed, he wrote helpful guides for. With these it's important to be really organized with spreadsheets / financial programs to keep track of to-do's and where your money is. I'm a pretty detail-oriented person so this part came pretty naturally to me.

Happy to answer any questions, and hope some other low-earners will find this useful.

astephens94

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2016, 08:11:08 PM »
Nice! Couple questions:

Credit cards - did they require a 'minimum spend' in the first 'x' number of months? What did you spend this on? Food? Rent?

Banks - seems like a good way to pick up a few bucks. Which banks did you sign on with? Which had the biggest sign on bonuses?

Mr. Green

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2016, 07:49:16 AM »
What's the process you use for your manufactured spending?

Vanguards and Lentils

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2016, 08:59:13 AM »
I use Visa Buxx cards from Nationwide. They are prepaid debit cards meant for parents to give their teens allowances, but you don't need to have children at all - I have 3 "teens" all with my name and SSN.

Once you have the card, the process works like this:
1) Load $200/week to your teen's card from your visa or mastercard credit card
2) Withdraw $200 from any Allpoint ATM
3) Deposit that $200 to your usual bank's ATM

There is a 1% fee during step (1), but your new credit card should have at least a 1% points/cash earning rate, so it's likely free. Each card cost $5 initially.

I'm aware of some people buying visa gift cards, then buying money orders with the gift cards, then depositing the money orders with their bank, but the above is shorter and easier - no interacting with humans, and my two ATMs are really close.

Vanguards and Lentils

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2016, 09:12:44 AM »
Nice! Couple questions:

Credit cards - did they require a 'minimum spend' in the first 'x' number of months? What did you spend this on? Food? Rent?

Banks - seems like a good way to pick up a few bucks. Which banks did you sign on with? Which had the biggest sign on bonuses?

For credit cards, yes, there are spending requirements with deadlines. I mentioned that I have very low expenses so I had to "manufacture" spending. I think it's important for someone in my position to keep spending for bonuses and spending for my expenses completely separate - it's a hassle to constantly switch payment methods, and I might spend more than I would otherwise if I thought I had to meet a bonus.

For banks, check doctorofcredit's site. He has ranked many of the current bonuses based on amount and how difficult the requirements are. We're in the same state so you should be able to do a lot of the same ones I did.

JourneyToLaunch

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2016, 09:22:16 AM »
Nice! Couple questions:

Credit cards - did they require a 'minimum spend' in the first 'x' number of months? What did you spend this on? Food? Rent?

Banks - seems like a good way to pick up a few bucks. Which banks did you sign on with? Which had the biggest sign on bonuses?

For credit cards, yes, there are spending requirements with deadlines. I mentioned that I have very low expenses so I had to "manufacture" spending. I think it's important for someone in my position to keep spending for bonuses and spending for my expenses completely separate - it's a hassle to constantly switch payment methods, and I might spend more than I would otherwise if I thought I had to meet a bonus.

For banks, check doctorofcredit's site. He has ranked many of the current bonuses based on amount and how difficult the requirements are. We're in the same state so you should be able to do a lot of the same ones I did.

I use Visa Buxx cards from Nationwide. They are prepaid debit cards meant for parents to give their teens allowances, but you don't need to have children at all - I have 3 "teens" all with my name and SSN.

Once you have the card, the process works like this:
1) Load $200/week to your teen's card from your visa or mastercard credit card
2) Withdraw $200 from any Allpoint ATM
3) Deposit that $200 to your usual bank's ATM

There is a 1% fee during step (1), but your new credit card should have at least a 1% points/cash earning rate, so it's likely free. Each card cost $5 initially.

I'm aware of some people buying visa gift cards, then buying money orders with the gift cards, then depositing the money orders with their bank, but the above is shorter and easier - no interacting with humans, and my two ATMs are really close.

Wow, never heard of this card. Curious as to why they need a SSN, will you get audited or in trouble if they realize its not for a teen? Can you fund the card with Amex or is it only Visa or Mastercard?

Rosy

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2016, 12:13:47 PM »
Nice going - $3000 is grrreat:)
I agree the doctor of credit website is the best, most detailed site for a bank bonus.
It does take discipline and you need to pay attention to the small print or no bonus for you.
I've done a couple of banks and am waiting to do one more for a $500 bonus. Parking 15K in an account is no small feat for me, but hey, I couldn't get that kind of interest in 90 days, so it's worth it to me.

I anticipate my total to be around $1000 for this year for three new bank accounts. Last month I discovered a new bank in my area from reading his blog which has exactly what I was still looking for in my own personal bank, but I missed their bonus. So I'll keep checking back and close all my other accounts in the interim to have a clean slate again, by October at the latest.

Not going the mfg spend route, but I did open one new card for a bonus last year and plan on one more this year for a high upcoming expense. I'm just not comfortable with having more than three credit cards.

I mentioned this to a good friend of mine and she was aghast so this is not everybody's cup of tea - I thread lightly:)

SuperSecretName

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Re: Made $3000 in 4 months from checking accounts and credit cards
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2016, 01:11:21 PM »
I am on a hiatus from doing more credit card bonuses, because I started having my applications declined. It takes about a year for one's credit score to stop being affected by inquiries.
You'll be good in 3-6 months, not a year.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!