Author Topic: Tool to maximize credit card rewards  (Read 2758 times)

KingMe

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Tool to maximize credit card rewards
« on: April 22, 2013, 07:07:30 PM »
Maximizing credit card rewards is a great way to get a a little bit of cash back each month that adds up over the course of a year. As you know, you get certain amount back in points depending on what type of vendor you buy from. For example, 6% back on purchases from grocery stores with your Amex Blue Cash Preferred; 5% in rotating categories like gas and restaurants with certain Visa and MC cards. As this sophisticated crowd knows, its not about what you buy; it's about where you buy it.

It all depends on the Merchant Category Code (MCC). The MCC is a four-digit code used by the credit card industry to classify a merchant's primary business. If you want to maximize your rewards, knowing which card to use is key.

Sometimes a store's MCC is not evident. Amex gives good info on MCC codes after you've made your purchase, but less useful information is typical for other financial institutions. For example, Is that coffee house classified as a "restaurant/bar" or a "convenience store"? You can go with trial and error, but do you really want to spend as much time as I did trying to figure it out? Trust me, you don't.

What I found was that Visa publishes this information on its website at http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/usa/supplier/ListLoadAction.do.

By using this site, you can choose the highest percentage rewards. You can look up merchants' MCC by name or address. So you could get a good look of all the stores in our area with the same classification code. So I may choose a grocery store instead of a liquor store to get my 6%, or get coffee at a restaurant not a convenience store to get my rotating 5%.

A merchant's MCC may differ between Visa, MC, Amex and other companies, but it's usually comparable.

Cecil

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Re: Tool to maximize credit card rewards
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2013, 01:11:44 PM »
Nice tip!

But I gotta say, you americans and your crazy cashback rates make me jealous. I thought I was doing well here using two different cards to get 1.5% on everything and 2% on gas and groceries.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!