I stumbled across a book called Do More, Spend Less by Brad Wilson. Brad runs the site bradsdeals.com, which I find very informative. He shows you lots of great tips on how to maximize your rewards offered by credit card companies. I wanted to highlight one technique, that I have already tried and it works! If you go to the us mint.gov, they offer Presidential $1 coins like these, which can be bought online using your credit card. Yes, the U.S. Mint actually allows you to buy money with credit cards? Once you have bought these with your Rewards Credit Card or something similar, and have received shipment, deposit them straight into your bank account. Once your Rewards Credit Card bill comes, pay it off with your newly deposited coins, and voila, you have just earned some credit card rewards. If you want to really beef up your rewards, do this repeatedly with larger purchases. I am using this as a way to supplement the purchases I am already making on my credit card, and it really does work!
Disclaimer: This technique does not include the cost of shipping, unfortunately I had to pay $6.40 for a grand total of $31.40 to buy the coins and have them shipped, and my deposit was only $25, so it looks like there are some out of pocket expenses. However, you still get the rewards on the extra $6.40.
On The…….
I want take the opportunity to spotlight some of this weeks favorite articles, from bloggers I admire!
Stumbleforward.com-10 new Home Upgrades To Consider Before You Build
Debtroundup.com- Adding Gold and Silver To My Portfolio
Frugalrules.com-4 Reasons Why Having An Investment Plan Will Save Your Butt
Clubthrifty.com-7 Engaging and Fun Ways To Teach Kids About Money
thefreefinancialadvisor.com-5 Smart Money Moves For Young Families
Seedebtrun.com-Love It or List It
modestmoney.com-Imagiative Ways to Make Extra Money
momoneymohouses.com-More Home Decor Without More Cost
dividendninja.com-The Lure and Dangers of High Yield Stocks (Part 1)
financiallyintegrated.com-How to Be A Contented Investor
brickbybrickinvesting.com-How to Sell Options Successfully
thepassiveincomeearner.com-Pay Your Mortgage or Invest It
Thanks for including my post. I appreciate it. When the US Mint first started to allow you to do this, they offered free shipping. People were blowing up their travel rewards because they were purchasing thousands of dollars worth. The US Mint and airlines finally got wise to it and stopped the madness. Too bad it doesn’t work as easy as it used to.
Yea, I thought it was a good idea, but the shipping costs would certainly be a deterrent if you wanted to do this on a big scale. I may just do it on a small scale to leverage my rewards. Thanks Grayson! You going to make it to FinCon in Oct?
This is literally the worst idea ever. The US Mint charges more for the coins than they’re worth. A box of 250 $1 coins is $275.95 and that is before shipping! http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&categoryId=52003&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=17238&top_category=17238
On the set you purchased, it says right on the website 25 coins for $32.95 + $4.95 shipping. You would have to receive 34% rewards on your credit card to break even for the excess! I don’t know about you, but the best card I have is 1% cash-back on purchases like this… Please enlighten me if I have my facts mixed up.
Thanks for stopping by, I agree with you, there are some flaws to the this process, I do not intend to do this on a grand scale. However, I Like your site! I see you are a Marine vet, I spent some great years in the Air Force, during the first Gulf War. I feel that I got a great start in the military just out of high school.
That sounds like a pretty awesome technique, I never new you could buy money directly from the mint itself though. I just wonder how long that will last before the credit card companies figure that one out.
Thanks for the mention JIm.
Chris, It appears that the Credit Card companies may have figured it out. The Mint used to offer free shipping and no longer do, and of course the shipping costs eat into your value a bit! Gunna make it to FinCon?
Thanks so much for the mention Jim! That’s an interesting idea by the mint, although it does not surprise me that they and the credit card companies got wise to the rewards aspect.
You bet John! Yea, I guess they have actuaries who look at with a fine tooth comb to figure out if it creates value for the company, if not then how do they deter it.
Thanks for the mention! I am in good company!
For sure Marvin!! Glad to have found you!!