"Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
Post Reply
Topic Author
Mr. Meow
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 4:38 pm

"Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Mr. Meow »

This has been covered before, but I haven't seen it mentioned any time lately and my family just used it to good effect, so I thought I'd remind folks.

As many here know, there is an excellent cashback reward on groceries on AMEX Blue Cash (3%) and AMEX Blue Cash Preferred (6%). As you probably also know, nowadays many grocery stores sell gift cards for a whole host of retailers (Amazon, Home Depot, etc. -- you name it). So buying gift cards at the grocery store is an easy way to get 6% on purchases at these retailers.
User avatar
alpenglow
Posts: 1798
Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 12:02 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by alpenglow »

Great cards - just remember that the 6% back is only on the first $6000 spent annually at supermarkets because some people had to abuse the gift card thing. :annoyed
terran
Posts: 2966
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2015 9:50 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by terran »

I was wondering if that would work, but wasn't sure if they had some way to void those purchases. They don't report rewards for some ridiculously long amount of time, so I haven't yet been able to confirm which stores I shop at are being counted or see whether rewards are reported on a granular enough level that I would be able to tell if gift card purchases would be counted. Have you been able to confirm that they are?
littlebird
Posts: 1860
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: Valley of the Sun, AZ

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by littlebird »

alpenglow wrote:because some people had to abuse the gift card thing. :annoyed
Yes. Anyone who used it more than me!
astrohip
Posts: 569
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:29 pm
Location: Houston TX

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by astrohip »

Mr. Meow wrote:This has been covered before, but I haven't seen it mentioned any time lately and my family just used it to good effect, so I thought I'd remind folks.

As many here know, there is an excellent cashback reward on groceries on AMEX Blue Cash (3%) and AMEX Blue Cash Preferred (6%). As you probably also know, nowadays many grocery stores sell gift cards for a whole host of retailers (Amazon, Home Depot, etc. -- you name it). So buying gift cards at the grocery store is an easy way to get 6% on purchases at these retailers.
Have that card, and had not thought about this trick. Unless it's not legit (as per terran's comment), this is a slick idea for expanding the 6%.

:sharebeer
"Happiness is not about doing, it’s about being." - R Branson
Rob Bertram
Posts: 859
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 12:15 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Rob Bertram »

As previously mentioned, the 6% cash back on groceries is capped at $6000 of purchases (so $360 cash back) on a rolling 12-month window. As far as I understand it, the 3% back on gas and department store purchases are not capped.
Paul78
Posts: 436
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:17 am

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Paul78 »

astrohip wrote:
Mr. Meow wrote:This has been covered before, but I haven't seen it mentioned any time lately and my family just used it to good effect, so I thought I'd remind folks.

As many here know, there is an excellent cashback reward on groceries on AMEX Blue Cash (3%) and AMEX Blue Cash Preferred (6%). As you probably also know, nowadays many grocery stores sell gift cards for a whole host of retailers (Amazon, Home Depot, etc. -- you name it). So buying gift cards at the grocery store is an easy way to get 6% on purchases at these retailers.
Have that card, and had not thought about this trick. Unless it's not legit (as per terran's comment), this is a slick idea for expanding the 6%.

:sharebeer

It works. What I do

12 gift card (visa/american express/ mastercard). First 11 are for $500, last one for $429 (the fee for buying the cards add up)
= $360 in rewards
5.95 fee per card = $71.4
$75 yearly card fee

=$213.6 in net rewards or 3.56% back from the total cost of $6075

Use the $5929 in prepaid credit cards (technically "gift cards") over the year.
astrohip
Posts: 569
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:29 pm
Location: Houston TX

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by astrohip »

Thanks for the info, very helpful. I am aware of the $6K cap. I usually hit around $4k, and this seems like a great way to get that last $2,000.
Paul78 wrote: 5.95 fee per card = $71.4
Wasn't aware of GC fees, as I can't recall ever buying any. Do all stores, or all cards, have them?
"Happiness is not about doing, it’s about being." - R Branson
Paul78
Posts: 436
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:17 am

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Paul78 »

astrohip wrote:Thanks for the info, very helpful. I am aware of the $6K cap. I usually hit around $4k, and this seems like a great way to get that last $2,000.
Paul78 wrote: 5.95 fee per card = $71.4
Wasn't aware of GC fees, as I can't recall ever buying any. Do all stores, or all cards, have them?
The credit card ones do. At least the credit cards they allow you to buy with a credit card.

Gift cards for specific stores do not. But I do not like to by a specific store because it encourages to over spend at the place simply because I have the gift card.

I guess an amazon gift card would be ok (basically like cash) but I would not wanna get anymore specific (ie a gc to a restaurant) than that.

-And clearly it is much better to actually buy groceries to get a rate much closer to 6%. But in my case the vast majority of groceries I get are blue apron and Costco. Neither is coded as a "grocery store" thus I do not get the 6% back.
Jonezez
Posts: 189
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 2:31 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Jonezez »

Main caveats for doing the Gift card thing, specifically visa/mastercard are:

1)make sure you keep the receipt in case there is any need to verify purchase. I used a GC for a billpay service (Evolve money) and the biller never received funds. There was a lot of back-and-forth but the $500 was eventually credited back to my account. However, the GC bank (I believe it was USBank) thought this was suspicious so shut-down the card. I then had to provide proof that I purchased it. Kind of a headache.

2)higher chance for fraud (anecdotal personal experience) - I bought 3 gift cards at once but didn't register them immediately. When I did register, I had the cards lingering for about 2 months after purchase.. then realized someone had used up all the funds. Again, lots of calls to the GC bank and time spent but was able to get a new GC issued to me. Another headache

3)Customer service ain't great if you do need to call the bank

4)Having money returned to the gift card can sometimes be tricky depending on the merchant. Some don't allow refunds back to a gift card.
astrohip
Posts: 569
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:29 pm
Location: Houston TX

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by astrohip »

Thanks, good info.
"Happiness is not about doing, it’s about being." - R Branson
Tabulator
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:03 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Tabulator »

In general, when one uses a credit card to purchase a gift card, does the credit card company categorize the transaction as a cash advance?
Almost there
Posts: 1128
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:06 pm
Location: Arizona USA

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Almost there »

Just purchased AMEX gift cards and they cost $4.95 each. $1.00 cheaper than Master Card.

Almost there
G-Force
Posts: 349
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:03 pm
Location: Florida

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by G-Force »

Tabulator wrote:In general, when one uses a credit card to purchase a gift card, does the credit card company categorize the transaction as a cash advance?
It counts as a purchase.
scotthal
Posts: 189
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:20 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by scotthal »

Note: the "bonus" applies to supermarkets; not grocery stores. Grocery stores only qualify for the baseline 1%.
Growtch, grinch; paranoid contrarian
Almost there
Posts: 1128
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:06 pm
Location: Arizona USA

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Almost there »

What is considered the difference between a grocery store and a supermarket for credit card purchases?

Almost there
scotthal
Posts: 189
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:20 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by scotthal »

Almost there wrote:What is considered the difference between a grocery store and a supermarket for credit card purchases?

Almost there
Not sure - AMEX has a partial list of qualifying "supermarkets" on their website. FWIW - I usually shop for food at Krogers & Albertons; both show up as "grocery stores" on my monthly statement, but neither qualify for the bonus.
Growtch, grinch; paranoid contrarian
User avatar
Doom&Gloom
Posts: 5398
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Doom&Gloom »

scotthal wrote:
Almost there wrote:What is considered the difference between a grocery store and a supermarket for credit card purchases?

Almost there
Not sure - AMEX has a partial list of qualifying "supermarkets" on their website. FWIW - I usually shop for food at Krogers & Albertons; both show up as "grocery stores" on my monthly statement, but neither qualify for the bonus.
That is interesting. My local Kroger qualifies for the bonus cash-back on my BCP.
User avatar
tuningfork
Posts: 884
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:30 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by tuningfork »

All the stores I shop at for groceries show up as "grocery stores" on my Amex statements and they all qualify for the bonus.
astrohip
Posts: 569
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:29 pm
Location: Houston TX

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by astrohip »

scotthal wrote:Note: the "bonus" applies to supermarkets; not grocery stores. Grocery stores only qualify for the baseline 1%.
Again, what's the difference?

Kroger definitely shows up on the 6% bonus. As does every other grocery store I use (HEB, etc).
"Happiness is not about doing, it’s about being." - R Branson
gkaplan
Posts: 7034
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:34 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by gkaplan »

Fred Meyer doesn't seem to qualify for the six percent bonus, at least for me. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods do, though.
Gordon
User avatar
Ice-9
Posts: 1579
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:40 pm
Location: MD

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Ice-9 »

I've never seen anything qualify as "grocery" but not a "supermarket" under my AMEX - Safeway, Giant, Food Lion, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Korean Korner, and Great Wall have all received the bonus. Even the local ice cream shop that lists as a "grocery" on credit card bills gets the cashback. The bigger problem using this card for grocery cashback IMO is the large number of smaller groceries that don't even accept AMEX.

By the way, some cashback cards - I can't remember if AMEX is one of them - put in small print that "cash equivalents" don't qualify. I read a tip on a blog once that when trying the gift card / cashback trick to always purchase something else as well so the total purchase isn't a nice round number like $25 or $50. So far, my gift card purchases have always counted for cashback using this method. YMMV
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Mudpuppy »

scotthal wrote:
Almost there wrote:What is considered the difference between a grocery store and a supermarket for credit card purchases?

Almost there
Not sure - AMEX has a partial list of qualifying "supermarkets" on their website. FWIW - I usually shop for food at Krogers & Albertons; both show up as "grocery stores" on my monthly statement, but neither qualify for the bonus.
Double check your bonus category totals. While I only have the original Blue Cash, not the Blue Preferred, Albertsons purchases are included in the supermarket category total.
Intrepyd
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2014 6:34 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Intrepyd »

I would caution you not to go nuts with it. I've never messed with it myself, but there are whole forums dedicated to so-called "manufactured spending" designed to game the system to capture bonus rewards via purchases of gift cards or cash debit cards. Frequently, Amex/etc closes accounts if they suspect this activity. I remember fifty forum posts on the same day with a lot of members being banned for this activity. These people were pushing $10,000/mo in manufactured spending or more, which obviously raised a huge red flag. I doubt you would have any trouble buying an occasional gift card, though.
surfstar
Posts: 2853
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:17 pm
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by surfstar »

For those with lower monthly grocery spending, the Sallie Mae Barclay Mastercard offers 5% on gas, groceries, bookstores (amazon has worked for this), and possibly more (that's all I use/care about).

No annual fee. Limited to $250/month for cashback in those categories. I've never exceeded that, but may not be high enough for households.

I kept the non preferred amex blue cash and have taken advantage of many of the amex offers this season.
takeshi
Posts: 1175
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:02 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by takeshi »

scotthal wrote:Note: the "bonus" applies to supermarkets; not grocery stores. Grocery stores only qualify for the baseline 1%.
It's not really a matter of "supermarkets" versus "grocery stores". As with most rewards programs it's a matter of how the merchant is coded. There are certainly supermarkets and grocery stores that are properly coded to qualify. There's some information here:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/cont ... etail.html
scotthal wrote:FWIW - I usually shop for food at Krogers & Albertons; both show up as "grocery stores" on my monthly statement, but neither qualify for the bonus.
Kroger also qualifies for me. I don't think we have Albertson's any more. HEB and Whole Foods also qualify for me.
surfstar wrote:For those with lower monthly grocery spending, the Sallie Mae Barclay Mastercard offers 5% on gas, groceries, bookstores (amazon has worked for this), and possibly more (that's all I use/care about).
Unfortunately, it is not available to new applicants.
Intrepyd wrote:I would caution you not to go nuts with it. I've never messed with it myself, but there are whole forums dedicated to so-called "manufactured spending" designed to game the system to capture bonus rewards via purchases of gift cards or cash debit cards. Frequently, Amex/etc closes accounts if they suspect this activity.
+1 Small amounts are probably no big deal but there are those that run into trouble with manufactured spend even on the BCE or on the BCP even with it cap.
surfstar
Posts: 2853
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:17 pm
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by surfstar »

takeshi wrote:
surfstar wrote:For those with lower monthly grocery spending, the Sallie Mae Barclay Mastercard offers 5% on gas, groceries, bookstores (amazon has worked for this), and possibly more (that's all I use/care about).
Unfortunately, it is not available to new applicants.
Wow, did not realize that. I will have to stop recommending this card and hope my rewards program continues!
fareastwarriors
Posts: 1405
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:31 am

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by fareastwarriors »

surfstar wrote:
takeshi wrote:
surfstar wrote:For those with lower monthly grocery spending, the Sallie Mae Barclay Mastercard offers 5% on gas, groceries, bookstores (amazon has worked for this), and possibly more (that's all I use/care about).
Unfortunately, it is not available to new applicants.
Wow, did not realize that. I will have to stop recommending this card and hope my rewards program continues!
I'm using that card right now but the limit on grocery spending ($250) is too low for me. I'm planning to open the BCP card in the new year.
Ninnie
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2015 12:17 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Ninnie »

We have no trouble reaching the annual $6000 limit by October or so, just with grocery spending.
testing321
Posts: 295
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:46 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by testing321 »

Ninnie wrote:We have no trouble reaching the annual $6000 limit by October or so, just with grocery spending.
This would be true for us also, except some of our grocery stores are being categorized as 99999999999 instead of GROCERY STORES, SUP. I'm talking about you Sprouts. I should shift these stores to another card until this gets fixed.
takeshi
Posts: 1175
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:02 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by takeshi »

Ninnie wrote:We have no trouble reaching the annual $6000 limit by October or so, just with grocery spending.
We exceed the limit and use a pair of BCP's, switching midyear.
stupidkid
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:11 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by stupidkid »

I buy Amazon GCs generally, and pick up store specific cards when my grocery store (Kroger's/King Soopers) has discounts, e.g. 20% off Gap cards which are very versatile. In addition, King Sooper's offers 4x fuel points on gift card purchases periodically throughout the year. $250 in GC's yields 1000 fuel points which gets $1 off per gallon. I get 20+ gallons a fill-up, saving $20+ on top of the 6% cashback, $250 for ~$225, if not less if there's 20% off a particular GC. Works great.
azanon
Posts: 3142
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2011 9:34 am

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by azanon »

Ninnie wrote:We have no trouble reaching the annual $6000 limit by October or so, just with grocery spending.
How can you tell when/if you hit the cap? I have the preferred card, but I'm not sure where to look for this.
Almost there
Posts: 1128
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:06 pm
Location: Arizona USA

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Almost there »

stupidkid wrote:
I buy Amazon GCs generally, and pick up store specific cards when my grocery store (Kroger's/King Soopers) has discounts, e.g. 20% off Gap cards which are very versatile. In addition, King Sooper's offers 4x fuel points on gift card purchases periodically throughout the year. $250 in GC's yields 1000 fuel points which gets $1 off per gallon. I get 20+ gallons a fill-up, saving $20+ on top of the 6% cashback, $250 for ~$225, if not less if there's 20% off a particular GC. Works great.
Which credit card are you using?

Almost there
User avatar
Doom&Gloom
Posts: 5398
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Doom&Gloom »

azanon wrote:
Ninnie wrote:We have no trouble reaching the annual $6000 limit by October or so, just with grocery spending.
How can you tell when/if you hit the cap? I have the preferred card, but I'm not sure where to look for this.
There may be an easier way, but login to your account. Go to Statements & Activity, fill in the dates on Recent Activity, then click on Merchandise & Supplies, and you should see Groceries broken out.
User avatar
nps
Posts: 1630
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:18 am

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by nps »

Rob Bertram wrote:As previously mentioned, the 6% cash back on groceries is capped at $6000 of purchases (so $360 cash back) on a rolling 12-month window. As far as I understand it, the 3% back on gas and department store purchases are not capped.
Just to clarify, and because the end of the annual cycle for everyone is coming up, here's what AMEX says about it in the card T&Cs. It is not a rolling window.

"An annual reward year is 12 billing periods in a row beginning with the one that includes January 1st; if your billing cycle changes, the length of your annual reward year will also change."
Jags4186
Posts: 8198
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:12 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Jags4186 »

I have several different cards for this:

I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year on my Amex Everyday Preferred (27,000 Membership Rewards Points)
I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year on my Amex Everyday (14,400 Membership Rewards Points)
I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year with my Blue Cash Preferred ($360 cash back)

This nets out to $214 in gift card fees and I also have a $75 annual fee and a $95 annual fee. So I view it as buying 41,592 Membership Reward points for about $16 total plus about 2 hours total spent in a Walmart getting rid of the gift cards. I may sprinkle in Amazon gift cards as needed now and then which increases my return.

I should note I'm also trying to get my wife onboard with getting all of these cards as well so I can double the return. I would just be an authorized user and do all the leg work myself. 83,000 membership rewards plus our regular spend throughout the year gets us to Europe and back once a year.

I buy 1 $250 Shop Rite Gift Card/mo with my Sallie Mae Card (5% cashback/mo with $250/mo limit on this card)

After I exhaust that $250 gift card the rest of my regular grocery spend goes on my Amex Premier Rewards Gold card for 2 points/dollar--unlimited for the year.
stupidkid
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:11 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by stupidkid »

Almost there wrote:
Which credit card are you using?

Almost there
AMEX BCP. A "downside" is the king sooper's gas station doesn't qualify for the BCP 3% on gas, but I have another card which works fine.
User avatar
llama
Posts: 115
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2015 12:41 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by llama »

gkaplan wrote:Fred Meyer doesn't seem to qualify for the six percent bonus, at least for me. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods do, though.
I just went back through my billing records ... it looks like my local Fred Meyer qualified for the 6% until June of this year and then it suddenly stopped. Would have been nice to realize this six months ago.
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Mudpuppy »

testing321 wrote:This would be true for us also, except some of our grocery stores are being categorized as 99999999999 instead of GROCERY STORES, SUP. I'm talking about you Sprouts. I should shift these stores to another card until this gets fixed.
Sprouts only has "9999999999" in its "Additional Information" field. The additional information field is not how AmEx categorizes stores for the cash back. That's just something the merchant provides to AmEx, which AmEx may or may not use to determine the category for the merchant. For example, Trader Joe's provides its phone number in the additional information field, but it's still counted as a U.S. Supermarket for purposes of cash back.

What you want to look at, at least through the online interface, is the "Category" field. That's the important one for cash back. You want to see "Merchandise & Supplies - Grocery" on a merchant to get the U.S. Supermarkets cash back percentage. And that is the category for Sprouts, at least for my original Blue Cash card. I also just went through my recent statements and verified that Sprouts is included in the U.S. Supermarkets total for my cash back calculations.

Unless they use different categorization for Blue Cash Preferred and Everyday, you should be getting the U.S. Supermarkets cash back percentage for your purchases at Sprouts.
sharpjm
Posts: 657
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:41 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by sharpjm »

Jags4186 wrote:I have several different cards for this:

I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year on my Amex Everyday Preferred (27,000 Membership Rewards Points)
I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year on my Amex Everyday (14,400 Membership Rewards Points)
I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year with my Blue Cash Preferred ($360 cash back)

This nets out to $214 in gift card fees and I also have a $75 annual fee and a $95 annual fee. So I view it as buying 41,592 Membership Reward points for about $16 total plus about 2 hours total spent in a Walmart getting rid of the gift cards. I may sprinkle in Amazon gift cards as needed now and then which increases my return.

I should note I'm also trying to get my wife onboard with getting all of these cards as well so I can double the return. I would just be an authorized user and do all the leg work myself. 83,000 membership rewards plus our regular spend throughout the year gets us to Europe and back once a year.

I buy 1 $250 Shop Rite Gift Card/mo with my Sallie Mae Card (5% cashback/mo with $250/mo limit on this card)

After I exhaust that $250 gift card the rest of my regular grocery spend goes on my Amex Premier Rewards Gold card for 2 points/dollar--unlimited for the year.
How do you manage 30 transactions per month on the EDP and 20 transactions per month on the ED card? I never make 50 transactions per month. Do you do all of the MS in one month to help with total transactions that month?
Jags4186
Posts: 8198
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:12 pm

Re: "Bonus" on AMEX Blue Cash and Blue Cash Preferred

Post by Jags4186 »

sharpjm wrote:
Jags4186 wrote:I have several different cards for this:

I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year on my Amex Everyday Preferred (27,000 Membership Rewards Points)
I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year on my Amex Everyday (14,400 Membership Rewards Points)
I buy $6000 visa gift cards a year with my Blue Cash Preferred ($360 cash back)

This nets out to $214 in gift card fees and I also have a $75 annual fee and a $95 annual fee. So I view it as buying 41,592 Membership Reward points for about $16 total plus about 2 hours total spent in a Walmart getting rid of the gift cards. I may sprinkle in Amazon gift cards as needed now and then which increases my return.

I should note I'm also trying to get my wife onboard with getting all of these cards as well so I can double the return. I would just be an authorized user and do all the leg work myself. 83,000 membership rewards plus our regular spend throughout the year gets us to Europe and back once a year.

I buy 1 $250 Shop Rite Gift Card/mo with my Sallie Mae Card (5% cashback/mo with $250/mo limit on this card)

After I exhaust that $250 gift card the rest of my regular grocery spend goes on my Amex Premier Rewards Gold card for 2 points/dollar--unlimited for the year.
How do you manage 30 transactions per month on the EDP and 20 transactions per month on the ED card? I never make 50 transactions per month. Do you do all of the MS in one month to help with total transactions that month?
I reload my Amazon balance $0.50 at a time to hit my transaction amount.

I should also point out that grocery stores around me have stopped selling Visa Gift Cards to people with credit cards. So I have been looking into different options. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will just be a temporary thing until these stores implement EMV technology.
Post Reply