Making money with credit card

[macdoesit]

For the past 10 years or so I started using my cc for everything I would normally write checks for, utilities, insurance, food, gas,property tax, etc. Each month I pay the balance the statement shows. Therefore I do not pay interest on the card, secondly, I get points worth cash, every 4 months I build up 350.00 to 400.00 cash value. I apply the cash to my cc card balance. In past 10 years I have paid Credit card company zero, nada,zip and they have paid me over 9,000.00 cash over 10 years.
Thought this might be worth mentioning, for the ones that are unaware. Whatever you buy on cc make sure you can pay at statement time.

 

[Jchonline]

We make 2% cash back on all purchases…and pay it off every month. Crazy they are paying us to use the card. We have been doing this for at least 15 years (long ago it was .5% though). They have probably bought me a car by now.

 

[K5lwq]

They charge us 3% to run a card so I mark everything up to cover the cost. So it really doesn’t make money. JMO

 

[grsthegreat]

They charge us 3% to run a card so I mark everything up to cover the cost. So it really doesn’t make money. JMO

some do most dont. stores will charge you the same whether your paying cash, check or credit card. usually only gas stations offer a cash discount. most other places dont. the state of Idaho adds 3% if you use CC to pay for permits or licenses online.

no one will ever convience me you dont make money using CC as long as balance is paid in full. ive been using my Citi Double Cash card for years in my business. id purchase $250,000 a year worth of generators on the card and earn 2% back. did this for many years. there was no discount offered by company for personal check or money order. all ways cost the same.

i now get 5% off of fuel bill, plus 2% on everything else. even if i took advantage of the $0.10 per gal cheaper cost at the pump for cash, im saving $0.15 per gallon (5% of $3 diesel) by using card. again, saving more than using cash.

 

[K5lwq]

Most mark it up to the same price regardless of how you pay in order to cover the fees on credit cards. This is because it has become so popular for people to use them with the incentives. It is a part of our company burden on the P&L.

 

[Oaktree]

For the past 10 years or so I started using my cc for everything I would normally write checks for, utilities, insurance, food, gas,property tax, etc. Each month I pay the balance the statement shows. Therefore I do not pay interest on the card, secondly, I get points worth cash, every 4 months I build up 350.00 to 400.00 cash value.

Wow, you must spend a LOT of money to generate that much cashback!! I'm lucky to generate $70-80/year.

some do most dont. stores will charge you the same whether your paying cash, check or credit card. usually only gas stations offer a cash discount. most other places dont.

Never heard of a gas station offering a discount for cash. Almost sounds like more of a PITA than it's worth...go in store, stand in line, prepay, pump, go back inside, stand in line, get change, all to save 50¢ on a fill up.
Occasionally a small mom & pop business will give a cash discount, but it's rare.

 

[dodge man]

Some gas stations do offer a discount for cash, usually ones that cater to big rigs.

The battery for my cell phone got old a few months ago. We went in to get a new one and the girl said I could get a new phone and we would actually lower our bill. I figured there was a catch. There was, I had to sign up for their credit card. It really turned out to be a deal, new phone and our bill is $30 a month less, no gimmick really and their cash back is roughly equal to Discover Card. Of course they count on people carrying a balance to make up for those of us that pay off every month.

 

[5030]

Of course they count on people carrying a balance to make up for those of us that pay off every month.

Exactly. legalized loan sharking at 21% or better. I never carry a balance but I'm in the minority.

 

[rangerfredbob]

You're doing what you are supposed to do, but it's not what most people do... they give you the 1-2% back to entice you to use it and over spend, but those that do what you and I do are well within their safety margin with the 20% interest that the people that carry a maxxed out balance pay for... I think I have a $8500 limit on my card, but even building my shop I haven't had more than $2000 on it, and I think I've only paid $20 in interest in all these years... just from forgetting a couple times

In the 10 years I've had my cash back card I probably get back a couple hundred a year now that I put everything but my mortgage payment on it... about every 2 months I get an email saying it automatically transferred my 2500 points into $25 into my bank account or credit card (I don't remember, same bank so it doesn't matter, just pay it online)

 

[dmccarty]

We have been using credit cards that pay us back for years which has saved/earned us a bunch of money. We pay off the credit card every month. No balance.

We have a couple of cards that give us cash back and a couple that give us points that we use for plane flights. Still not convinced the flight points are as good of a deal, or better than cash, but we still do it. Our next trip should be to Europe and we should not have to pay cash for the plane tickets. Those tickets would be expensive. The questions at this point is will we be able to get to Europe, should we go, and will tickets prices be too expensive but that is all due to the pandemic and not the fault of the credit card point system.

Later,
Dan

 

[3Ts]

I received a tempting offer for a CC recently. 6% cash back with the condition that it can only apply to one of 4 categories which can be changed every month. Really was interesting and I thought about changing over to it, but the small print was that interest would be charged from the date of purchase not on a CC due date.

 

[RSKY]

We use Samsclub Master Card for gas, 5% back, and restaurants, 3% back. For everything else we use a Fidelity Visa which puts 2% into my IRA with each use. The Discover Card is used for online purchases. Occasionally a company will give back on a different type of purchase and we will change for a few months. We also use store cards such as Lowes, 5% back at the register, and my wife uses Kohl's and Dillard's cards to get the cash back when she purchases at those stores. My wife also shops Kroger coupons online and when we go to store it will save us as much as 30% on total.

The balances are paid off each moth without fail. We never carry a balance. I pay all bills online and have since I transposed numbers on a check about fifteen years ago and ended up paying interest and a $30+ finance fee on a balance less than $10.

When you retire and have time to sit down and think about saving money credit cards can work for you. BUT you must NEVER CARRY A BALANCE. If you have to carry a balance you don't need to make the purchase.

Carrying a balance on a credit card is about the stupidest financial thing you can do.

RSKY

 

[CobyRupert]

I think I’ve figured out a way to make some real money from your credit card. I’ve never read the credit card’s fine print (who has?), but get a $1,000,000 personal loan from a bank at (say) 10% interest and use it to overpay a credit card that charges “20% interest on all outstanding balances”. 20% interest on (negative) $1 million balance is (negative) $200,000 that I owe (which means I’d get (positive) $200,000 every year.)
Genius! You can thank me later.

 

[5030]

Carrying a balance on a credit card is about the stupidest financial thing you can do.

How CC providers make money, that and portal fees.

 

[macdoesit]

I have never been charged to use my CC and no annual fees.

 

[CADplans]

Wow, you must spend a LOT of money to generate that much cashback!! I'm lucky to generate $70-80/year.

If you are only generating $80, that is only $4,000 per year,,
Most people charge (or could charge ) more than that per month,,

We had our kids work over our budget,, EVERYTHING goes across that card now,,
we are pretty much cash-less, and check-less,, now,,

That card gets more than $4,000 a month,, and we carry no balance.

THEN,, there is Sams Club, they give us something like 2% on purchases,, and we charge the purchases on that card, so the Sams Club purchases get 4% money back.

We buy more than enough at Sams to get double our membership back,,
and all the stuff that comes free shipping beyond the money back,,

The only cash I have used in the last 6 months has been to pay our grandchildren to do chores,,.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've started using my CC more, in part for the rewards; it's also handy for paying at the pump when I fill my tank. Some places do charge extra for using it, especially for the above mentioned fuel purchase. Others have a minimum purchase with a card; I've seen sotre owners give a cup of coffee away because it's cheaper for them than putting it on a card.
I used to argue that plastic cost the vendor more than cash as the CC company charges for each purchase (which pays for whatever reward you choose). However, some argue the exact opposite in the belief they have to pay an extra person to run the register, and there are places which no longer accept cash. To some degree it probably depends on the product sold, and the profit margin.

One thing I will not use is a debit card. Despite that, I checked my account one morning last year and discovered that Amazon had made a query to see how much money I had available. Luckily nothing was taken; yet there's no way they should have had that card number. I called my CU as soon as they opened and had the card shut off; when they sent me a new one I didn't even activate it.

 

[caver]

I made $100 off amazon using their card. I got the card which applied that $100 discount to a purchase well over $100. I never actually used the card since it was only good at amazon so threw it in the safe and canceled it about 3-4 months later.

 

[Kira]

I use my credit card to pay for everything. It is very convenient. As I had bad credit, the Indigo Platinum Mastercard was the best option for me. According to the indigo card customer service, If your FICO scores are below 600 and you're having trouble getting approved for other cards, this card may be one way for you to build credit.
And thanks for sharing your experience, I've found out a lot of useful info here.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Before we retired and sold our business, we would put most if not all expenses on the CC which was between $30k and $40k per year and averaged around $650 cash back.