I'm new to the forum and read a couple of posts regarding some form of buying with a CC, get the points, and then returning the goods.

Ethical issues aside I don't think this is a viable approach to getting anywhere. Think about it, just how many purchases will you have to return in order to get any decent amount of miles/points.

I can only see it "working" if you're want to get that last 1k-2k points/miles you need for something.

That being said, I'd love to find an instrument like a bond or something which can be bought with a CC. That way, if you have the cash, you could buy a $25K instrument, pay the CC, get the points/miles, and just wait for maturity (3-6mo, whatever). Anyone here know of such a thing?