I'm coming the the States for a few months and would like to take advantage of the 0%APR for purchases and BTs on my credit card to pay for rent, etc. I'm getting the RBC Bank Signature Black Visa Plus and I want to avoid the 3% BT charge. I'd like to get about a few thousand in cash.

Card costs $75/year
Gives 1.5 points/$ (1 point=1.25% cashback)
Double points for first 90 days -> 3.75% cashback
Break even at $6000 with double points offer (compared to no-fee card)

So my plan is to buy Simon GCs or Giftcards.com GCs and use them to buy MOs.


The Simon GCs cost about $2-$3 less depending on shipping but I've read that there might be an issue with acceptance at some places. In that case I was thinking about adding a skin to the card as detailed here if it's just a matter of social engineering.

Otherwise, I'd go with the Giftcards.com cards. AFAIK these don't have any issues with MOs and MC vs Visa doesn't really matter.

Thoughts?