Every once in a while this game still works the way it used to (and is supposed to).
Just got my year-end match of $3,750, which equates to $250,000 is spending.
All of the spending was US Bank debit cards from Kroger (with grocery items thrown in). Usual spending on MS days were $1,000 - $2,000.
Most payments on the card were through Check Free Bill Pay or money orders from WalMart.
Original credit line was $10,000, raised to $14,000, then $19,000.
Started off at $10,000 - $15,000 a month. Never went over $30,000 a month. So credit line was exceeded, but not significantly so.
Payments were constant, so the outstanding balance was never close to the credit line.
Only two fraud calls. One when the card was so worn out it needed to be swiped instead of scanned, and the other when I spent heavily on the replacement card once it arrived.
Nothing spectacular like the AMEX Blue unlimited 5% days, but this is a nice card for a year to generate a little sock drawer money when you are near a Kroger and WalMart anyway.
I figure the MS costs are 1.5%, so the year-end bonus amount is the profit.
So a shutdown eliminates the profit, and is a disaster. Hopefully data points like these helps avoid a shut down for others.