anabolism

I typically end up with a bunch of cards with small balances left. I've found that doctors and labs (e.g., for my annual exam) send a bill that allows payment via an online site that lets you enter the amount to pay. So I just run through the cards, smallest remaining balance first, until the bill's paid. It can get tedious entering data to pay a $60 bill with 8 cards, but it's a way to use them to the penny. If I have no better bonus for Amazon, I use a card that provides extra cash back for online purchases, so I don't want to use up the cards with Amazon.

nk15

Apple is 4x today but all new products excluded. Boooooo Apple....

marlee1421

Motley Fool seems to be an inexpensive way to pick up a bunch of LPs (7500 LPs for $89). Any thoughts from personal experiences as to pros and cons? Lots of spam? Ease of turning off auto renewal? Can it be canceled after a period of time and still retain LPs? Can I buy it for a family member? Any other thoughts are appreciated.

WannaTheater

No issues when I did it a few months ago. I set up an email filter in Outlook that pumps all the emails into a separate folder, which honestly have not been that many. It is completely manageable. I had no issues getting the points. I have not yet turned off auto renewal, but do not expect any issues.

Disclaimer: My individual experiences only. YMMV. I believe others here may have waited a long time for points.

nk15

I have to confess, even though I would rather boycott giftcards.com until they raise the earnings, I still buy some because the 1 mile and the 1% discount on some cards is still better than nothing....

anabolism

I am positive that email addresses don't get shared amongst AA, Catera and Giftcards.com. I use a unique email address for each entity, as a security and anti-spam measure. I highly recommend not using the same email at more than one web site or service.

My guess as to what gets orders cancelled are some combination of:

• Shipping and billing addresses:
  • Are they commercial or residential addresses?
  • Is the street address shared by multiple people or entities (e.g., a UPS store or other private mailbox, a post office box, an apartment building or condo that share the same street address, differing only in apartment or unit number)?
  • Are they different?
• Phone numbers:
  • Cell or landline?
  • Business or residential?
  • VoIP number?
• Order history:
  • Ramping up slowly with one small order per day until orders always go through is best.
• IP address:
  • Are you using a VPN?
  • Are you behind a NAT where multiple unrelated people are using the same IP address?

All these can trigger a fraud alert. Private mailboxes make it very likely that someone at a different box committed fraud. Also likely, but maybe not quite as likely, at PO Boxes, apartments, condos, etc. VPNs, especially the free ones, are often used by attackers. If you're behind a NAT, someone else may be using it for fraud.

anabolism

Starting out with $250 cards is likely the trigger.

anabolism

Are you strictly adhering to the best practices?

My recommendations:

• Use a dedicated browser for AAdvantageeshopping. Don't use this browser for anything else, and always use this browser for AA E-shopping.
• Don't use Safari as this browser. (I use Microsoft Edge, because it's one of the more egregious privacy-violating browsers so is good to dedicate to a task where privacy isn't a concern.)
• Be sure that the dedicated browser does not have any ad blockers, privacy plug-ins, tracker blockers, or any other add-ons or plug-ins (except for password/credit card managers).
• Go through the settings and turn off all privacy protections and any built-in ad blocking. This is your zero-privacy browser (which is one reason to not use it for anything other than AA E-shopping).
• Install the AA E-Shopping button.

Following these practices should cause your purchases to automatically track and post.

anabolism

Would it work to purchase a VGF with a VGF? Not worth it just at the moment, but if they go back to 3x miles and offer a discount to offset the fee, could someone just purchase them in a loop? It sounds like something they'd catch, but I don't know if they would.

nk15

No, it doesn't work.

On another note, Cartera was very responsive and gave me all the missing points from the purchases that did not track at all, and very quickly. So, do not hesitate to ask...

LittleBird

Doesn’t work

linglingfool

Data point: bought $2k VGC from GC.com on 8/31, tracked instantly with the correct order number (although at the pre-5% subtotal, interestingly enough), but has not yet been credited. Not sure if it was flagged for review because the subtotal was >$2k, or why the delay when others have seen theirs post, but Cartera responded and quoted a 4-8 week timeline for resolution.

(As an aside: I've found them nearly impossible to use organically at places that only accept debit. The most disappointing one is BIllMatrix, who told me unsolicited over the phone that they do not accept prepaid cards for payment, so I can't use them to pay off my auto loan.)

It's also super interesting to me that they nerfed this deal just as interest rates were peaking. The prevent value of these cashflows should be even lower in this environment, so if they were willing to offer 5% and/or 3x in a much lower rate environment, it should be even more enticing for them to incentivize purchases now.

anabolism

I use 1Password to manage passwords, credit cards, software licenses, passports, etc. Likely this is the same with other similar managers. I'm in the minority because I use it without an account; I use local vaults instead of a cloud-based vault. This may be the same process with an account/cloud-based vault, I'm not sure since I don't do that.

I already have a primary and an archive vault (I move credit cards and logins to the archive when they're no longer active). I created another vault for eGift cards. When I purchase a gift card, I retrieve it and enter it into the eGift vault right away. I title it in an obvious way, e.g., "Visa $250". As I spend it, I add a note to its entry, e.g., "$12.50 9/1/22 Bazooka chewing gum", and I update the title to add "-- $xx.xx left", so if I spent $12.50 on a $250 card, the card title becomes "Visa $250 -- $237.50 left". When it hits $0 left I move it to the archive vault. This makes it easy to scan down the list of cards to find the right one. If I'm paying a bill at a site that allows multiple payments, I'll use the smallest balances first, to get them used up. If I'm at a site that only takes one payment, I'll pick the closest match. It's a few extra steps, but not burdensome.

sidorg222

When I look at the AAdvantage eShopping Motley Fool offer, it says "Was 3,700 Miles, now earn 7,400 miles". It doesn't seem to mention LP (Loyalty Points).

I'm assuming these are normal AAdvantage miles, and that 1 AAdvantage mile earns 1 Loyalty Points?

anabolism

I had a similar experience at Lifepointspanel (formerly Mysurvey). I'd been taking surveys when I had time for a couple of decades (they used to send $2 bills in the mail before they switched to points). I had a large stash of their points which I was going to convert to gift cards, when suddenly the site said my account was invalid. I emailed them and they said their systems detected violations, they wouldn't tell me what I did wrong, there is no appeal, and they won't discuss it. Very slimly.