sateran

After all the research I've done that's the number one rule I follow. I always have plan to unload my floating funds. ^

cheaptimesharetraveler

The Florida Mall is a Simon Mall. Absolutely it is, even still. We have purchased at least $30K over the last few Orlando trips, making our trips pay for themselves.

roconor40

I had similar issue with reloading Serve with SMGC. It only happened on one of my Serve accounts though. The other worked fine. I used Kate after getting the same slip at a cashier. I have another BB account, but the card was in the car so I didn't try it. I have a min spend coming up, so I'll try it again next week.

t325

When was this? I couldn't reload a Redbird with an OVGC last night, I wonder if Amex's systems were having problems.

roconor40

This was on 09/30. I loaded $1500 on Redbird on 10/01 with SMGC's no problem.

munchcolo

I recently got into MS to satisfy a large minimum spend and to earn my wife some AA EQM using her Barclay Silver Aviator (get her to platinum). I've been going to the local Simon Mall. In talking to the manager at guest services, he said there are several people who purchase 19 cards at a time (just under $10k), and they do so frequently. I've read that SMGC code as department store. Is there a particular card that serious MS's are using to justify such large and frequent purchases, perhaps a particular cashback card or a card with department store bonus?

lumangoy

Where?

You didnt read a few pages back.

Zgirl

My purchases of SMGCs are coded as "professional services"

gauravpgupta

Is simon mall GCs the cheapest way to MS?

Giftcards.com has raised their fees and it does not make sense anymore.

Majuki

I would say they're certainly the least hassle method for satisfying minimum spend. If you're able to do the 10k, it's a good haul for the fast transaction time.

kenme1

+1, quick and easy at a cost of ~$0.079pp. While not the most lucrative it is just one method to accumulate points/miles or meet min spend rather easily.

PaulMSN

It's not the most lucrative but it's simpler and easier than many other methods. I look at it this way -- if I use an AA card and deposit into a Redcard, I'm getting miles at a rate that will earn a trip to Asia in C for $958. Even if I go the MO route, the C trip will cost only $1042. If I use my Citi DC card, I can offset the spend completely, although then I'm only getting a little over half the points for each trip to Simon.

I think this is the best way to get miles or points from cards that are only 1x, plus it's a large chunk of MS if you can get the max number of cards.

littlewinglet

Why wouldn't you use Starwood card for all milage earning through this method? Then you get 1.25 miles per $1 spent.

illinidad

True, but diversification, credit limits and risk management matter. There are only a couple of cards that earn starpoints (personal and bus) but several that earn AA miles.

Chelski

The EQ can be good as well as just miles/points. Also, it's a good way to get a status quickly (hotel or air). If you want a certain status for Marriott or Hilton etc then you can buy in increments of $10k. Additionally, you get al the points as well. With the Discover double Cashback it can be good for that. It's not the greatest return but you can always redeem for discounted GCs to make it go a bit further. If I'm going by the SM then I'm gonna get 20 cards but I won't make a special trip unless I'm going for a particular status. You could get SW companion pass without having to churn CCs. It only takes 2-3 flights with companion to recover the MS cost. obviously,it's much better if you can do 2 CCs. I have $550 booked in flights in November with CP so $1100. No more cash out of pocket, just points. I'd get SM for SW pts over buying a ticket any day.