Analysis: 1.5% CB on non-CC items with Ink Plus
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 49
Analysis: 1.5% CB on non-CC items with Ink Plus
Folks,
This is how I utilize Ink Plus now that I've received my 70K bonus, I plan to continue to MS with this card for all things that can't be charged to a card. Here are the items I am now earning 1.5% back for:
1. Mortgage payments
2. Property Tax
3. All personal checks
4. Insurance payments
Before I discovered MS with Ink Plus all the mentioned items were deducted directly from my bank account with NO extra cash-back incentive/return. But after discovering MS, I'm now earning 1.5% on all these items.
This is how I do it:
1. Acquire $200 VGC cards from OS stores till I've reached my monthly spend need
2. Liquidate these into BlueBird at Wal-Mart
3. Pay off items using BlueBird BillPay
Accounting for $6.95 VGC fees, my effective return rate is 1.5% for all these items which used to directly be deducted from my bank account with no bonus/incentives! Thoughts?
This is how I utilize Ink Plus now that I've received my 70K bonus, I plan to continue to MS with this card for all things that can't be charged to a card. Here are the items I am now earning 1.5% back for:
1. Mortgage payments
2. Property Tax
3. All personal checks
4. Insurance payments
Before I discovered MS with Ink Plus all the mentioned items were deducted directly from my bank account with NO extra cash-back incentive/return. But after discovering MS, I'm now earning 1.5% on all these items.
This is how I do it:
1. Acquire $200 VGC cards from OS stores till I've reached my monthly spend need
2. Liquidate these into BlueBird at Wal-Mart
3. Pay off items using BlueBird BillPay
Accounting for $6.95 VGC fees, my effective return rate is 1.5% for all these items which used to directly be deducted from my bank account with no bonus/incentives! Thoughts?
Last edited by tilleyd; Nov 20, 2014 at 11:20 pm Reason: wordsmith
#2
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
Folks,
This is how I utilize Ink Plus now that I've received my 70K bonus, I plan to continue to MS with this card for all things that can't be charged to a card. Here are the items I am now earning 1.5% back for:
1. Mortgage payments
2. Property Tax
3. Credit-Card balance payments
4. All personal checks, etc.
Before I discovered MS with Ink Plus all the mentioned items were deducted directly from my bank account with NO return. But after discovering the joy of MS, I am now earning 1.5% on all these items.
This is how I do it:
1. I acquire $200 VGC cards until I've reached my monthly spend-need
2. I liquidate these at Walmart to BlueBird.
3. I pay off the (4) items mentioned above using BlueBird.
Accounting for $6.95 VGC fees, my effective return rate is 1.5% for all these items which used to directly be deducted from my bank account with no bonus/incentives! Thoughts?
This is how I utilize Ink Plus now that I've received my 70K bonus, I plan to continue to MS with this card for all things that can't be charged to a card. Here are the items I am now earning 1.5% back for:
1. Mortgage payments
2. Property Tax
3. Credit-Card balance payments
4. All personal checks, etc.
Before I discovered MS with Ink Plus all the mentioned items were deducted directly from my bank account with NO return. But after discovering the joy of MS, I am now earning 1.5% on all these items.
This is how I do it:
1. I acquire $200 VGC cards until I've reached my monthly spend-need
2. I liquidate these at Walmart to BlueBird.
3. I pay off the (4) items mentioned above using BlueBird.
Accounting for $6.95 VGC fees, my effective return rate is 1.5% for all these items which used to directly be deducted from my bank account with no bonus/incentives! Thoughts?
#4
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 466
Folks,
This is how I utilize Ink Plus now that I've received my 70K bonus, I plan to continue to MS with this card for all things that can't be charged to a card. Here are the items I am now earning 1.5% back for:
1. Mortgage payments
2. Property Tax
3. Credit-Card balance payments
4. All personal checks, etc.
Before I discovered MS with Ink Plus all the mentioned items were deducted directly from my bank account with NO return. But after discovering the joy of MS, I am now earning 1.5% on all these items.
This is how I do it:
1. I acquire $200 VGC cards until I've reached my monthly spend-need
2. I liquidate these at Walmart to BlueBird.
3. I pay off the (4) items mentioned above using BlueBird.
Accounting for $6.95 VGC fees, my effective return rate is 1.5% for all these items which used to directly be deducted from my bank account with no bonus/incentives! Thoughts?
This is how I utilize Ink Plus now that I've received my 70K bonus, I plan to continue to MS with this card for all things that can't be charged to a card. Here are the items I am now earning 1.5% back for:
1. Mortgage payments
2. Property Tax
3. Credit-Card balance payments
4. All personal checks, etc.
Before I discovered MS with Ink Plus all the mentioned items were deducted directly from my bank account with NO return. But after discovering the joy of MS, I am now earning 1.5% on all these items.
This is how I do it:
1. I acquire $200 VGC cards until I've reached my monthly spend-need
2. I liquidate these at Walmart to BlueBird.
3. I pay off the (4) items mentioned above using BlueBird.
Accounting for $6.95 VGC fees, my effective return rate is 1.5% for all these items which used to directly be deducted from my bank account with no bonus/incentives! Thoughts?
Wait a minute....
#5
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,036
Yea you have a lot to learn. That's horrible value anyway. Sign up for Visa savings edge and you can get 2.5% CB! (Through 2014). I'm guessing you probably took the 70K point bonus and cashed out the $700 too, you bandit!
Don't take the cash back on Chase points they are worth double that (at least to me) when transferred out to travel partners.
Don't take the cash back on Chase points they are worth double that (at least to me) when transferred out to travel partners.
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 49
Yea you have a lot to learn. That's horrible value anyway. Sign up for Visa savings edge and you can get 2.5% CB! (Through 2014). I'm guessing you probably took the 70K point bonus and cashed out the $700 too, you bandit!
Don't take the cash back on Chase points they are worth double that (at least to me) when transferred out to travel partners.
Don't take the cash back on Chase points they are worth double that (at least to me) when transferred out to travel partners.
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
#7
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 119
I'm confused, how can I make the points worth double their value? I just logged into my Chase Portal and have 99,157 points. These are equivalent to the following:
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
__
Mods, I'd suggest moving this thread to the New to Manufactured Spending thread.
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 49
Thanks for the tip. I'll look into those transfer partners. Much appreciated! I guess I have more thread reading to do! Thanks much!
#9
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 304
Let's say you transfer 8000 points to Hyatt and book a room that normally costs $200. You just redeemed your points for a value of 200/8000= .025 which is just ever so slightly more than .01 per point.
However, if you have no travel plans and want the cash, there isn't anybody here that can stop you.
However, if you have no travel plans and want the cash, there isn't anybody here that can stop you.
#10
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
I'm confused, how can I make the points worth double their value? I just logged into my Chase Portal and have 99,157 points. These are equivalent to the following:
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 49
#12
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,036
I'm confused, how can I make the points worth double their value? I just logged into my Chase Portal and have 99,157 points. These are equivalent to the following:
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
99,157 Points = $991.57 Cash Back Point Value: 1cent
99,157 Points = $1,239.46 Travel Credit Value: 1.2cents
How are you concluding they're worth double their value? Also, redeeming for travel is only nice if you have a imminent travel need. If you have no upcoming travel, redeeming for cash is your best option. Please advise.
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 49
ibleedOrange, I am only seeking cash-back for items that traditionally could not be purchased with a credit card. See my original post. I'm not seeking to "manufacture" additional cash-back that's beyond my normal spending. Does that help clarify? I looked into the SW airline points transfer idea, they are very attractive.... I think that'll be my best bang/buck.
#14
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,036
ibleedOrange, I am only seeking cash-back for items that traditionally could not be purchased with a credit card. See my original post. I'm not seeking to "manufacture" additional cash-back that's beyond my normal spending. Does that help clarify? I looked into the SW airline points transfer idea, they are very attractive.... I think that'll be my best bang/buck.
#1 You are not getting cash back for items that traditionally can't be purchased with cc. You are buying giftcards man. You load them to Bluebird and do what with the money? Pay your mortgage? No you pay your credit card. Your just robbing peter to pay paul and you are manufacturing additional cashback. Whatever you want to call it is up to you but you don't know what your talking about. If you want to limit yourself to getting cashback For just a mortgage and car loan equivalent to say $1400 a month that is on you. But you can buy $5K of those a month and dump to bluebird and the outcome is exactly the same. Pay your mortgage out of your bank account and use bluebird to pay your credit card.
#15
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
ibleedOrange, I am only seeking cash-back for items that traditionally could not be purchased with a credit card. See my original post. I'm not seeking to "manufacture" additional cash-back that's beyond my normal spending. Does that help clarify? I looked into the SW airline points transfer idea, they are very attractive.... I think that'll be my best bang/buck.
And to second what ibleedOrange wrote above me, you're using a lot of semantics when there's no difference. Using BB to pay mortgage means you pay CC (that you bought the VGC with) from your bank account. Or you can use what you loaded to pay CC, and pay mortgage from bank account. I don't like the logic you're using; it's similar to when people say "I lost $100 in the past few hands at the blackjack table, but I was up $100 already, so I didn't really lose anything." Yes, you did. You lost $100 that you could've kept if you had quit when you were up $100.
Last edited by dukerau; Nov 20, 2014 at 2:20 pm