sedubby

Sad that we seem to be feeding off tiny scraps these days. Seriously nothing new yet for this year? Please tell me it's not all downhill from here already.

coolblues

Yeap, several apparently....

HouFly

yeah, HELLO, you need to pay more attention bud

gloreglabert

.....

36902BRF

Yes I am sure there have been new methods developed. And yes it is probably downhill from here as much as it pains me. MS is too popular and the banks are well aware of it so my guess is we are in the end days of this being a major viable option for so many folks (I give it another year or two).

Basically I see several things leading to its demise at least in its current incarnation. One the banks are aware of it and my guess is they will continue reduce the profitability of it (witness how 5% cards are dying/being capped/made useless for MS--looking at you TD). Two, for travel awards the airlines and hotels are aware of it. Basically they are printing money (their travel currency) which as any beginning economics student will tell you leads to inflation or the travel currency equivalent aka devaluation when the supply of goods does not increase in proportion. Three the travel companies don't need us to fill beds and seats like they did during the great recession so that will also incentivize them towards devaluation. Four, too many folks are chasing too few options and killing various MS methods either locally or nationally. Even privately known methods die fairly quickly due to the numbers of folks jumping on (and possibly the banks being more attuned to detect our behavior). Also as more finance types become aware of our games they make their products generally less friendly to us.

I have played a number of these sort of financial hacks over the years and they all die in the end so I am not moaning about it, it is just a fact of life. I am still doing fine but in the end I suspect either the profitability will be so reduced it won't be worth my time or the methods will dry up.

MSerforfun

It's funny how the "HELLO" method was suspended by one of moderators so it will be not be discussed further more. I was able to find a 5% on groceries credit card through one of the local credit unions this year and I am going strong until I get shut down! That's my new find for this year.

46sky

Ugh yeah it seems like people discovering anything great keep it under wraps for as long as possible - it only makes sense - the second that something goes public its not too long before it dies... Keep your eyes open for local opportunities and always try out new options yourself - I can't say were at the tip of the iceberg here, but surely many people keep their diamonds stashed. '

Me - I'm still just hitting SERVE and MO lightly. No impetus to look for anything new because its relatively convenient. However, I predict that sooner or later my WM avenue will shut me down. Already getting hints of this by the actions of cashiers. Would love to discover something big I can sit around and handle while I'm in my PJs, but I think that discovery will come by means of personal work rather than info from the forum.

buruch

HELLO is still going? Mod removed it so it wouldn't get shut down, or because it's too shady?

YoProWithAGoPro

yes

Phantom707

There was someone else who said this in a similar thread, but I'm starting to agree. A really good way of doing MS is not in discovering new methods but in finding old ones that everyone else thinks has died and then making them work for you.

For instance, I had had a feeling that even though Serve was going to go to Amex only cards, there was a chance that if you already had a non-Amex card loaded, you could continue to use it after the sixteenth. Lo and behold, that turned out to be the case. Now the real question is if it'll last until next month.

bigugly

Look for locally unique opportunities, or retool some of the mainstream methods to fit your situation. Never, ever discuss them here.

Yes, some are fortunate enough to have other 5% cards locally available, which probably helps them some, but they are usually limited like all the other cards that are globally available.

Mamibear

I've checked CUs not just for their CC offers but MS opportunities that aren't advertised as such but if you're in this game for a while, you know what to look for. It may take some time to find them but once set-up, they're quite easy to manage.

xp0

Yes. Also Yes to many things other people have said.

kenme1

There are always new methods to MS, some just get to be a bit shady as the CC companies and retail avenues clamp down.

littlewinglet

Until some completely new, revolutionary method is discovered (like mint coins back in the day), the only "new" methods are loopholes and workarounds in the currently known method of buying either GCs or reload packs...or loading directly onto pre-paid cards. The only news are local variations of those methods, and those can be easily discovered with some trial and error.

Any major new methods would either get shut down immediately if they're too lucrative due to an unintended loophole, or otherwise would be reported all over the blogs.