Stories :-:
Dec 4, 2018, 3:12 pm
#16
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 369
Untold stories
I also enjoyed PPMC, Amazon payments and Visa BUXX. Banned for life now with PP but it was worth it. am doing an amazing one right now. I hope it never ends up here but it likely will. I understand the heavy hitters now. Doing it all at my desk.
Dec 4, 2018, 3:59 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 293
Good ole days
Go through portal (get up to 3% off), buy second-hand electronic Walmart gift cards at discount (3% to 5% off), purchase $200 VGC at Walmart.com with gift cards, (which shipped for free to your house), and take to Walmart and load BBs, BP or MO. System now hard coded against use of Walmart gift cards to purchase VGCs.
Variation: Go through portal (get up to 3% off), buy second-hand Best Buy gift cards at discount (5% to 10% off), purchase $200 VGC at Best Buy with gift cards, get additional 2% back in Best Buy rewards, take to Walmart and load BBs, BP or MO. System now hard coded against use of Best Buy gift cards to purchase VGCs.
Variation: Go through portal (get up to 3% off), buy second-hand Best Buy gift cards at discount (5% to 10% off), purchase $200 VGC at Best Buy with gift cards, get additional 2% back in Best Buy rewards, take to Walmart and load BBs, BP or MO. System now hard coded against use of Best Buy gift cards to purchase VGCs.
Dec 4, 2018, 5:13 pm
#18
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Northeastern United States
Posts: 597
I had a JetBlue perpetual point earning system going for almost a year. I would go through the JetBlue portal to Amazon and buy Joann Fabrics eGift Cards which would arrive via email almost instantly and then go in my local Joann Fabrics store and buy Amazon gift cards for the same amount and then repeat the process the next day. This only worked for me because I had a relative that was a manager there and she had the ability to over-ride the POS system to allow for Amazon GC purchases with a Joann Fabrics GC. I would do $500 to $1000 worth three to four times a week whenever she was working. The only problem was the store didn't get their GCs restocked fast enough for me to push more volume. I bought her and her fiance round trip tickets on JetBlue in Mint from BOS to SFO as a reward for her help since I racked up just shy of 700K JetBlue points for very little work.
Dec 4, 2018, 5:19 pm
#19
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Northeastern United States
Posts: 597
I miss PPMC so much. Loved buying VGCs at GCM.com through a 2% portal using my Citi DC card then paying Citi over the phone with my PPBDC and PPDC which had funds loaded from buying PPMC cards at CVS with my Amex OBC at 5% cash back. Good times!
Dec 5, 2018, 2:14 am
#20
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 454
I had so much fun with the 5 back on the 5 backs from GCM last year (then MANY visits to CVS).
So what to do with hundreds of 5 backs with $25 on them? I pre-paid my Sprint bill for a year.
Then Sprint fraud called me. They asked why I had paid my bill for a year with $25 payments. I said because I had many $25 gift cards.
Rep said you can not do this.
I said - Really?
Rep said we will have to send you a check!
Oh did the same thing with Comcast. Their fraud dept. called as well. They did not send me a check.
So what to do with hundreds of 5 backs with $25 on them? I pre-paid my Sprint bill for a year.
Then Sprint fraud called me. They asked why I had paid my bill for a year with $25 payments. I said because I had many $25 gift cards.
Rep said you can not do this.
I said - Really?
Rep said we will have to send you a check!
Oh did the same thing with Comcast. Their fraud dept. called as well. They did not send me a check.
Dec 5, 2018, 2:14 am
#21
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 454
I had a JetBlue perpetual point earning system going for almost a year. I would go through the JetBlue portal to Amazon and buy Joann Fabrics eGift Cards which would arrive via email almost instantly and then go in my local Joann Fabrics store and buy Amazon gift cards for the same amount and then repeat the process the next day. This only worked for me because I had a relative that was a manager there and she had the ability to over-ride the POS system to allow for Amazon GC purchases with a Joann Fabrics GC. I would do $500 to $1000 worth three to four times a week whenever she was working. The only problem was the store didn't get their GCs restocked fast enough for me to push more volume. I bought her and her fiance round trip tickets on JetBlue in Mint from BOS to SFO as a reward for her help since I racked up just shy of 700K JetBlue points for very little work.
Dec 5, 2018, 2:16 am
#22
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 454
Dec 5, 2018, 6:35 am
#23
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 1,066
Somehow I slipped through the cracks. Cards 2 and 3 i didn't push like I did card 1 though. But card 3 I hammered to the max the last 2 months and had an insane CL. I think I may have been the cause of one local store shutdown/slowdown as a result when i was about 3 weeks from finishing. Made the last few weeks excruciatingly difficult.
Dec 5, 2018, 7:39 am
#24
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,322
Re: 5-Back Cards -- It was a great gravy train, but all the complaints about "getting rid of $26 cards" is annoying. Using them for a massive series of bill payments is just stupid, and invites scrutiny. Instead, try taking a friend to lunch, or maybe paying for the random person behind you in line at the convenience store You may find pleasant the endorphin rush of doing small favors with free money.
Dec 5, 2018, 7:42 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 369
Dec 5, 2018, 7:53 am
#26
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 198
Re: 5-Back Cards -- It was a great gravy train, but all the complaints about "getting rid of $26 cards" is annoying. Using them for a massive series of bill payments is just stupid, and invites scrutiny. Instead, try taking a friend to lunch, or maybe paying for the random person behind you in line at the convenience store You may find pleasant the endorphin rush of doing small favors with free money.
Dec 5, 2018, 8:01 am
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 483
I used the $25 from the 5back to buy $100 Disney GC and put them in my Disney savings account for a cruise. When Disney was ending the savings account program, they gave us an additional 5% which was great!
Last edited by Travelz; Jul 3, 2020 at 8:01 pm
Dec 5, 2018, 8:49 am
#28
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,322
P.S. And, if your brain isn't wired that way, then never mind, and keep on truckin.
Dec 5, 2018, 2:47 pm
#29
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 319
We may be reminiscing about this one someday.
Dec 5, 2018, 8:07 pm
#30
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: AA EP; WN CP;UA SILVER; MARRIOTT TITANIUM; HH DIAMOND; IHG PLAT; RADISSON PLAT; HYATT GLOBAL
Posts: 1,938
Amex for Target (Not the Redbird): You could reload with a credit card $5k/month and cash out via ATM. 2015-2016. I had 4 of them. Had access to a load friendly target and a free atm. Besides meeting minimum spend on multiple cards, I would do a lot of BA when you could get 1.25 Avios/$. Wellsfargo prepaid card that worked just the same, had to use WF atms. This one only lasted like 6 months
I found funny that for about 6 months, you could buy directly from chase.com, fee free $500 visa gift cards online with free shipping. There was a max per month, I think of $2,500, but it was per card. Wife and I had about 10 cards and we maxed it out. I find great irony in this, for sure before the era of shutdowns.
5% back at simon then buy MO at Kmart. This is the one I knew it was going to die fast, so I hit it hard. Had to drive a bit to an area where there were 4 kmarts. Then to liquidate the $25 CB cards, I put an expensive TV on layaway at the same Kmart, and used the $25 cards to paydown the balance until I was close to paying it off, then said I didn't want it and got a refund in cash!
Amex sync offer at Sams. I added all my business cards and AU, purchased $500 MC and netted about $3K in rebates. This one thanks to dansdeals
All of these come and go, and more will continue to come and go. What I really miss and will not come back anytime soon is distance based mileage earning. Mileage Runs to europe, asia or south america on a dirt cheap fare and I could net up to 35K award miles (Hongkong).
I found funny that for about 6 months, you could buy directly from chase.com, fee free $500 visa gift cards online with free shipping. There was a max per month, I think of $2,500, but it was per card. Wife and I had about 10 cards and we maxed it out. I find great irony in this, for sure before the era of shutdowns.
5% back at simon then buy MO at Kmart. This is the one I knew it was going to die fast, so I hit it hard. Had to drive a bit to an area where there were 4 kmarts. Then to liquidate the $25 CB cards, I put an expensive TV on layaway at the same Kmart, and used the $25 cards to paydown the balance until I was close to paying it off, then said I didn't want it and got a refund in cash!
Amex sync offer at Sams. I added all my business cards and AU, purchased $500 MC and netted about $3K in rebates. This one thanks to dansdeals
All of these come and go, and more will continue to come and go. What I really miss and will not come back anytime soon is distance based mileage earning. Mileage Runs to europe, asia or south america on a dirt cheap fare and I could net up to 35K award miles (Hongkong).
Last edited by ORD-TGU; Dec 5, 2018 at 8:15 pm