Using rebates to reap miles!!
 

I was pondering the closing of the CO GC loophole, and I remembered an experience I had a while ago.

I bought a $300 cellular phone with a $150 rebate, and charged it for miles on SWA RR Visa. I ended up not needing the phone because I found my original one (I thought I had lost it). I sold the new, sealed phone I had just bought on eBay for $250.

I was $100 ahead and with the miles to show for it.

Obviously this is a small-scale example but I wonder if we searched dilligently at http://www.rebateplace.com we could find something promising........

The key is finding something you could resell for a high value.

Is selling something "new" without the UPC code legal?

i believe so. also, if the person on ebay was upfront (new phone, box missing UPC code), that's completely fine.

regarding the original post, in theory this is true. buy things with a mileage earning credit card and then send away for rebates. problem is, it's a lot of work for typically small ticket items. yes, your phone had a nice rebate but most rebates are small. plus, keeping track of the rebates is a complete pain. and, if you don't receive a rebate or two, it completely wipes out the value of the miles you did earn since you probably wouldn't have bought the items in the first place. it's just a lot of work....