Any ideas how to do this if i need the money in 11 months now that the new holding period is 12 months.

When putting it on a credit card, you are still only out of pocket 10-11 months.

Each thread has different questions, so I bumped several to make sure all questions were answered. If you already know all the answers you really don't need to read these threads.

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Ms.DtG

A long term suggestion that won't tie-up all you money at once, is to spread out your purchases. Instead of buying, lets say, $24,000 of savings bonds at once, is to buy $2,000 per month. That way you'll always have some bonds you can cash in any given month (after the required holding period).

If you buy the bonds today, you will be able to cash them March 1, 2004. Of course, you won't have to actually pay for them until your credit card bill payment is due.

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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

This process is commonly called laddering. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

On the other hand if you have the money, buy to your credit limit (which can actually be increased by pre-paying on a MC) and then you can still stagger redemption if you need the money.

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Ms.DtG

Whether or not you use the online bond purchasing for "churning" the system or just to invest, why not get the most out of it. Miles, cash back--either. I have been buying online for years. I used to buy through payroll savings but WHY when I could reap some extra bennies. Later, I became even more savy and learned to wait for the credit card airline sponsors to come up with their annual double miles promotions. Delta and United credit cards and the US Treasury have gotten me more than a few flights while simultaneously "pushing" me to these save investments. Oh well, now I have to keep the bonds for 12 months vice 6(effective 1 Feb 2003). A price to pay, but at least the program is still available (for now).