Buying a Best Buy gift card with BCP at grocery store?

[longtimelurker]

The same applies to Freedom really, except it has a lower cap of $1,500 per quarter in all the 5% categories.   They are unlikely to care if you spent all $1,500 on VR, as they are probably used to people maxing out the categories from time to time.  

Chase shut down people for schemes where they was no cap:  The old Freedom 10c per transaction bonus, where people automated hundreds and thousands of small transactions, the Chase AARP card which didn't have a cap.  So any place where the liability is potentially huge, whereas with theFreedom 5% category the maximum cost is $75 per quarter.

The downside is of course exactly the same!  There is no good way to make money with these cards.

[mongstradamus]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

The same applies to Freedom really, except it has a lower cap of $1,500 per quarter in all the 5% categories.   They are unlikely to care if you spent all $1,500 on VR, as they are probably used to people maxing out the categories from time to time.  

Chase shut down people for schemes where they was no cap:  The old Freedom 10c per transaction bonus, where people automated hundreds and thousands of small transactions, the Chase AARP card which didn't have a cap.  So any place where the liability is potentially huge, whereas with theFreedom 5% category the maximum cost is $75 per quarter.

The downside is of course exactly the same!  There is no good way to make money with these cards.

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I think i will just pay it safe and use cash/debit to pay off cc and mortgage. I just wanted those extra reward points , but i don't know if its worth risking getting my card closed

[longtimelurker]

That's probably a good decision.     Basically, when doing manufactured spend, there is a natural tendency to start small and stay small for a while.   More experienced people have taught me that that is probably wrong:  if it is worth doing, given the risks, it is worth doing big.  Having your card closed after you have "earned" $50 is very bad, having it closed after $20K could still be regarded as success.

And since the Freedom and BCE are so heavily capped, the risk, even if very small, might outweigh the potential gain for most people. $1,500 in VR costs you $11:85 and gives you $75 (if using cashback) in rewards.  $63.15 profit is probably not enough to justify any small risk!

[navyox]

Downside to that plan, you wouldn't get any of the Amex shopping benefits if you just bought the computer on your BCP outright.    IE, 90 days lost/broken/stolen, 1 year warranty extension, etc.   

On a laptop, those are potentially a very big deal.

[user5387]

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@jessicaB wrote:

Ok I want to buy a new computer and I was just wondering if I could buy a Best Buy gift card with my BCP so I can get the 6% reward?   Since my usual spending at Publix is about $150 ... if I get $400 in gift cards would it raise red flags?

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Isn't there an issue of buyer protections here?  Buying a computer with an Amex card is not the same as buying one with a gift card that you purchased with an Amex card.

I am thinking about things like extended warranty and so on.

[FutureBillionaire]

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@nicholasyud wrote:

Discover 5% SHOP DISCOVER + 5% Online

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Shopdiscover will double it's cash back closer to Christmas. You should wait longer if you decide to go that route.