Owning 2 Sallie Mae WMC's?

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Really? Buying gift cards in MS counts as grocery as well?

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Grocery stores don't have level 3 credit card reporting, so the card issuer can't tell if you're buying a Target GC or a filet mignon; they just get the total sale amount. 

This being said, if you intend on using the GC for an actual purchase (like buying a Target giftcard to use at Target, for 'stuff') most people (and myself) don't see that as MS, but as straight-up 'spending'.  It's really more about your intentions.

[longtimelurker]

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@weehoo wrote:

I saw a lot of people on FT had there old blue cash' cards cancelled, i see that as a higher risk for not acheiving points you could have earned elsewhere

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Right, but those people (and I was one) were doing a LOT of "purchases inconsistent with personal or household use"   (I was doing about $35-40K a month, others doing much more, and Amex didn't understand that my household really needs giftcards!)   Now that it is capped, things are much safer.   Also, after closing my card, Amex didn't have a problem giving me another OBC and new other cards, so as AA goes, pretty minor  (I lost my unredeemed points, others have even got around that)

But if you use it as intended, and have about $15k or more a year of  real grocery spend (and gas and drug store spend also gets 5%) it gives more rewards than other cashback cards such as BCP and SM

[Anonymous]

I got one in January, one in late May. Both were instant approvals. I asked a rep before applying for #2. I've talked to reps and supervisors about both cards, received spend bonua offers on both cards, and received an auto increase on #2. Barclay has no issue with 2 cards.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response. From Amex bonus rewards of BCE, they don't allow cash-equivalent transaction counted towards bonus rewards. I thought SM does not count GC buying in grocery store as grocery purpose. Now I see my assumption is wrong... Nice feature.

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your response. From Amex bonus rewards of BCE, they don't allow cash-equivalent transaction counted towards bonus rewards. I thought SM does not count GC buying in grocery store as grocery purpose. Now I see my assumption is wrong... Nice feature.

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I'm not sure what you consider 'cash-equivalent', but I purchase Amazon, eBay, and fast-food GCs every month from grocery stores using my BCP, and I always get 6% cash back, and I had no problem earning my spend bonus.  For a credit card issuer to be aware of what you're purchasing, the merchant (and card issuer) must both support level 3 transaction reporting, and I'm not aware of any grocery store that currently does this.  On grocery store purchases, Amex (and SM) can't tell if you're purchasing GCs or lobster... if a CSR tells you otherwise, they are lying.

The key is to keep your purchases 'normal' for a household.  $500 a month spent at grocery stores is normal, $10K per month at a grocery store on a personal credit card is not normal, and will get your account flagged.

[longtimelurker]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your response. From Amex bonus rewards of BCE, they don't allow cash-equivalent transaction counted towards bonus rewards. I thought SM does not count GC buying in grocery store as grocery purpose. Now I see my assumption is wrong... Nice feature.

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I'm not sure what you consider 'cash-equivalent', but I purchase Amazon, eBay, and fast-food GCs every month from grocery stores using my BCP, and I always get 6% cash back, and I had no problem earning my spend bonus.  For a credit card issuer to be aware of what you're purchasing, the merchant (and card issuer) must both support level 3 transaction reporting, and I'm not aware of any grocery store that currently does this.  On grocery store purchases, Amex (and SM) can't tell if you're purchasing GCs or lobster... if a CSR tells you otherwise, they are lying.

The key is to keep your purchases 'normal' for a household.  $500 a month spent at grocery stores is normal, $10K per month at a grocery store on a personal credit card is not normal, and will get your account flagged.

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Right, but the issuer just requires suspicion, not proof.  So, if they think you are buying V/MC/Amex gift cards, even if you say that you aren't, (and even if you are not)  they can still close the account.

The major difference between the true cash-equivalent gift cards and retail ones is simply in the volume.    With the former, it is easy enough to buy several times your income.   You COULD buy and sell large quantities of say Walmart gift cards, but the profit is much less and slower to realize, so buying $20K of them each and every month would be very unusual!

[kdm31091]

The point is your account can be closed at any time for any reason, and buying a crap ton of gift cards can raise suspicions. Will it every time? No. Will you get away with it? Maybe.

No one can really say for sure. In my personal opinion the non cash equivalent gift cards for specific merchants are probably safer and less cared about. Its when people buy 1k or 5k a month in visa gift cards that id say theyre asking for trouble. BCP is capped though so they limit how much you can get out of it. Still, AA can and does happen. You have to make the judgement for yourself on what is "reasonable".

I think personally it makes little sense to spend extra money to get rewards but to each their own. The only time I do the gift card thing is for actual gifts that I'd be purchasing anyway. But going out of your way to spend more to get 6 percent back? Meh.

[longtimelurker]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
The point is your account can be closed at any time for any reason, and buying a crap ton of gift cards can raise suspicions. Will it every time? No. Will you get away with it? Maybe.

No one can really say for sure. In my personal opinion the non cash equivalent gift cards for specific merchants are probably safer and less cared about. Its when people buy 1k or 5k a month in visa gift cards that id say theyre asking for trouble. BCP is capped though so they limit how much you can get out of it. Still, AA can and does happen. You have to make the judgement for yourself on what is "reasonable".

I think personally it makes little sense to spend extra money to get rewards but to each their own. The only time I do the gift card thing is for actual gifts that I'd be purchasing anyway. But going out of your way to spend more to get 6 percent back? Meh.

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I don't think that is common with gift cards.   If you are buying cash-equivalent, you are reall y not spending money anyway, and I assume that most people who buy retail gift cards really intend to use them at establishments they already go to.   I'm sure some don't, or over buy, but I think this is less likely than some of the other behavior you have alluded to, where "it's free/cheap" can lead to exssessive spend.

[Anonymous]

Only way I'm gettin a sallie mae is when my scores are better and I apply for a Ring card. Hoping that the pulls would be combined. 2fer1!

[Anonymous]

Someday I will try out the GC trick when I need. But to be safe, I did not try to buy the GC trick or buy any other cash-equivalent product to get the $100 bonus when I activated my BCE card for the first 3 months before.