No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@oracles wrote:Just want to give everyone some advice if you have never Manufactured spend before.
READ READ READ READ before you get into this game.
It can be very risky and you can lose out. There are sites out there dedicated to MS and i would advise you to read and learn the game before you enter.
Also start slow.
Just my 2 cents
+1 on the bolded bit!
More conflicted on starting slow:
It's usually impossible to know what an issuer is looking for. There have been cases where VERY low MS was the reason for adverse action, basically some transaction was flagged and the accounts shut down. Given this, there is a sort of constant component to the risk, and getting shut down after making $5 is very different from getting shut down after making $10,000! This is why some say if it is worth doing it's worth doing big. This is particularly true in situations that are explicitly time limited, like the 1y TYP and 6 month TD and WF cards.
And in the latter case, some people going from $2K spend in the first month to $10K in the fourth month HAVE raised flags with the issuers because of change, whereas starting with $10K and keeping it there went better.
On the other hand, common sense (not always right!) suggests that small amounts of spend are much less likely to cause problems than big amounts, as you are more likely to be under the radar.
But perhaps more importantly, because it is a learning experience, by starting small you are putting yourself at less risk of loss (buying the wrong cards, getting funds tied up for months etc), so if you are unsure, yes, start slow.
This is exactly what I meant about starting slow
Thanks to OP! I was gardening, but with Amex backdating, and as I regularly buy Vanilla Ice Cream at CVS I could NOT pass this up. Should be able to hit the $6,500 in a little over a month, then gravy for 11 months. Approved for $5K, will try to CLI after 61 days. Should the reward structure stay in place, might even be enough to have me cancel my BCP at the anniversary in August and save the $75 annual fee.
I'm planning just to downgrade my BCP to BCE in Feb, and after 60 days moving most of the CL to the Blue. I would be a little wary of doing a 61 day CLI on a card you are doing a lot of MS on. Generally the rule seems to be avoid giving any reason to have someone extra look at your account. But no evidence for this!
@longtimelurker wrote:
@oracles wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@oracles wrote:Is CVS considered a drugstore?
Yes
If tihs is accurate, i am so going to PC now lol
I'm applying Jan 1, to get backdated to Jan 1987, worth the HP!
Were you able to secure this card? Is it still available?
Nevermind. I applied for it online and was approved instantly.
@longtimelurker wrote:I'm planning just to downgrade my BCP to BCE in Feb, and after 60 days moving most of the CL to the Blue. I would be a little wary of doing a 61 day CLI on a card you are doing a lot of MS on. Generally the rule seems to be avoid giving any reason to have someone extra look at your account. But no evidence for this!
Don't be scared. There was no problem for me.
@oracles wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@oracles wrote:Just want to give everyone some advice if you have never Manufactured spend before.
READ READ READ READ before you get into this game.
It can be very risky and you can lose out. There are sites out there dedicated to MS and i would advise you to read and learn the game before you enter.
Also start slow.
Just my 2 cents
+1 on the bolded bit!
More conflicted on starting slow:
It's usually impossible to know what an issuer is looking for. There have been cases where VERY low MS was the reason for adverse action, basically some transaction was flagged and the accounts shut down. Given this, there is a sort of constant component to the risk, and getting shut down after making $5 is very different from getting shut down after making $10,000! This is why some say if it is worth doing it's worth doing big. This is particularly true in situations that are explicitly time limited, like the 1y TYP and 6 month TD and WF cards.
And in the latter case, some people going from $2K spend in the first month to $10K in the fourth month HAVE raised flags with the issuers because of change, whereas starting with $10K and keeping it there went better.
On the other hand, common sense (not always right!) suggests that small amounts of spend are much less likely to cause problems than big amounts, as you are more likely to be under the radar.
But perhaps more importantly, because it is a learning experience, by starting small you are putting yourself at less risk of loss (buying the wrong cards, getting funds tied up for months etc), so if you are unsure, yes, start slow.
This is exactly what I meant about starting slow
.....it varies....some say start big...so you don't have to deal with fraud alerts, establish big spendings early, etc. Use common sense, don't recycle CL/don't be too greedy/caught up on gains/how everybody else is performing MS/spead your MS across CCs/etc., and should be fine. Oh, yes, be clever. Famous VR -> BB is not the only lucrative way.
Makes my head hurt trying to figure out if the Old Blue is worth it. So much opportunity cost to consider in a various scenarios....and then there's the old Walmart SC snag in that Amex's codes don't count them as grocery/supermarkets whereas Visa does. I dunno.
And finally, even if I actually was able to accurately figure that the Old Blue is somehow worth it....by how much?? All for an extra $100 or so per year? Ugh...I love feeling like I am optimizing at all times but that has its limits. :-)
@ztnjpv wrote:Makes my head hurt trying to figure out if the Old Blue is worth it. So much opportunity cost to consider in a various scenarios....and then there's the old Walmart SC snag in that Amex's codes don't count them as grocery/supermarkets whereas Visa does. I dunno.
And finally, even if I actually was able to accurately figure that the Old Blue is somehow worth it....by how much?? All for an extra $100 or so per year? Ugh...I love feeling like I am optimizing at all times but that has its limits. :-)
While Blue can be worth it a little for normal spending (if you spent everything on supermarkets, after about 12K per year it beats Blue Cash) but the reason why many are "excited" if for manufactured spend on the card (made possible by uncapped 5x on groceries drugstores and gas). Then the gain is more likely to be several thousand per year.
Yes, longtimelurker.
The ol' MS. I used to love the idea. I have lost much of the will. So much work (IMHO). I slide $1k to my wife every month via Amazon (which I used to just transfer from my checking to hers anyway). So I figured I'd cash in an easy $20 per month by using Fidelity Amex or towards my $10k in spending on Citi Hilton reserve for a free room at Hilton Properties (expensive free room in NYC!)
I have one of those obscure alternative debit cards lying around somewhere. I never even used it. Can't even remember the brand. Got a BB too. Never really use it. I used it a couple of times to pay a CC bill. I loaded the BB with prepaid debit cards I received from US Bank and PenFed for spending on my Cash+ and Platinum Rewards. It was fun once or twice.