Bonus Hunting with WF Propel/Cash Wise

[shiftomnimega]

I owe taxes this year so I am looking at optimizing.  I owe around $2200 which I got sitting in the bank right now so I can reach the minimum spend of just about any bonus quickly between what I owe Uncle Sam and regular monthly spending.  I wanted to stay in the garden to try and get under 5/24 someday, but oh well.  IRS doesn't indicate any credit card processors with a >2% fee.

I was eyeballing the Wells Fargo bonuses since I have no relationship with them.  At one time I had a relationship with Wachovia, but they burned me bad.  That experience plus WF's recent poor practices have caused me to avoid them like the plague, but if I am going to churn anyway, then they're a good target.  Propel has a 30k points for $3000 spend and Cash Wise has a $200 bonus for $1000 spend.  

Does anyone have an opinion on what I could do to optimize this opportunity?  Would my spend be better spent chasing another bonus or spending with a different card?  Am I better off continuing to avoid WF?  Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

Grab a business card to stay under 5/24.

With 2K+ owed to uncle sam, you should be able to chop a big chunk out of the min spend with one swift swing of the axe. 

[Anonymous]

By definition WF is the plague.

I am not against beating down their door...stealing their wallet...then buzz off.

[JR_TX]

Why even get in bed with someone you’re avoiding like a plague??
I used to be skeptical about them... maybe still holding out just a lil skepticism but not so much anymore since they gave me $300 SUB with the Propel. Had the card 6 months now and never had any issues with them. Never had any CSR interaction so far other than during activation which was somewhat complicated compared to others.
How about AX Cash Magnet $200 for $1K spend? Or USB Cash+ $150 for $500 spend and use it for their upcoming 5% category bonus for Cable/internet/cellphone bill next month?
I’m sure there’s plenty more that I’ve missed out there.

[Anonymous]

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@shiftomnimega wrote:

... Does anyone have an opinion on what I could do to optimize this opportunity?  

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Last month I finished meeting my spend with WF Propel and a week later recieved a SUB/Rewards check for $425. They have Offers tied in with their Rewards program, similar to Amex, that I was able to capitalize on ( 40x points on Massage Envy, PF Changs & CVS -- bought Gift Certs). I also liked that it had a rewards tracker prominently displayed and updated daily. 

YMMV.

[Anonymous]

I don't have their credit cards but I did get their checking bonus.  Keeping account open for a year so I can be eligible for their business credit card. Haven't had any issues.  I think I made around 3k owning their stock.  Finally sold when the third or fourth bad news item came out about them. 

I have no problem taking their money no matter what their past.  Chase has actually been pretty bad to me unlike Wells Fargo.  But either case I will gladly take as much money and free stuff off of both of them. 

[CluelessJohn]

I chased SUBs in December and one of the cards I added was the CashWise.  The rewards redemption policy for this card is restrictive.  Redemptions must be in multiples of $25 ($20 if you have a bank account/debit card with them and do it via an ATM).  So plan on spending $1,667 with this card to unlock all your rewards.  Don't know about the Propel policy.

Don't know about current SUBs but I also did US Bank Cash+ and BOA/MLB Cash Rewards.  For my spend, those cards have better ongoing utility (and redemption policies).  Worth seeing what they're offering.

[AverageJoesCredit]

One thing to note with Wells, you can only get one SUB per 15 months. I havent had any probs so far and they did pay out my Cashwise pretty much on time. However you should note , you wont see the bonus until the 90 day window is up. You could hit the spend in a day and it wont matter, at least in my experience

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

  But either case I will gladly take as much money and free stuff off of both of them. 

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I LOVE free stuff! ...As long as it is not happy meal toy crap.

[shiftomnimega]

I received lots of valuable input and I appreciate it.

I am waiting on one more 1098 before submitting my taxes so I have a little more time to make a decision.  Uber also has a restrictive $25/ redemption which sort of sucks. I'll dig more into these terms.

I don't want to do the AMEX Magnet right now since I am holding out just in case there is another AMEX I really want later.