Perils of MS

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@ezdoesit wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Amex will cave. You'll get your rewards.
They have no grounds to hold your rewards.
Uncapped 5% + bluebird + serve + blogger you paid for = what did you expect Amex.

---

While I do feel bad for LTL he always knew the risks which he sounds like he is willing to accept.  While I don't agree with MS I do think that if they close your account they should give you the rewards in which you have already earned.  It is Amex fault for letting these loopholes fall through the cracks. 

I don't know if he will win in court but he might because for the few thousand that he is owed it might not be worth it for Amex to hire lawyers to fight it. 

He might piss Amex off in the process and they close all his accounts which still might happen, hopefully not.

---

Because I was still doing it relatively small, the total amount I am "owed" ifor the last two months is about $2200.   Others are out more than $10K.  So it's worth a bit of effort, but perhaps not a whole lot, depending on what is involved and an estimate of chances of success.

---

Wow, and here I am getting a useless $25 every other month.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@ezdoesit wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Amex will cave. You'll get your rewards.
They have no grounds to hold your rewards.
Uncapped 5% + bluebird + serve + blogger you paid for = what did you expect Amex.

---

While I do feel bad for LTL he always knew the risks which he sounds like he is willing to accept.  While I don't agree with MS I do think that if they close your account they should give you the rewards in which you have already earned.  It is Amex fault for letting these loopholes fall through the cracks. 

I don't know if he will win in court but he might because for the few thousand that he is owed it might not be worth it for Amex to hire lawyers to fight it. 

He might piss Amex off in the process and they close all his accounts which still might happen, hopefully not.

---

Because I was still doing it relatively small, the total amount I am "owed" ifor the last two months is about $2200.   Others are out more than $10K.  So it's worth a bit of effort, but perhaps not a whole lot, depending on what is involved and an estimate of chances of success.

---

Wow, and here I am getting a useless $25 every other month.

---

Not useless. You could buy a McD's double cheeseburger every 3 days

[go_FICO_self]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@IWOL wrote:

@Longtime......just curious, now that your BC has been closed does that mean the end of MS for  you? Since there are no other cards that offer 5% outside of the few that give 6 months intro do you still consider it with worth the time?

---

Taking a rest for now!  Actially, I was going somewhere today and thought "Maybe I should take my Penfed card and buy a $500 gc on the way"   But I resisted, as it didn't see worth the trouble!    But later, I might try the 6 month TD card as I have an account with them.

But at present working on maximizing cashback without MS, expanding my use of gift-card brokers and cashback portals.  (And now not understanding why EVERYONE doesn't do this!)

---

this is interesting. are you suggesting gift card shops or there's more to it?

[Anonymous]

---

@go_FICO_self wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@IWOL wrote:

@Longtime......just curious, now that your BC has been closed does that mean the end of MS for  you? Since there are no other cards that offer 5% outside of the few that give 6 months intro do you still consider it with worth the time?

---

Taking a rest for now!  Actially, I was going somewhere today and thought "Maybe I should take my Penfed card and buy a $500 gc on the way"   But I resisted, as it didn't see worth the trouble!    But later, I might try the 6 month TD card as I have an account with them.

But at present working on maximizing cashback without MS, expanding my use of gift-card brokers and cashback portals.  (And now not understanding why EVERYONE doesn't do this!)

---

this is interesting. are you suggesting gift card shops or there's more to it?

---

Just simply, if you know you are going to make a purchase at store X:  go to a search site like giftcardgranny and see what cards are available for store X.  You can usually purchase them instantly (sent via email).  So I did this with CVS, ~ 12%, starbucks (special was 25% off) and Petco (22%).   And this excludes whatever bonus the credit card you use gives you.   Not all cards are available for online use, but if they are, go to cashbackmonitor and search for store X, see which portal works best, use that portal and/or gift card.   

At least for the places I use, these far outweigh credit card rewards, (plus in the gift card case you are saving up front rather than paying and waiting for cashback)

It can be a little eye-opening!   While Starbucks isn't a major portion of my spending, I have spent a lot there.  I was able to buy a card at 25% off (+ 2% credit card bonus), load it to my starbucks gold card, getting all the advantages of that as well.  25% off makes it go from "way too expensive for a frothy milk drink" to just "too expensive"!

ETA: Not for purchases where you might want credit card protections of course

[go_FICO_self]

yes, I'm aware of giftcardgranny. thought there's more to it though. and that's a highly selective sample of discounts, most are not so big.

on a (un)related note, i see you updated your siggy.

[Anonymous]

---

@go_FICO_self wrote:

yes, I'm aware of giftcardgranny. thought there's more to it though. and that's a highly selective sample of discounts, most are not so big.

on a (un)related note, i see you updated your siggy.

---

Right, those are the big discounts that I use.  But many others are also big, remembering we are comparing to a total 5% for "usual" credit cards, so anything over 3% here is still a win.

[go_FICO_self]

if it's purely for regular spend, then why not do both? get a prepaid card with 5% card, which after fees will be a 3.5-4% return. then go and buy store gift cards with those prepaid cards, increasing your cashback even more!

[Anonymous]

---

@go_FICO_self wrote:

if it's purely for regular spend, then why not do both? get a prepaid card with 5% card, which after fees will be a 3.5-4% return. then go and buy store gift cards with those prepaid cards, increasing your cashback even more!

---

Yes, I've done that, but I'm offering this a  MS-free approach!

[Fico2Go]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@go_FICO_self wrote:

if it's purely for regular spend, then why not do both? get a prepaid card with 5% card, which after fees will be a 3.5-4% return. then go and buy store gift cards with those prepaid cards, increasing your cashback even more!

---

Yes, I've done that, but I'm offering this a  MS-free approach!

---

Now you're talking LTlurker! 

This could work out well.  In fact, forget selling GCs at a discount how about wholesaling just the GC numbers?

Giftcard #s can sent easily by phone, sms, or email.

[go_FICO_self]

I would

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@go_FICO_self wrote:

if it's purely for regular spend, then why not do both? get a prepaid card with 5% card, which after fees will be a 3.5-4% return. then go and buy store gift cards with those prepaid cards, increasing your cashback even more!

---

Yes, I've done that, but I'm offering this a  MS-free approach!

---

I wouldn't call it MS because you end up getting products for all the money you spend (albeit at a discount), rather than cash to pay off the balance.