What is your take on Churning Credit Cards?

[wHiTeSoL]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vagrants wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vagrants wrote:

20 VRs on one CC...

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Yes, over a month.  CVS allows you to purchase $5K at a time, so you could do this in two visits.  I never purchase more than $1K at a time.   All on the Citi TYP 5x as that is the only card I have that gives the needed rewards.

There are people spending 5-10x this on the same card.  For whatever reason, Citi has stopped shutting people down (and in some cases returning some of the points they took when they shut people down earlier).  Instead they stopped offering the card, which is probably the least troublesome way for them to proceed.

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Your excuse doesn't matter to me. Still 20 VRs on a single card per month. Since you are so greedy, an idea of 'spreading' didn't occur to you.

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a)  I was explaining what I did, not excusing, and I believe your post is unnecessarily rude.  I am not looking for your approval.

b) Spreading across cards makes no sense if you don't need to.  Yes, it MIGHT minimize risk, although it appears that Citi had a zero tolerance mode so one was too many, but if I don't mind the card being shut down, I wish to maximize rewards.  Perhaps people should use cash rather than rewards credit cards for some portion of their purchases to stop being greedy.

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Not trying to start any flame wars or anything but I believe what he meant by "greedy" was that you might wipe out an entire location of VRs leaving none for other MSers, and "spreading" to other comsumers as opposed to other cards

[Anonymous]

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@wHiTeSoL wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vagrants wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vagrants wrote:

20 VRs on one CC...

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Yes, over a month.  CVS allows you to purchase $5K at a time, so you could do this in two visits.  I never purchase more than $1K at a time.   All on the Citi TYP 5x as that is the only card I have that gives the needed rewards.

There are people spending 5-10x this on the same card.  For whatever reason, Citi has stopped shutting people down (and in some cases returning some of the points they took when they shut people down earlier).  Instead they stopped offering the card, which is probably the least troublesome way for them to proceed.

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Your excuse doesn't matter to me. Still 20 VRs on a single card per month. Since you are so greedy, an idea of 'spreading' didn't occur to you.

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a)  I was explaining what I did, not excusing, and I believe your post is unnecessarily rude.  I am not looking for your approval.

b) Spreading across cards makes no sense if you don't need to.  Yes, it MIGHT minimize risk, although it appears that Citi had a zero tolerance mode so one was too many, but if I don't mind the card being shut down, I wish to maximize rewards.  Perhaps people should use cash rather than rewards credit cards for some portion of their purchases to stop being greedy.

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Not trying to start any flame wars or anything but I believe what he meant by "greedy" was that you might wipe out an entire location of VRs leaving none for other MSers, and "spreading" to other comsumers as opposed to other cards

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Don't think so!  Note "20 VR on a single card", not "20 VR in one month"  so the focus is clearly on the card, as I can clear out using 20 cards just as easily.   I actually buy from 5-6 CVS each month, and each is well stocked.  And as # of locations wasn't mentioned until now, I think your interpretation of the poster's meaning is a stretch!

[DaveSignal]

lol.  lets let it go.  The mentioned poster is new and obviously doesn't have a good idea of what he is talking about.  I actually like the MS method and would do it conservatively if I could, but I don't have access to VRs, nor do I have any cards that generate enough points to make buying UK prepaid cards worth much after load and unload fees are deducted.

ETA:  On the subject of churning:   I am not churning, but I did meet the minimum spend (significantly more actually) in a single day with my new Barclays card by buying a bunch of expensive stuff that I would have otherwise bought at a slightly later time and then transferred it all to NFCU at 0%.  Now I can continue to use my Barclays for big future travel plans and, if I don't want to pay for it all right now, transfer it again to NFCU before Sep 30.   0% with 0 fee BTs are a great opportunity to churn signup bonuses.

[Anonymous]

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@DaveSignal wrote:

ETA:  On the subject of churning:   I am not churning, but I did meet the minimum spend (significantly more actually) in a single day with my new Barclays card by buying a bunch of expensive stuff that I would have otherwise bought at a slightly later time and then transferred it all to NFCU at 0%.  Now I can continue to use my Barclays for big future travel plans and, if I don't want to pay for it all right now, transfer it again to NFCU before Sep 30.   0% with 0 fee BTs are a great opportunity to churn signup bonuses.

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Yes, they are great.  Of course, just the normal warning to make sure you can pay off the transferred stuff before the 0% period ends.   What bonus did you get, the 20K points?

[DaveSignal]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@DaveSignal wrote:

ETA:  On the subject of churning:   I am not churning, but I did meet the minimum spend (significantly more actually) in a single day with my new Barclays card by buying a bunch of expensive stuff that I would have otherwise bought at a slightly later time and then transferred it all to NFCU at 0%.  Now I can continue to use my Barclays for big future travel plans and, if I don't want to pay for it all right now, transfer it again to NFCU before Sep 30.   0% with 0 fee BTs are a great opportunity to churn signup bonuses.

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Yes, they are great.  Of course, just the normal warning to make sure you can pay off the transferred stuff before the 0% period ends.   What bonus did you get, the 20K points?

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Oh, I can afford to pay it.  I am not purchasing anything that I didn't already plan on eventually buying and paying for.... I can just take a lot more time with the BT.  I took the 20k bonus.  I am over 40k in points in just a few days and have more to spend still.   I am quite happy with this no-AF card.

[JMills]

Thank You all for your expertise in the matter, in the end we have the right to make the decision that best fit our needs at the moment. I am sure they are several way to do this, but what matters is what benefits you and your money. I personally have no problem with someone churning, I am not in the position to churn since I am rebuilding. However I will look into. Sometimes on these formuns people can be mean with their views, if you dont agree with it, thats fine. We can agree to disagree. Differennt Strokes for Different folks, but as Myjourney said lets play nice. I for one learn from the posts everyone contributed to the questions. So thanks. We are all here helping each other become better in the way we handle debt. What works for one, may not work the other

[vagrants]

Oh, so, I'm a beginner. Well, you MS masters are not mentioning VR is not the only option to load the BB. Any VISA/MC GCs with PIN @ WM can do the trick. Only $1 more from the VR. On other locations, $2 - $3 more most likely ($500/$200 denom). Because of the PIN, you can buy MOs or use WM BillPay or etc. Plus, BB is not the only option to use VR, MVD, AMEX PrePaid, Serve, etc., etc.

And, I did mean ways of greedy. 20 on a 12-month "promotional" Citi CC and not leaving any for anybody. Plus, if the stock gets low, you type of people hide the stock somewhere in the store, so that only you can benefit.

[Anonymous]

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@vagrants wrote:

@Oh, so, I'm a beginner. Well, you MS masters are not mentioning VR is not the only option to load the BB. Any VISA/MC GCs with PIN @ WM can do the trick. Only a damn $1 more from the VR.

And, I did mean ways of greedy. 20 on a 12-month "promotional" Citi CC and not leaving any for anybody. Plus, if the stock gets low, you type of people hide the stock somewhere in the store, so that only you can benefit.

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a) Not really a problem in this area (Boston western suburbs), the stores are generally well-stocked with VRs.  I know this isn't the case everywhere, but it is here.  FWIW, I don't hide VRs.  Not sure why you believe that you can tell I do.

b) Did anyone say this was the only way?  Certainly not me, I have mentioned GC/Walmart many times on this forum.   For me, as it is cheaper and avoids a trip to Walmart, which is not close,  VRs are the way to go.

c) Your argument is also slightly contradictory.   As VRs aren't needed, using them up isn't such a big issue, right?

I don't get your attitude, but that's OK.

[vagrants]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vagrants wrote:

@Oh, so, I'm a beginner. Well, you MS masters are not mentioning VR is not the only option to load the BB. Any VISA/MC GCs with PIN @ WM can do the trick. Only a damn $1 more from the VR.

And, I did mean ways of greedy. 20 on a 12-month "promotional" Citi CC and not leaving any for anybody. Plus, if the stock gets low, you type of people hide the stock somewhere in the store, so that only you can benefit.

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a) Not really a problem in this area (Boston western suburbs), the stores are generally well-stocked with VRs.  I know this isn't the case everywhere, but it is here.  FWIW, I don't hide VRs.  Not sure why you believe that you can tell I do.

b) Did anyone say this was the only way?  Certainly not me, I have mentioned GC/Walmart many times on this forum.   For me, as it is cheaper and avoids a trip to Walmart, which is not close,  VRs are the way to go.

c) Your argument is also slightly contradictory.   As VRs aren't needed, using them up isn't such a big issue, right?

I don't get your attitude, but that's OK.

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You recommeded to do YOUR WAY, crazy 20 VRs on a single card. If you are gonna give advice, give other options to consider. That's all.

[Anonymous]

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@vagrants wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@vagrants wrote:

@Oh, so, I'm a beginner. Well, you MS masters are not mentioning VR is not the only option to load the BB. Any VISA/MC GCs with PIN @ WM can do the trick. Only a damn $1 more from the VR.

And, I did mean ways of greedy. 20 on a 12-month "promotional" Citi CC and not leaving any for anybody. Plus, if the stock gets low, you type of people hide the stock somewhere in the store, so that only you can benefit.

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a) Not really a problem in this area (Boston western suburbs), the stores are generally well-stocked with VRs.  I know this isn't the case everywhere, but it is here.  FWIW, I don't hide VRs.  Not sure why you believe that you can tell I do.

b) Did anyone say this was the only way?  Certainly not me, I have mentioned GC/Walmart many times on this forum.   For me, as it is cheaper and avoids a trip to Walmart, which is not close,  VRs are the way to go.

c) Your argument is also slightly contradictory.   As VRs aren't needed, using them up isn't such a big issue, right?

I don't get your attitude, but that's OK.

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You recommeded to do YOUR WAY, crazy 20 VRs on a single card. If you are gonna give advice, give other options to consider. That's all.

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As I said in this thread: For a simple explanation of one approach, see, for example http://travelwithgrant.com/bluebird/vanilla-reload-card-load-bluebird/ 

In: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Using-Credit-cards-to-pay-bills-to-maximize-rewards/m-p/2420803#M686344 (message 17)

That said: it's pretty simple if you have the right stuff.   In the simplest form, using Bluebird, you need

a) A Bluebird card, free with no credit check

b) A credit card that pays more than 1% (e.g. quicksilver, BCP/BCE) at a supermarket or drug store or gas station etc

c) The hardest:  one of these stores that allows you to buy Vanilla Reloads or Visa/MC gift cards with a credit card.

d) If buying gift cards (because Vanilla Reloads aren't available), access to Walmart

Then, with detail available elsewhere, you buy the Vanilla Reload or card at the store.   VR costs $3.95 for up to $500, GC usually $4.95 to $6.95  for $500 If it a VR, you can load it onto your BB online for free.   If it is a gift card, you set a pin (instructions on the gift card) take it to Walmart and load it for free.

So I don't repeat all alternatives every post, sorry about that.