Increase Spending

Category Archives for Increase Spending.

Adventures in concert ticket reselling for points (NOT for me, this is terrible!)

September 5, 2023 by Harlan 60 Comments

Ugh. I have a huge pit in my stomach. Inspired by hopes of quick points and miles, I went all-in on tickets for the upcoming Travis Scott tour. Like, alllll in.

I bought blocks of them, thinking I’d resell at face value right away. Well, they’re not moving and I can’t tell whether I’m in over my head, not the right type for this, or profoundly irresponsible (especially in light of my ongoing FIRE journey). Or just way too impatient.

Come on Travis, do your thing

I bought the tickets last week and the tour begins next month (October 11 in Charlotte). My first show tickets are for October 20 in Kansas City.

Since I bought them, all I’ve been doing ~~in my spare time~~ is refreshing the seat maps. I’m already thinking: Do I have to take a loss? Why did I do this? How else can I offload these things?

There are all sorts of ways to earn extra miles and points. For this one, I jumped in feet first wayyy too soon.

Travis Scott ticket reselling

New coin deal for ~$5,300 in spending and $162 in profit – tomorrow, 3/17 @ 12pm ET!

March 16, 2022 by Harlan 1 Comment

Just a heads up for a new PFS Buyers Club coin deal in case you want to get in on over $5,000 in spending. Tomorrow, March 17, the US Mint is releasing a new set of coins at exactly 12pm ET. The coins will cost ~$5,337 and all cards except US Bank/Elan (Fidelity) cards should work to earn miles, points, or cashback.

There’s some speculation that Amex cards *might* charge a cash advance fee. Incidentally, I just got the Amex Gold card in the mail yesterday and need to meet the minimum spending requirement. But I think I’ll use my BofA Premium Rewards card for 2.62% cashback (~$140) instead.

Here are the coins that go on sale tomorrow

Aside from minimum spending, you could also gain traction toward spend bonuses like free hotel nights (Hyatt, Hilton), elite status (AA cards), or any other promotions you’ve signed up for.

PFS Buyers Club coin deal

Is Citi Double Cash Now the Best Card for Plastiq Payments? (Mortgage/Rent, Auto, HOA)

October 19, 2019 by Harlan 8 Comments

Plastiq is an online service that allows you to pay nearly any bill using a credit card. And now for the “gotchas:”

There’s a 2.5% fee to send a bill payment
You can’t make loan payments (rent, car note, etc.) with a Visa or Amex card, but residential rent and HOA fees are OK
You CAN make loan payments with a Mastercard or Discover card
Capital One cards currently don’t work in their system right now
Most cards only earn 1 point or mile per $1 spent, which doesn’t make the fee worth it

That said, there are a lots of situations you’d want to use Plastiq despite the fee:

To complete minimum spending requirements in literally seconds and earn a sign-up bonus
When they run a promotion for free or discounted payments
When paying the fee gives you wiggle room for unexpected expenses
To reach a big spend bonus for a free hotel night/airline elite status credit, depending which card you have
If your card issuer is running a promotion for bonus miles/points/cash

And there are two cards with a 2X earning rate that work with Plastiq. The first is the Amex Blue Business Plus, which earns 2X Amex Membership Rewards points on all purchases, up to $50,000 spent per calendar year. That’s cool, but many peeps don’t qualify for small business cards, or don’t want to pay personal bills with a business card.

I value bank points at 2 cents each, so earning 2X points per $1 spent is a 4% return.

If you maximize your per-point value, it can easily offset Plastiq’s fee. Like when you get an international long-haul flight in a premium class. For that reason, I’ve been using my Amex Blue Business Plus on Plastiq a lot – but as noted above, I can’t pay my mortgage or car payment.

Enter the second option…

Citi Double Cash Plastiq payments

I Bought the Wrong Gift Card – Then Broke Even With Points & Raise

April 26, 2018 by Harlan 12 Comments

My little brother came to visit recently. We went to the mall because he wanted to buy a new pair of shoes – in cash. He’s one of those “sneakerheads” so his purchase was likely going to be around $100.

My little mind started wondering how to get some points out of the whole deal. Then I remembered MileagePlus X!

An app you really need to download

And because I have the Chase United Explorer card (see it here), I knew I could get a 20% mileage bonus on any gift card I purchased through the app – even if I didn’t pay with that card.

We went into a dozen stores – Nike, Finish Line, Journeys, Foot Locker, and a couple of department stores. I’m not much of a mall shopper, so my head was spinning. When he finally decided on a pair of Nikes at Finish Line, I licked my chops and bought a Nike gift card on the MPX app. But realized the second the transaction processed I was in the wrong store. Guh!

My brother paid cash and I… had a Nike gift card I couldn’t use. “It wasn’t that much,” I told myself. But then remembered… I could sell it online. Maybe that would make it OK – and at least break me even – with the points I’d earn in the mix.

I ended up selling the gift card on Raise. Here’s how it went!

My experience selling a gift card on Raise

Some Plastiq Mortgage Payments With Visa Cards Working Again!

August 10, 2017 by Harlan 8 Comments

Update: Some readers let me know not all mortgage payments are working, but many are!

Here’s an example from my account:

A mortgage payment you can still pay with Plastiq

As long as the “Submit Payment” button isn’t grayed out, you should be good to go! Let me know if it works for you!

More data points slash adventures with Plastiq.

So I just got a new Bank of America Alaska Airlines card – I get a new one every 45 days for a quick injection of 30,000 Alaska miles. Those are, of course, Visa cards, which Plastiq said would no longer work.

Well today, I paid the rent for one of my Airbnbs with this card on Plastiq.

This Plastiq payment is clearly marked as rent

And it went through without a hitch:

Boom

Considering the minimum spending on this card is only $1,000, I was able to knock most of it out with a single rent payment. Then I sent $50 to my utility company to trigger the sign-up bonus. Minimum spending done in under a minute. AWESOME!

This isn’t a fluke. My friend Angie used her Chase Fairmont card to pay her mortgage via Plastiq recently, too – that’s also a Visa card. And I’ve heard others have had success, too.

Plastiq Visa payments

While I think 3X with the Chase Sapphire Reserve is long gone, using Plastiq to meet minimum spending on Visa cards is extremely easy. Even with the 2.5% fee considered, having it done in seconds sure beats having to monitor it for a few months. Especially if you need to spend a few thousand.

I also just confirmed 3X still works with the Citi AT&T Access More card. And wrote about why you’d even consider using the new Blue Business Plus Amex for Plastiq payments, too.

But given that I can still get 3X, the gravy train is still on – at least for now.

And moreover, it seems you can use your Visa cards again. So if you have a Visa and want to make some Plastiq payments for rent, mortgage, or HOA, they should go through just fine. 🙂

Have you had recent success using a Visa card for a rent payment through Plastiq?

Airbnb Hosting by the Numbers: 2017 Update

April 23, 2017 by Harlan 21 Comments

Also see:

Thought it was time to do an update on my Airbnb hosting. And the state of it. Mostly because if the numbers look good, I might get another one.

Long ago, I started my Airbnb operation in New York, which was a smashing success. Until it wasn’t. I no longer have properties in New York, as of last month.

So far it’s going well in Dallas. I have two here. They’re easy to track and manage for what they are because they’re on two separate profiles.

My downtown Dallas Airbnb

In my opinion, a side business is the best way to maximize credit card points these days. I easily put $6,000+ of expenses on my cards each month – and the bulk of that is in bonus categories.

I recently found out some rent payments code as 3X for “travel” with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. So that’ll keep me with an extra ~20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per month – a handy ransom (if they all code as 3X)!

Airbnb hosting by the numbers

Did You Do the Kohl’s Appliance Deal? Get Back $2 per Item!

October 9, 2016 by Harlan 25 Comments

Out and Out reader Claudia let me know all the of the items included in last week’s awesome Kohl’s appliance deal are now on sale for $14.99 (at the time, they were all $16.99).

So if you’re crazy like I was/am, and bought 40 items in total, making a quick 15-minute call to Kohl’s can get you $80 back!

That obviously sweetens the previous deal – and saves you more.

Here are a couple of things to note.

Some tips for Kohl’s, and shopping in general

[EXPIRED] Hurry! ~$500 Moneymaker on Kitchen Appliances at Kohl’s With Freedom

October 1, 2016 by Harlan 239 Comments

a black coffee maker with a black handle

Update 10/4/16: It looks like Kohl’s gift card purchases from the MPX app are NOT coding as department store as expected. Peeps in the comments say it didn’t work with their Chase Freedom cards.

No dice here, either 🙁

I haven’t heard of this happening before now, so I will gather new data points before I recommend this moving forward. Thanks to all who let me know!

I’m bummed about this, but at least we got the 1,500 United miles (worth ~$30) as consolation. Though I would’ve preferred the cashback.

Update 10/3/16: This deal has expired. I plan on writing about my experience with it – here’s how to keep up with the blog so you’ll get the updates!

Need a little rush this weekend? How about buying $600+ worth of appliances at Kohl’s?

Last year they had a similar appliance deal I didn’t take part in. But this year I did.

Now before you think I’m crazy (although it may be waaay too late for that), let me explain.

This is a moneymaker if you do it right!

Hat tip to Jill Cataldo for blogging about this and my friend Jas for turning me on to this deal!

Build the deal

I feel like I say this every time I write about Kohl’s, but… it’s no secret I freaking love Kohl’s.

Right now, they have a lot of appliances on sale for $17, including:

Lots of appliances for $17

In total, there are 8 kitchen appliances at the $17 price.

All of the items have a $12 Visa gift card rebate

And, all of the items linked above are eligible for a $12 mail-in rebate. You get a Visa gift card with a limit of 5 per product.

That means if you buy 5 of all 8 items, you can get 40 X $12 back, or $480.

Right now, there’s also a 15% promo code: SMS1871. And it does work for these items.

When you add all of them to your cart and add the promotion code, the total is ~$625. You also get $110 in Kohl’s cash to spend next week.

I paid ~$625 for all 40 appliances

Note that taxes in your state might be different than mine! In Texas, the taxes came to ~$48.

And, you must purchase the items by tomorrow, October 2nd, 2016, to qualify for the rebate (here’s the rebate form). Cheers to the weekend!

Stack stack stack

Get an Extra 3X on Gift Cards at Staples (So 8X If You Have a 5X Office Supply Card)

August 25, 2016 by Harlan 21 Comments

Update: Wow, instant response! Chuck from Doctor of Credit let me know this may or may not work. So for now, I think the best thing to do is start slow at your local Staples (like try $5 and see if it works) and go from there, should you decide to try this. Thanks all for any info you want to add!

I was poking around as I am wont to do and assembled an 8X combination that I think will work.

Now, I haven’t done this myself, but it seems totally do-able.

What you’ll need to get started is:

The MileagePlus X app (which I’ve written about) AND
If you want 8X points, a Visa or MasterCard that earns 5X at office supply stores

Such as:

You can also get 5X on top of what you’ll earn from any other card with the exception of a couple of Amex cards.

Or, if you’re trying to meet a minimum spending requirement and want to get an extra 3X at office supply stores, this should work nicely.

Stack 3X through MileagePlus X with 5X on another card

Is the Citi AT&T Access More Card + RadPad a Viable Increase Spend Option?

January 25, 2016 by Harlan 21 Comments

I wrote earlier about my wishes for the Citi ThankYou program and increasing fascination with Citi.

Today, I had some sort of psychic break and picked up the Citi AT&T Access More card.

Oops, I did it again

I applied for it instead of the Citi ThankYou Premier card. Based on my current spending habits, and the fact that I already have Citi Prestige, the Citi ThankYou Premier seemed redundant.

Except for its broad 3X category for all travel including gas. But then I thought, you know, no.

Before I go all-in with Citi ThankYou, I wanna see what’s next. I can pick up that card up any time. And use my Chase Sapphire Preferred (or some other card) for gas/other travel.

And then, thinking more on the Citi AT&T Access More card, I thought about why it could be better. Including for paying rent at RadPad, a topic I’ve mined frequently.

About the Citi AT&T Access More card

16 Points & Miles Predictions for 2016

January 1, 2016 by Harlan 3 Comments

Happy New Year! I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon with the predictions. So here’s my effort.

“Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?”

2015 was a crazy year

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

The Fidelity AMEX went the way of the dodo (new card coming January 4th, 2016 – in 3 days)
American Airlines miles finally dropped 1 of their dirty little shoes (is NOT the knight in shining armor)
Citi Prestige became the most interesting card in town
Hyatt pissed a lot of people off, pleased others
REDbird died
PayPal My Cash + RadPad rages on for easy MS
IHG had a whole bunch of semi-interesting promotions
Citi introduced Smart Savings, redefines “failure to launch“
Discover It was/is so worth it for the 1st year double cash back promotion

Out and Out’s Points and Miles Predictions for 2016

Out and Out’s Best Posts of 2015

December 26, 2015 by Harlan 4 Comments

Wow. Out and Out made huge strides in 2015. A lot happened – and even more will happen in 2016.

Blog traffic tripled this year. In fact December 2015 is the biggest month ever for the blog (and it’s not over yet!). I’m thinking of how to improve things around here even more, and celebrating every step of the way because I couldn’t grow without your support.

Celebrating!

You guys are awesome. I love my readers!

I’ve ironed out many ideas on here and found solid resolutions thanks to tons of community-focused comments. And meeting new peeps at the regular Reach for the Miles meetup has been fantastic.

I hope to continue the momentum and keep improving.

But first, I want to take a moment to pause and look back at where we’ve been this year.