Maximize your cash back earnings
6th May 2006
This seems simple but I too often forget to do it…
Some background first: I have a Household Bank credit card that pays me 2% cash back on all purchases. I use it to pay for just about everything until I max out the cash rewards ($400 per year). I especially like this card for business expenses I’ll get reimbursed for. Essentially, my company is spending part of the $20,000 a year I’ll put on this card and I’m making some free money on the cash back.
This is all well and good, but how can you make even more money on cash reward cards?
Most of you are probably already familiar with FatWallet. If not you should become so. The site offers information on hot deals and a great forum on financial topics. To the point of this post, one of it’s greatest features is cash back deals from many merchant partners. I’ve been a visitor to FW for years but have not made adequate use of this feature…
I’m going to illustrate how to use the site to maximize your cash back bonuses though a real-life example:
On a fairly regular basis my wife and I purchase stuff for our horses. A week or so ago, we needed to buy some fly spray and fly traps to keep these pests from driving the horses nuts. We usually drive up to Stateline Tack which is owned by Petsmart. I’d been meaning to make this trip for a couple of weeks but just hadn’t had the time (the store is a bit out of the way for me). About a week ago I got tired of delaying (the flys are starting to come out) and thought I’d order online. I went to the petsmart.com site and added the items we needed to my cart. I also added a few dollars worth of horse treats to push my total over $50 which then qualified me for free shipping. (and we ALWAYS need horse treats…)
As I was about to enter my credit card I remembered that Fatwallet offers cash back from many of their merchant partners. I opened a new browser, went there, clicke “stores” and did a quick search through their list for Petsmart. There it was, and with a 7% cash back bonus too! I closed my original browser, clicked on Fatwallet’s link and recreated my order as before. The total came to $58.42 which earned me $1.18 in cash back from Household and now and extra $4.09 from Fatwallet! So $5.27 cash back total. Not a ton of money mind you but certainly better than my just going to the store and spending that amount anyway…
Bear in mind, Fatwallet can be a dangerous place… It is very tempting to buy stuff you don’t need because it’s a “good deal”… The most profitable way to use it however is to check there before buying things online that you’re planning on purchasing anyway. You can also look for alternative vendors that offer cash back (i.e. Barnes and Noble vs Amazon) but be sure you’re not paying more just to get some cash back.
As an added bonus Fatwallet is offering a $5 bonus to new signups. Simply register as a new user and earn $5 in cash back and you’ll be credited with the bonus. They don’t spam you and the site is free. (and no I’m not involved in any way with the site other than as a happy user.)
Happy cash back hunting!
May 6th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
Sounds like it’s working out well for ya. Citi or Chase has a card that gives 3% cashback on business expenses. But 2% on ALL purchases is pretty good. With my Citi card I get 5% on gas, food, and some other things and only 1% on the rest.
Great post.
May 10th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
the rebate cards are very nice, however, the rebate caps are very disappointing.
Would you go with a lower 1.4% from emigrant considering it’s not capped or stay with hsbc?
regards,
makingourway
May 11th, 2006 at 12:08 am
I’d consider it, but I’d likely max out the Household card’s rebates first. I actually do this now. When I hit the reward limit on the Household card I put it away for the rest of the year and switch to either Discover or one of the mileage cards we have.
May 23rd, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Do you know whether I can get this credit card? I think I saw in FatWallet.com that it is discontinued now. If you know how I can apply for the card, can you post the link or phone number?
Thanks in advance.
May 27th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
I just checked both their site and a couple of other credit card databases and don’t see it listed anywhere. I received the offer in an email so it is quite possible it was a private offer based on whatever business rules they set for the campaign. (I have no clue what would have caused me to be included in the offer, but glad they did… :))