Can someone punch a hole in my double-dipping logic?

[feezle]

Ok, so I just got the AMEX Preferred CC. I get 6% cash back when used at a grocery store. I'm in an area where I have Giant Eagle. They sell gift cards. I already know that the gift cards do count towards the 6%. The gift cards also give 10 cents off of gas for every $50 purchased. I am thinking of purchasing prepaid MasterCards to pay my bills.

If I did this for $500 worth of bills per month this should rack up $30 cash back and $1.00 off per gallon in Fuel Perks.

As far as I can tell there is no activation fee for the gift card (there used to be on some of the prepaid debit card type). I would verify this before purchase.

Anyone try this before? Depending on the inconvenience, I may start putting some everyday expenses through this too.

 

[pryncess527]

Hmm, I have that card too, I like the way you think . . .

I think the biggest issue will be the cap on grocery rewards. The 6% stops after $6,000 in purchases. I already spend so much on groceries I may not have to buy many gift cards to hit that $6,000 mark.

If you do it for $500 of bills every month, you'd max out the cash back on bills alone without any groceries. You'd still be getting the gas savings on top of that though

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Ok, so I just got the AMEX Preferred CC. I get 6% cash back when used at a grocery store. I'm in an area where I have Giant Eagle. They sell gift cards. I already know that the gift cards do count towards the 6%. The gift cards also give 10 cents off of gas for every $50 purchased. I am thinking of purchasing prepaid MasterCards to pay my bills.

If I did this for $500 worth of bills per month this should rack up $30 cash back and $1.00 off per gallon in Fuel Perks.

As far as I can tell there is no activation fee for the gift card (there used to be on some of the prepaid debit card type). I would verify this before purchase.

Anyone try this before? Depending on the inconvenience, I may start putting some everyday expenses through this too.

If you're thinking of paying bills like your cable, cell phone, electric, etc, you may want to check with the providers first as to whether they accept CCs. If I remember correctly, most will charge a fee to use a CC for payment thus negating most, if not all, of your savings on the cards/gas points.

 

[feezle]

I'm fine with that. I probably wouldn't have $500 in bills that I could actually pay per month with a CC anyway, I'll have to figure it out. I know at least $350.

What makes this even better is options. I got the card originally thinking Disney Gift Cards. But we stay off site so aside from tickets and food that we would eat in the park, we don't really need Disney Gift Cards(we also already have about $600 saved up in them). What would have stunk about buying park tickets with Disney Gift Cards was not being able to take advantage of the UT discounts. With a prepaid MasterCard though...I think that would actually be a triple dip. Fuel perks, cash back, and UT discount. If this works.....

 

[feezle]

If you're thinking of paying bills like your cable, cell phone, electric, etc, you may want to check with the providers first as to whether they accept CCs. If I remember correctly, most will charge a fee to use a CC for payment thus negating most, if not all, of your savings on the cards/gas points.

I have several that I pay with a CC now without a fee. But I'm only getting 1% back and no Fuel Perks. This would be quite a boost. I just checked with Dish to see if they will accept a prepaid MC as payment and they will. I gotta check with ATT.

 

[pryncess527]

I think I probably come close to $6000 in groceries a year, but I may have to remember this and when the period is ending buy gift cards to be sure I max out the rewards annually.

 

[havaneselover]

I use mine this way. Mine is more complicated because my kids' swim team has a fundraising commitment of $350. I get 5% of Kroger spending using a special Kroger gift card. So I use my Amex blue preferred, load money on the Kroger gift card, and use it to buy groceries, gift cards and gas. I buy clothes this way (gap and lands end), new bedding for my kids (pb teen), Disney gift cards to pay off my cruise, restaurants, Home Depot, etc. when they do 4x fuel perks it's almost a 20% discount on gift cards for me (20 gallon fill up). Last year I maxed out my $6k by October but this year I don't know if I will or not. Add the Amex offers (just got $25 off at staples for buying a $100 amazon gift card) and this card is well worth the $75 annual fee.

 

[kymom99]

Does your store give gas rewards for money cards? Kroger excludes those from their gift card promotions. They give 2x fuel points for restaurants, clothing stores, etc. but not Kroger cards or Visa, etc.

 

[havaneselover]

Does your store give gas rewards for money cards? Kroger excludes those from their gift card promotions. They give 2x fuel points for restaurants, clothing stores, etc. but not Kroger cards or Visa, etc.

Those have to be excluded or you could get points for putting $ on a Kroger card and then turn around and use that card to buy a gift card which would earn you 2x points.

I get about 11% back using my Amex plus fundraising for the swim club (I get a bill if I don't meet my minimum so it does save me 5%. Then with 4x fuel perks I get another 8% on a 20 gallon fill up.

 

[feezle]

I'm trying to verify that now. From the terms of service I see on the site it doesn't look like they are excluded. Pretty sure they were always eligible at GE but there had been an activation fee that negated the perks. I'm verifying that that is no longer the case as well because from what I see on the site, it doesn't appear to have a fee.

So I just ran some numbers. 6 day MYW base tickets (2x Adult, 2x Child) since that is what I will need to purchase.

WDW -

Total: 1295.04
Cash back: 77.70
Money saved with Fuel Perks: 77.70
Grand total: 1139.00


Now every so often, they give double FuelPerks for Gift Cards. I don't know if these work for the prepaid MasterCards or not. They definitely work for Disney Cards. If I bought them when the perks were doubled it would look like this.

WDW -

Total: 1295.04
Cash back: 77.70
Money saved with Fuel Perks: 155.40
Grand total: 1061.90


That is some savings right there!

 

[feezle]

I just went back through my email and found one from GE advertising an old 2x FP promo and it showed the MasterCard Gift card front and center. So that all but confirms that you get FP as well as they don't exclude them from double FP deals. Now I just need to confirm that there is no longer an activation fee. I'll run to the store if I have to to do that.

 

[wiigirl]

If you're thinking of paying bills like your cable, cell phone, electric, etc, you may want to check with the providers first as to whether they accept CCs. If I remember correctly, most will charge a fee to use a CC for payment thus negating most, if not all, of your savings on the cards/gas points.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm trying to verify that now. From the terms of service I see on the site it doesn't look like they are excluded. Pretty sure they were always eligible at GE but there had been an activation fee that negated the perks. I'm verifying that that is no longer the case as well because from what I see on the site, it doesn't appear to have a fee.

So I just ran some numbers. 6 day MYW base tickets (2x Adult, 2x Child) since that is what I will need to purchase.

WDW -

Total: 1295.04
Cash back: 77.70
Money saved with Fuel Perks: 77.70
Grand total: 1139.00


Now every so often, they give double FuelPerks for Gift Cards. I don't know if these work for the prepaid MasterCards or not. They definitely work for Disney Cards. If I bought them when the perks were doubled it would look like this.

WDW -

Total: 1295.04
Cash back: 77.70
Money saved with Fuel Perks: 155.40
Grand total: 1061.90


That is some savings right there!

Pre-paid Visa, MC and AmEx GCs all have activation fees. The amount varies from one type of card to another. Typically, it ranges from $5-$7 per card.

Some grocery stores will not permit you to purchase GCs with a credit card. It has something to do with the potential for fraud. While my local store will permit you to purchase restaurant and entertainment GCs using a CC, they will not allow you to purchase the pre-paid Visa/MC/AmEx GCs without forking over cash.

 

[feezle]

Hmmmmm....that sucks. I'm going to run to my store shortly and see what the details are.

 

[QVCshopper]

Pretty sure the fee for the MC gift card is $5.95. I was looking at it for another deal at Giant.

 

[feezle]

And just like that...the plan crumbles. There is indeed still an activation fee.

At least it will still work for the Disney tickets through WDW.

 

[jkroach]

My Amex blue cash (old card) doesn't give me the 5% I get on groceries when I buy gift cards at Kroger. It reverts to the 1% I get elsewhere.

 

[havaneselover]

My Amex blue cash (old card) doesn't give me the 5% I get on groceries when I buy gift cards at Kroger. It reverts to the 1% I get elsewhere.

Here's my suggestion: use your Amex blue cash card to load a Kroger gift card and use the Kroger card to purchase the gift cards.

And it's 6% for the preferred card and 3% (I think) for the regular blue card.

I've never not gotten 6% as long as I was under $6k in annual grocery spending. I probably purchased $3k in gift cards at Kroger last year.

 

[hsmamato2]

wouldn't that last suggestion still cost op money? i.e. each gift card costs 4.5-5.95 las time I checked...... to OP, run the numbers and see if your plan still makes sense with that cost included- i.e. if your store sells a 500.00 m/c for 4.95, so cost per 500.00=xxx-4.95.... is it still worth it?
another caution, keep GOOD records,and save your receipts and gift cards if you plan to do this,until your trip is all done-
Yes, it can be done, is it worth it? IDK without running all your #'s personally....
total OP has is 1295.00 in Gifcards (assume 500. giftcard) = 3 giftcards @4.95ea.= 14.85 so Op total cost after double perks would =1077.00 which saves approx. 219.00 overall.
You have to decide if it's worth it to you....

 

[havaneselover]

wouldn't that last suggestion still cost op money? i.e. each gift card costs 4.5-5.95 las time I checked...... to OP, run the numbers and see if your plan still makes sense with that cost included- i.e. if your store sells a 500.00 m/c for 4.95, so cost per 500.00=xxx-4.95.... is it still worth it? another caution, keep GOOD records,and save your receipts and gift cards if you plan to do this,until your trip is all done- Yes, it can be done, is it worth it? IDK without running all your #'s personally.... total OP has is 1295.00 in Gifcards (assume 500. giftcard) = 3 giftcards @4.95ea.= 14.85 so Op total cost after double perks would =1077.00 which saves approx. 219.00 overall. You have to decide if it's worth it to you....

Sorry I'm getting confused and am not sure if you're talking about my post right before yours. I don't ever buy the prepaid MC/Visa/Amexes. I think they're a major pain in the butt. I do buy a lot of store and restaurant gift cards but never pay a fee for them and there's no fee for a Kroger gift card.