Where will VGCGroupie Buy Next (Post-Trip Reveal Prediction Poll)

[AstroBlasters]

Yep! Just be sure to watch the maximum on cash back. Edit to add it takes about a week for the cash back to post to your Chase account

Ah… $9 maximum…. So $90 total…

 

[VGCgroupie]

Ah… $9 maximum…. So $90 total…

Yeah that seems to usually be standard. But you'd be surprised how it adds up when you grab one while at the store anytime there is an offer. I get them at least once a month, sometimes more.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah that seems to usually be standard. But you'd be surprised how it adds up when you grab one while at the store anytime there is an offer. I get them at least once a month, sometimes more.

Right…. but if that is your normal grocery store you are probably spending $90 on groceries anyways.

I want to go in and buy $2000 worth of gift cards…. (And do not live anywhere near a BJs or Sam’s Club)…. so it seems like Target 5% is the only scalable option…. and just hope CostCo does a Disney gift card again over the Holidays….

 

[VGCgroupie]

Right…. but if that is your normal grocery store you are probably spending $90 on groceries anyways.

I want to go in and buy $2000 worth of gift cards…. (And do not live anywhere near a BJs or Sam’s Club)…. so it seems like Target 5% is the only scalable option…. and just hope CostCo does a Disney gift card again over the Holidays….

When you want to buy in bulk all at once the options are very limited. BJ's you can become a member and they will mail them to you, often you can find the membership very cheap. Sams Club you can buy DGC online in digital format and they run DGC specials a couple times per year. You can also snag a membership there rather cheap.

For the grocery store aspect I dont use those offers on my normal groceries because I always spend more than $90 and will lose savings if I spend $150. So I will buy my $150 of groceries with my 6% cash back on groceries Amex card and then use the Chase separately to buy a $90 DGC.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Right…. but if that is your normal grocery store you are probably spending $90 on groceries anyways.

I want to go in and buy $2000 worth of gift cards…. (And do not live anywhere near a BJs or Sam’s Club)…. so it seems like Target 5% is the only scalable option…. and just hope CostCo does a Disney gift card again over the Holidays….

Im actually headed to Kroger right now to buy 4 $90 cards in separate transactions since I have the offer on all my cards. My husband is so excited to go

Also check your Amex account, some have gotten a 10% at Kroger deal. I had no such luck on my 8 Amex cards

 

[AstroBlasters]

Im actually headed to Kroger right now to buy 4 $90 cards in separate transactions since I have the offer on all my cards. My husband is so excited to go

Also check your Amex account, some have gotten a 10% at Kroger deal. I had no such luck on my 8 Amex cards

I don’t use an AMEX except through work.
8 AMEX cards…. Wow….

 

[VGCgroupie]

I don’t use an AMEX except through work.
8 AMEX cards…. Wow….

Yeah collected over the years. Oldest is 18 years old. I feel so old when they say “thanks for being a member for 18 years”

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Im actually headed to Kroger right now to buy 4 $90 cards in separate transactions since I have the offer on all my cards. My husband is so excited to go

Also check your Amex account, some have gotten a 10% at Kroger deal. I had no such luck on my 8 Amex cards

I’m deeply curious and a little afraid to ask what your annual credit card fees (for membership, I assume you don’t care a balance since you are tracking every dollar of savings) run.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I’m deeply curious and a little afraid to ask what your annual credit card fees (for membership, I assume you don’t care a balance since you are tracking every dollar of savings) run.

Many are fee free. The high value fee ones like my Platinum Amex I actually make money vs the annual fee due to the free things give like Clear and TSA

 

[VGCgroupie]

Many are fee free. The high value fee ones like my Platinum Amex I actually make money vs the annual fee due to the free things give like Clear and TSA

Im now addicted to Clear and TSA and cant ever give it up. I arrive like 15 minutes prior to boarding. My husband hates it but I hate sitting around.

 

[Potigant]

Ok, so right now Fred Meyer (Kroger) has 10% cash back through my Chase card. So, I can go in and buy gift cards and I will eventually get the cash back….

Yep and may seem obvious but once you click on the specific offer a little green check box will appear instead of the plus sign to indicate it is active. Limit is $13.50 cash back right now on mine but has often been $9 on previous offers.

Edit: hadn’t seen the replies after this one that already touched on this

 

[Potigant]

I’m deeply curious and a little afraid to ask what your annual credit card fees (for membership, I assume you don’t care a balance since you are tracking every dollar of savings) run.

My wife and I have a combined 28 open credit cards . 18 are fee free, at least for the first year, 9 have fees of $99-150 but had sign up bonuses worth $800-$1200 and will be cancelled after year 1. The Amex business platinum has a $695 AF and had a 250,000 MR sign up bonus along with other credits. Will also be cancelled after year 1.

My family of 5 just spent 2 weeks in Hawaii and all our flights including an island hop were a total of 100k united miles and 52k Southwest points (2 companion passes and a lap child), covered by just two of those card bonuses

 

[AstroBlasters]

Im now addicted to Clear and TSA and cant ever give it up. I arrive like 15 minutes prior to boarding. My husband hates it but I hate sitting around.

We have Clear+ with TSA precheck…. Game changer!

 

[AstroBlasters]

My wife and I have a combined 28 open credit cards . 18 are fee free, at least for the first year, 9 have fees of $99-150 but had sign up bonuses worth $800-$1200 and will be cancelled after year 1. The Amex business platinum has a $695 AF and had a 250,000 MR sign up bonus along with other credits. Will also be cancelled after year 1.

My family of 5 just spent 2 weeks in Hawaii and all our flights including an island hop were a total of 100k united miles and 52k Southwest points (2 companion passes and a lap child), covered by just two of those card bonuses

The risk manager in me looks at that as at least 28 opportunities for someone to somehow commit fraud on my credit…..

 

[tx911]

We have Clear+ with TSA precheck…. Game changer!

Tell me more about Clear, please!

I currently only have TSA precheck, and it's been great. What does Clear add to that?

 

[VGCgroupie]

The risk manager in me looks at that as at least 28 opportunities for someone to somehow commit fraud on my credit…..

Someone did try to use a card of mine about 3 weeks ago. Amex caught it and I got a text an email. They are pretty good about knowing your spending patterns and knowing what is fraud. I used to work at Amex and if fraud happens they take care of it.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Tell me more about Clear, please!

I currently only have TSA precheck, and it's been great. What does Clear add to that?

Clear is a separate line. They have you in the database so they match your photo and you basically skip a majority of the line.

 

[Potigant]

The risk manager in me looks at that as at least 28 opportunities for someone to somehow commit fraud on my credit…..

That’s understandable. All cards are with 4 banks so I keep a close eye and for the most part the institutions are liable for any fraudulent use. I haven’t had issues in years, but I’ve had to help my senior aged mom quite a bit as she’s fallen for some shady links online unfortunately. I’m more paranoid about identity theft and keep the 3 credit bureaus frozen when I know I won’t be applying for any new credit for an extended period. Some people I’ve talked to are worried about credit score but ours have never been higher and really aren’t affected much or for very long by credit pulls, new accounts, or closures. I don’t think my wife and I have paid for a personal flight in maybe 11-12 years so I’ve found it worth it. That might change when I start buying 5 tickets at a time once southwest nerfs the companion pass.

 

[VGCgroupie]

That’s understandable. All cards are with 4 banks so I keep a close eye and for the most part the institutions are liable for any fraudulent use. I haven’t had issues in years, but I’ve had to help my senior aged mom quite a bit as she’s fallen for some shady links online unfortunately. I’m more paranoid about identity theft and keep the 3 credit bureaus frozen when I know I won’t be applying for any new credit for an extended period. Some people I’ve talked to are worried about credit score but ours have never been higher and really aren’t affected much or for very long by credit pulls, new accounts, or closures. I don’t think my wife and I have paid for a personal flight in maybe 11-12 years so I’ve found it worth it. That might change when I start buying 5 tickets at a time once southwest nerfs the companion pass.

Ahh yes all my credit is locked too. Makes applying for stuff hard even for me

 

[AstroBlasters]

Tell me more about Clear, please!

I currently only have TSA precheck, and it's been great. What does Clear add to that?

I walk up, they scan my eyeballs and check my ID/boarding pass…. and then I get to go in front of the TSA pre-check line…. it’s fantastic!