Manufactured Spending - Anyone do it in Aus?

ellave on 18/01/2016 - 16:31

Just wondering if anyone here has done this & looked into it from within Aus. Its something I learnt about recently & is huge in the USA, in layman's terms you buy gift card/visa gift cards with your point accumulating Credit Card & than turn them back into cash to pay off your credit card balance.

Searching around for use in Aus has given me much, I've found a couple of instances of people using it such as you can purchase a STA Cashflex card & put a few thousand on it from STA travel shopfront which registers as a travel agent transaction, you can then withdraw the cash from an ATM (with a very small fee), repeat the process every few weeks. Also with pepperstone brokers you can deposit $10,000 with a credit card which you can withdraw in cash to your bank account after 60 days, so you need $10k to pay off your balance beforehand.

Its a huge topic on Flyertalk - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending-719/

Financial

Comments

  • futaris on 18/01/2016 - 17:29

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/6629
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/6641

    http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/american…

    was one of the bigger point earning schemes in Australia in recent years.

    I would be surprised if anyone was posting about Manufactured Spending in Australia though…

  • futaris on 18/01/2016 - 17:32

    http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1697833… is the only other reference to STA Cashflex I've seen.

  • CheapskateQueen on 18/01/2016 - 21:21

    i've tried to think of a way to do this but the fees are quite high for prepaid cards and the max limit per card (100-500) is never worth the fee ($5 to $7)

    BUT if anyone finds a way does happy dance

    • ellave on 18/01/2016 - 22:02
      +1

      Like Futaris hints at I think its a closely guarded secret, however the STA card does look like an option without high fees

  • gaz3342 on 18/01/2016 - 22:16
    +1

    If anyone does know a method they are unlikely to post on here as it would get Ozbargained to death in hours.

  • tomclancy on 19/01/2016 - 07:03
    +1

    First rule about Manufactured Spending Club, don't talk about Manufactured Spending Club.

  • ellave on 19/01/2016 - 08:45

    I think there a few secret MS experts on these boards, whats the password to join the club?

    • tomclancy on 19/01/2016 - 14:21

      If such a club were to exist, what card would you be using and what % fee would you want to pay?

      • ellave on 19/01/2016 - 16:23

        i've got an ANZ Black which gives 1.5 per $ on Amex, although I imagine using amex would be very tough with the common 3% + surcharges. Otherwise the non amex cards i have the best is 0.75 per $.

        If such a club were to exist I would probably seek out a the highest paying visa card paying out 1+ for 1.

        • tomclancy on 19/01/2016 - 16:58

          I also have ANZ Black VISA & Amex. For me the earn rates (the value that I put on points + interest saved) are 1.4% and 1.8% respectively. If you have similar earn rates then you just need to find a friend with a business, or create your own online business, that has merchant fees lower than that. Possible ;)

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join