I was wondering is there any clever way to churn credit cards for points so that we don’t end up over spending?
I am fairly new to this and vaguely aware that “some” cards you are able to use them to pay tax or transfer the balance from one card to another thereby not having to actually incur additional expenses to meet minimum requirements to sign up bonuses.
Is there any other useful ways to put meet these minimal requirements without spending extra on shopping etc?
OzBargain Way to Churn Credit Cards
vincent168 on 14/10/2019 - 20:56
Last edited 14/10/2019 - 21:32
Last edited 14/10/2019 - 21:32
Comments
woops edited
No
Buy gift cards, sell on classifieds for a small loss if you don't use them (or just use them).
Fully refundable hotels on expedia.
What happens when it comes time to cancel and expedia wants to cancel to your now closed card? You get a letter from the bank stating it's cancelled then deal with potential hassle in following bank up for $1000s?
get bonus points, then cancel the reservation
Would the card have to be active for refund to process? I suspect some hotels can suss out whats going on and say sorry we can’t help you if your cards cancelled etc
Only use the credit card to buy things you were already going to buy.
Groceries, fuel, Netflix etc.
You can also send money to people via paypal for 4% if a bit desperate.
Both the CC's i've signed up for I have booked a holiday straight after. Easy way to spend 2-3k
I also prepaid a few months of bills (mainly internet).You can purchase $500 woolies/coles gift vouchers or fuel vouchers and just have "free" fuel for a few months.
Great ideas! Any expiry on gift cards and fuel vouchers?
Woolies don't have an expiry. Coles/Myer is 4 years.
Fuel depends I guess.
If you have kids in childcare…. that's how I usually knock off the spending minimum in one hit usually.
Other methods I use:
Pay mobile phone, internet, gas, elec, health/car/home insurance bills in advance i.e. put them into a credit balance. Most companies let you easily do this. They are more than happy to take your money in advance :)
What's your yearly salary ,OP?
Ballpark figure will do.
No point going through all this if you don't have secure employment and don't make much.
90-180k
lol, that's a huge ball & park !
How do you improve/maintain your credit score/enquiries If you're churning and burning constantly?
I want to know too. Some say generally if you pay everything off on time here shouldn’t be a problem.
Others say that they will decrease rating due to number of enquiries. I am also curious if we don’t apply for any additional cards for a 1 year period whether our credit rating will be restoredThere's no simple answer to that - just keep an eye on your credit score and pay everything in full and on time.
My rating went up despite adding new cards in last 12 months - go figure.
I try not to churn often as I'm trying to keep my credit score in tact.
I never max out my cards, pay every statement in full and on time.
Is there any other useful ways to put meet these minimal requirements without spending extra on shopping etc?
If you can't spend the minimum spend yourself or at least buy the equivalent of gift cards and use in the future, then maybe you shouldn't bother with churning.
I don't think it's fair to waste other people's time and resources to book and refund things just so you can profit from points.
I'm in a similar dilemma due to wanting to get another 2 cards which each require a min spend of $3k in 3 months.
My income isn't that high and I can do 1x $3k spend okay, but I'd be worried about trying to get through $6,000.
I can see booking a refundable hotel has been suggested, but no answer as to how they would refund if you've cancelled your card already?
Any other ideas that are not gift card / everyday expenses related? I normally pay health insurance in advance but i did that last year lol
Buy things or make payments on behalf of family and friends.
woof