This is going to be a short one. After a pretty great start two weeks ago, my manufactured spending progress took a nosedive. Last week was insanely busy and I just didn’t get around to placing many gift card orders. I plan on doing better going forward.
These reports are definitely motivation for me to keep churning gift cards because if I don’t, there’s nothing to write about. Anyway, here’s my pathetic attempt at churning gift cards last week:
2% Cash Back
I placed a single GiftCardMall order for $1,517.85 last week. Not my best effort. It generated a ~$27 in profit, which isn’t substantial, I know. However, it does offset some of the fees I incurred from all those gift cards I bought.
Cash back earned: $30.36
Fees: $17.85
Rakuten cash back: $15
Total profit: $27.51
Ultimate Rewards
People asked me last week why I hadn’t earn any Ultimate Rewards points and I said I was working on it. Well, I came up short this time too.
I lost my Chase Freedom Unlimited card (physically lost – no shut downs yet!), so I settled for a $1,517.85 Visa gift card order using the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Points earned: 1,517
Fees: $17.85
Rakuten cash back: $15
Total cost: $2.85
Marriott Bonvoy Points
I placed two $1,517.85 Visa gift card orders through GiftCardMall using my dad’s Marriott Bonvoy card. I registered the card for the 3x bonus point promotion, so I’m going to try to max that out.
Before you give me grief about Marriott, keep in mind that all rewards currencies come in handy at some point. I’ve had plenty of instances this year when I could have put them to good use if I’d had a sufficient amount saved up.
Points earned: 9,107
Fees: $35.70
Rakuten cash back: $30
Total cost: $5.70
SkyPass Miles
Korean SkyPass miles offer some of the lowest redemption rates for flights to Europe. All you need are 80,000 miles roundtrip for business class. That’s a steal! I haven’t put enough spend on this card, mainly because my limit is only $2,000.
I placed a single GiftCardMall order and now I have to wait for the card to be paid off before I can churn more gift cards. Sigh.
Miles earned: 1,517
Fees: $17.85
Rakuten cash back: $15
Total cost: $2.85
Final Manufactured Spending tally
In total, I earned 12,141 points and $30.36 worth of cash back. My fees totaled $89.25, of which $75 was off-set by Rakuten cash back. Factor in the $30.36 worth of cash back from the Fidelity Rewards card and I came away with a $16.11 profit.
A measly amount, but at least I didn’t have to pay any fees to earn those points.
If you’re keeping track of your own manufactured spending activities, I’d love to read about it in the comment section.
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