I had set a pretty feasible manufactured spending goal for March, yet I ended up falling significantly short. It didn’t help that my website was down for a full week. I got very little gift card churning done and fell behind.
In total, I managed to earn 75,520 points and miles from Visa gift card purchases and a few Kickfurther co-ops. My total cost? Thanks to Rakuten, plus cash back cards like the Fidelity Rewards and Discover It Miles cards, I off-set all of my expenses. In addition to earning $366.94 profit.
Total Points and Miles Earned
11,140 AAdvantage miles
2,670 Citi ThankYou points
12,153 Korean SkyPass
13,660 Marriott points
9,117 Amex Membership Rewards points
26,780 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
You can read a more detailed breakdown in my weekly manufactured spending reports. While I didn’t publish one for week 4, I decided to instead include a summary at the bottom of this post.
- Week 1 Manufactured Spending Report
- Manufactured Spending Report: Week 2
- Manufactured Spending Report: Week 3
Week 4 Manufactured Spending Report: 3,825 points + $178.66 cash back
The final week was slow because of that IT issue I mentioned before. I was busy sorting it and didn’t really get a chance to churn any gift cards, side from a $1517.85 GiftCardMall order on my Citi AAdvantage Card.
With the 1% cash back Rakuten will pay out, my out of pocket cost is just $2.85.
I did invest twice in the same Kickfurther co-op. Both transactions were for $923.50, using the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Preferred. It didn’t cost me anything to invest, but there is a 1.5% withdrawal fee when I eventually cash the profits out.
The payout of 11.49% will earn me a $212.40 return on my investment in six months.
Total earned
1517 AAdvantage miles
2,308 Ultimate Rewards
Total cash back
Kickfurther profit: $212.40
Rakuten cash back: $15
Visa gift card fees: $17.85
Kickfurther withdrawal fee: $30.89
Total cash back: $178.66
Final Thoughts
It actually doesn’t look that bad when I tallied up the numbers, but I was hoping to hit at least 100,000 points and miles. I’m still happy with the outcome, considering I didn’t try that hard. I can always increase my numbers in April (and definitely plan on it).
That being said, I want to hear from you all. How many points and miles did earn in March and how much did it cost you?
Disclosure: I will earn a referral bonus if you use my Rakuten and Kickfurther link to sign up and make your first purchase. If you would like a referral for the Discover It Miles Card, shoot me an email and I’ll send you a link.
I will earn a $50 bonus for every successful application. Thank you all for your support!
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Do you have to pay taxes (1099) on your kick further gains?
Kickfurther doesn’t provide tax forms, but there are conflicting reports about whether to report it as income vs. capital gains. I’m going to see my tax guy soon, so I’ll find out more then.
Are GCs from gift card mall embossed with your name?
Yes – GCM and giftcards.com will both print your name on the card.
When you cash out money orders, what is the best strategy? Any potential issues using them to pay for the credit card that was used to buy the gift cards in the first place? Does this raise any red flags?
I deposit and then pay the card. I’ve heard of shut downs with banks like Chase. They don’t like getting money orders as payment because the funding source isn’t traceable.
I heard that too. I thought I read on another blog that banks sometime don’t like MO deposits or might question them. Any truth or concern with that?
Definitely. And frequent deposits might raise a red flag. That’s why I only use WF for deposits. If they shut me down, at least I don’t lose any valuable credit cards.
Does WF mean Wells Fargo? Am looking for th best bank to deposit Mo with. Thanks!
Can you do an article on Kickstarter and how to MS with them?
I was planning a “Kickfurther haul” post when all my payments come through in May. That way, I can offer a complete overview of what my wins and losses end up being. And readers can decide for themselves if it’s worthwhile.
Hitting a lot of decent AO’s lately pretty hard. Finally started putting my cash from arbitrage & things into a high yield savings account before paying statements. Made like $20 this past month. I’ll take it.
What kind of velocity of orders are you doing at GCM per GCM account? I’ve got just mine and my husband’s account working again thanks to you, but I’m worried about getting banned again and don’t know how many $1500 vgc orders per week per account with them I should limit myself to.
I started with 2 $1500 orders on different cards a couple days apart. A week later I made 5 orders and have been sticking to about 4-5 or so a week depending on sales elsewhere. I load 20k/month between serve/bb at wm/dg and use any excess GC for MO. I’m sure slowly scaling up will work if you need to do more
At least $1500 – $3k per day. I honestly think it’s fine now. The reason I probably got blacklisted was because I placed a large order about five years ago when the cash back rate was 2 or 3%. I submitted an order over $10k and they asked me to submit a verification form. I never did and they probably assumed I was up to no good.
What do you recommend keeping from the purchase of Visa GC ? Do I just keep the used cards, MO and receipts ? I haven’t been keeping much and figured I should ask. Hit Staples hard with the $5 off per card last week 😉
Thanks,
Beechy
Yes, I’d hold on to everything until your MO deposits clear. Congrats on the Staples deal! I missed that one – last week was a little insane for me.
My local sources for purchasing MOs with GCs have dried up completely. Can I use GCs to buy things online? for example, points on points.com?
Yes, you can use them for online purchases. You may have to register the cards in order to use them online.
Hello first time reader long time fellow MSer. Been doing mall GCs the past few years but would like to switch to buying online for convenience. Question, I thought Ebates excluded VGCs on giftcardmall and giftcards? Or am I reading the fine print wrong?
TIA and appreciate your super detailed posts!
Nope! They’ve been paying out just fine. Occasionally portals will drop a merchant/product from eligibility but that hasn’t been the case as of late.
Thank you! appreciate it!
Ariana are you getting laid yet?
I’m just getting started with GCM…..one month in. 2 $1500 orders per week so far. Going to have my wife get an account this month and start as well.
How fast can I ramp up without GCM shitting me down? I multiple cc’s to use, so not issue there.
Not sure. I haven’t had problems ordering upwards of $50k from a single account in a month.
I encountered your post and was interested in it. But I dont know how to start doing MS. Do you have a introduction post on how to do it. I do a credit card crunch but not with MS
I linked to my Newbie Guide on this post. I’m also working on an ebook and masterclass for newbies.
I must be a real noob I cant find the newbie guide you mention
Here’s a link to all the posts: https://www.pointchaser.com/?s=newbie+guide+to+manufactured+spending
Lol. The ultimate spoon feeding. I love it!
Ariana, when you say WF. Do you mean Wells Fargo? I’m currently trying to find the best back to deposit MO with. Thanks
Yes! I suggest going with a bank that’s separate from your everyday banking activities. That way, if you get shut down it doesn’t mess up your direct deposit, mortgage payments, etc.