This is going to be boring and predictable. I’ve taken a break from manufactured spending (and blogging) the last couple of weeks. I got back into it last week with a single trip to Simon Mall. That’s mainly because I’m going to Turkey today and generally, I try not to take on too much manufactured spending the week before a trip. But I couldn’t resist one final Simon Mall run. Plus, my brother was in town and willing to help me liquidate some extra cards that came in the mail.
I made a $10,000 Visa gift card purchase at Simon Mall, resulting in $39.50 in fees. Factoring in money order fees, I paid $48.30 total out of pocket. I split this transaction between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Korean SkyPass Card. In total, I earned 1,800 SkyPass miles and roughly 8,239 Ultimate Rewards points.
That’s not a huge haul. But the Ultimate Rewards will offset what I’m spending on two hotel nights during my trip. I’ve written about how the Ultimate Rewards Travel site has some pretty incredible deals. You can often stretch your points further by booking travel through the site than by transferring points to airlines or hotel reward programs.
While it’s a small number of points, it’s always nice to see your rewards balance bounce back when you return from a trip. Plus, it’s good to stay in the habit by regularly churning gift cards. I definitely get motivated to churn more by writing these weekly posts and when readers share photos of their money order runs on Facebook.
I’ve got one last money order run to do today and then I’m paying off my credit cards before I leave. Some of those payments aren’t due for another month, but I always pay off cards if they’re due or the statement closing date is coming up while I’m gone. That way, I can relax without having to check my credit card spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
How much manufactured spending have you done this week?
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