My week in manufactured spending: 38,615 points and $87.30

It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of these manufactured spending reports. I’ve slowed down a bit with both blogging and MS, so the posts have been on hiatus. But I’ve got some 2020 travel plans I need to save up for. Also, I work from home now, which means if I don’t find an excuse to leave the house every day, I’ll literally stay indoors in my Pottery Barn bathrobe, intermittently working and binge-watching Gilmore Girls. And that’s no bueno.

I make an effort to get out every morning and since I don’t have enough daily errands and pilates classes are booked up 3 out of 5 days of the week, an MS run is the most productive option.

Last week, I did over $44,000 worth of manufactured spending. It was largely via $1,000 Visa gift cards from Simon Mall, which cost more than gift cards purchased online but are super convenient and far less time-consuming to liquidate. I managed to unload most of the cards.

The only ones left are a batch of $300 Visa gift cards from Staples, which were ordered online and will arrive who-knows-when. I don’t love the purchase/liquidation process for these cards, but it works out cheaper than Simon Mall Visa gift cards. Plus, I’m trying to be better about maxing out the 5X bonus on the Chase Ink Plus Card. 

In any case, below is a break-down of my weekly manufactured spending activities:

Citi ThankYou points

Citi ThankYou points are quickly becoming my go-to rewards currency and have pretty much replaced Chase Ultimate Rewards. Not that I won’t continue earning those for World of Hyatt transfers, but I’m using Citi ThankYou points far more for airfare via LifeMiles and Flying Blue. One of these days I’ll do a “best Citi redemption post” (when I’m not busy writing for other blogs). 

But in the meantime, I’m replenishing my balance after taking advantage of the 25% transfer promotion between Citi ThankYou points and Lifemiles. 

Last week, I charged $11,000 worth of Simon Mall Visa gift cards to the Citi Prestige Card at a cost of $43.35. Look, I know there are cheaper ways to MS. But this is easy, fast and requires very little tracking. If I can earn points quickly and still grab a round-trip business class ticket for ~$500, I’m good with that. 

Points earned: 11,043 Citi ThankYou points

Gift card fees: $43.35 fees

Money order fees: $9.68

Total fees: $53.03

Ultimate Rewards points

I bought $9,000 worth of Simon Mall Visa gift cards using my Chase Sapphire Preferred, which cost me $35.55 in fees. I also charged $3,707.40 worth of $300 Visa gift cards to my Chase Ink Plus card. Of that amount, $107.40 went towards fees and I earned 18,537 Ultimate Rewards points.

This worked out more expensively than buying Simon Mall Visa gift cards, but I have a specific redemption in mind and this is still cheaper than paying out of pocket. Plus, I had already maxed out my Sapphire Preferred, so this was the fastest way I could earn those points without cycling my credit line.

I also lost my Freedom Unlimited Card and once that gets in, I’ll max that out and then I’m done with my quota for December. 

Points earned: 27,572 Ultimate Rewards points

Gift card fees: $142.95

Money order fees: $11.45

Total fees: $154.40

Cash back

Once I was done with points, I bought $21,000 worth of Visa gift cards on cash back cards. I charged $15,982.95 to the Fidelity Rewards Visa, which earned me $319.66 at 2% cash back. The remaining $5,100 went on the Discover It Miles Card, earning me $76.50 cash back. After fees, I ended up with $294.73 in cash back.

Cash back earned: $396.16

Fees: $82.95

Money order fees: $18.48

Total fees: $101.43

Profit: $294.73

Total earned

In total, I earned 38,615 points and $87.30 cash back. Not my best, especially in terms of cash back, but it’s fine considering it didn’t take very long. I’ve “trained” the cashiers at a more convenient Walmart location close to my local Simon Mall and make the rounds much faster.

I’ll try to keep these manufactured spending runs going at least three days a week. It gets me out of the house for an hour, it’s a nice break from work, I feel like I’m doing something productive and I earn miles. It works out well. 

How much manufactured spending did you all manage last week? I’d love to read about it in the comment section.

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