Cash Back Boy's Mailbox

Earlier this week, I picked up the mail from Cash Back Boy and my mailbox. When I was walking to our apartment, I was looking at our mail and became very confused. Cash Back Boy had this piece of mail:

Why was Cash Back Boy getting a limited time points offer from the Citi Thank You Card? That's a points card!

I had to wait some time for Cash Back Boy to get home to get answers to my two burning questions:

1) What is this offer?

2) You have a Citi Thank You Card?

Once he got home, I cornered him for the answers. He hand me the card to find out the offer:

The small print reads:

"This offer will be activated within 2 business days of when you enroll and will continue for 3 months from completion of your enrollment. With this off you will earn an additional 8 Thank You Points Per $1 spent on dining and entertainment and an additional 9 ThankYou points per $1 spent on other purchases. You may earn up to 5,00 bonus points with this offer. Earning associated with this program may overlap (and are additional to) with other special offers in which you are currently enrolled. Eligible purchases exclude balance transfers, cash advances, convenience checks, items returned for credit fees, or interest charges. All purchases must be posted during the promotional period. We do not determine how merchants are classified, however, they are generally classified based upon the merchant's primary line of business. We reserve the right to determine which purchases qualify for this offer.

          In order to qualify for this offer, the account must be open and current at all times. If your account is
          closed for any reason, including if you convert to another card product, you may no longer be eligible
          for this offer. You may receive more than one communication regarding this bonus offer with an enroll-           by-date-mentioned within; however, if you have already enrolled in this offer, no further action is
          required. This promotional offer is non-transferable and applies to the account ending in the last 4
          digits referenced in this offer."

To summarize, mumbo jumbo says that Cash Back Boy, after registering for the promotion, will earn 10 points per dollar for the next $500 spent on the card. That's 5,000 points for normal spend.

Now the bigger question, why does he have the Citi Thank You card, a points earning card.

The answer: "ahhh...The sign-up offer was good and you can transfer the points to cash. It's therefore still a cash back card!"

I think we are converting Cash Back Boy!
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Why I Pay Cash Sometimes

The other night, Cash Back Boy and I had a heated argument about none other than "cash." Unlike other disagreements, I was defending the use of cash and he the use of credit cards. SAY WHAT!

www.creditcards.com -

Cash Back Boy just came back from the dry cleaners where he picked up one item. He paid his bill of $4.50 with a credit card which upset the owner of the dry cleaners. He told me the story and I stated that I agreed with the owner. Our conversation went like this:

Me: I agree with the owner
Him: Why?
Me:  They probably lost money on your transaction.
Him: That's not my problem. Then they shouldn't accept credit cards
Me: For many small businesses, after employee costs the next biggest expense is credit card swipe fees
Him: What about the points? You are leaving points on the table.
Me: Sometimes I decide to forgo points at small business like my barber.
Him: But the points....

Compliance Signs.com

As a points and miles blogger, I should be hammering away at you to use your credit card every chance you get. Earn those points! However, I am a product of small business owners. My family had multiple small business, so I feel for small business owners.

Credit cards are a necessary evil for many small business owners. Not accepting credit cards will result in the lose of some customers. If my dry cleaners stopped taking credit cards, I probably would look for another dry cleaners. I spend $30+ a week on dry cleaning, a little to much cash to bring each time. On the other hand, accepting credit cards adds costs and reduces profits. A very big decision for small business owners.

For this reason, I try to pay in cash at small business when I can. For instance, my barber has a sign asking people to pay in cash to keep prices low, but he still accept credit cards. Since he asks, I try to bring cash each time I go. Yes, I lose out on 20 points each haircut. However, I know by not swiping my credit card I am helping support a small business. That's more important than the points left on the table.

It isn't always about the points!

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Why Cash Back Boy Prefers Cashback!

Hi there!

Cash back boy here!  Since I seem to be the running joke for all things cash back, I wanted to provide some context into why I believe cash is king.  So at the risk of being a pilgrim in an unholy land, and discussing cash back on a point’s blog here we go….

At a basic level when we put aside money for savings, we are putting off spending today in the hopes of higher spending power in the future.  I prefer cash back, because it allows me to delay current spending in the hope of higher spending power in the future.  For example, in a typical year I usually earn an average of $250 in cash back simply by using my Discover cash back credit card (I fully admit I’m not as determined as JD to identify the best opportunities to earn cash back, though I appreciate his suggestions).  Annually, at the end of each year I request the cash back I’ve earned be deposited into an EFT (exchange-traded fund) that historically mirrors the market (S&P 500).  $250 invested annually into a market EFT averaging a 5 percent annual return, would yield you $1,381 in five years, $3,144 in ten years, and $5,394 in fifteen years.  Why would you spend $250 now when you can spend $131 more in five years, $644 more in ten years, or $1,644 more in fifteen years?

Anyway you get my point.  I’m not going to try and convince you to come over to the dark side (especially not on a points blog, that would be blasphemy).  I would argue however that any financial decision, whether that be traveling on your dream vacation, accumulating points via a mileage or mattress runs (not entirely sure what those are), or accumulating cash back should never be looked at as a one-size fits all approach.  These decisions should all be made considering your financial goals and objectives.  

Look for cash back boy’s next post on the arbitrage theory on Vanilla Cards.

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Cash Back Boy Fails Again

Sometimes its fun to live with someone not in the points game. My roommate, Cash Back Boy, has not caught the bug of earning points. As his name suggests, he prefers to use cash back credit cards; instead, of ones that earn points. I have given up trying to convert him over to the dark side.

Last week, he made a mistake that made me want to strangle him. I arrived home to a package for my roommate from Brooks Brothers. Supposedly, he bought two dress shirts like these:

When he showed me the shirts, I asked him if he went through a shopping portal to earn "cash back." His response took me back, "how do I do that?" You Cash Back Boy don't know how to get cash back?

I write this for him, but hope it helps others too!

There are websites that give you cash rebates for shopping at your favorite online stores. The only things you need to do to earn cash back for your purchases is to 1) login the cash back portal and 2) make the purchase after clicking through to the website. Some of the cash-back portals include Ebates, Mr.Rebates, and Bigcrumbs.

Each of them offer different rebates for shopping at the same store. For instance, if my roommate wanted cash back for his Brooks Brothers' purchase, Ebates would offer him 2.5% back:

On the other hand, Bigcrumbs would offer him 4.2% back:

And Mr. Rebates would offer him a whopping 8% back:

Want to compare what different cash back sites will offer you, head over to Cashback Holics. Their website breaks down how much each portal will offer you for shopping at particular retailers. Want miles; instead of cash, Cashback Holics list some portals that can earn you miles as well. For instance, United, Southwest and American Airlines' portal earn 3 miles per $1 for Brooks Brothers portals:

Delta's portal will net you 2 miles per $1 spent:

Hilton's shopping portal will earn you 4 points per $1 spent:

The lesson of this story is always earn something for your purchases. Be it points or cash-back, shopping portals exist to pay you back for shopping. All it takes is a little time to log-in into one of these websites before starting your shopping.

Don't leave points or cash-back on the table!

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Marriott's Unexpected Bonus is Unexpectedly Popular

Marriott has a promotion at the moment called Unexpected Bonus. Under this promotion, one earns a free night after second paid stays.

One needs to register here on July 31st and stay twice, September 2, 2013.

I am not a Marriott guy. My Marriott Rewards account has zero points in it. However, I signed up for this promotion, because one of my goals for 2013 is to sign-up for more promotions regardless of the likely I will participate. 

What was unexpected about this promotion was that twice this week, someone brought this promotion up out of the blue. First, it was Cash Back Boy. Then, my boss. Both of them asked if I had heard about the Unexpected Bonus from Marriott and was it worth registering. Say What! How did you know about this promotion? 

Marriott's Unexpected Bonus has become Unexpectedly Popular. Both of these people do not read points blogs. Therefore, Marriott must have done a great job with their advertising the promotion.

My strategy for this promotion is to only use it if you have upcoming stays that can be steered toward Marriott. I don't this is a mattress run promotion. Maybe if you have one stay under your belt and you can find a very cheap second stay. For instance, Cash Back Boy mentioned that we steer any upcoming hotels stays to Marriott, so that we can use the free night for college football.

The bigger question is Cash Back Boy coming over to the dark side?

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 Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com