Cash Back Total for 2012

[Bades]

I totaled roughly $600 for 2012 with my Chase Freedom Card!

An extra $50 a month isn't too shabby!

What did everyone else get this year? What reward cards are you using?

[Petunia 100]

I totaled roughly $600 for 2012 with my Chase Freedom Card!

An extra $50 a month isn't too shabby!

What did everyone else get this year? What reward cards are you using?

No, not too shabby at all! Good job.

I don't know what I managed to earn last year.

I have trimmed down my rewards cards, and am keeping three:

1. AmEx Blue, 3% groceries, 2% gas & dept. stores, 1% everything else
2. WF Home Rewards Visa, 1% everything, redemptions applied against mortgage principal
3. Chase Freedom, rotating 5% bonus categories


So I'm using AmEx Blue for gas, and groceries if they take AmEx (my regular store doesn't). Anything else goes on WF Home Rewards Visa. Unless Chase Freedom is going to pay me 5%, like they are this quarter on gas.

Some of my utility companies have recently changed to allow me to use a credit card with no fee, so hopefully I'll be racking up more rewards points.

[cooliemae]

Your post made me go and figure out how much money i made in rewards in 2012. Between Upromise, Discover, and my Citi Card, I earned a little over $1100 last year! With the money I got back from rebates my total would be over $1600 for the year.

[MonkeyMama]

Almost $2800:

Credit Card Rewards Update: Monkey Mama's Monkey Money Blog

To be fair, was a dual effort with spouse - could not have done so well alone.

Right now I am using AmEx Blue for 6% reward groceries and 3% reward for gas. Fidelity AmEx is 2% reward - for every charge. I've got a CU Visa that pays 1%, for the places that do not accept AmEx. & the Target 5%-off card. I was reluctant to use a 3-card system, but it has been working out okay, so added the AmEx Blue a couple of months ago (4-card system). I've historically only had one really good rewards card, but this is how it seems to go these days. IT works, so I play the game. {The Blue Amex card has an annual fee, but I got a sign up bonus that will cover the first 2 years. By then, something better will come along. }.

[YLTL_Dan]

My primary rewards card is the Starwood American Express (hotel rewards) card. I've used it for 7+ years to accumulate travel rewards and really like it. This year we accumulated approximately 40,000 hotel points which translate into roughly $800 (.02/point). I try to get more around 4 cents per point which would take it to ~$1,600. One of their best values is to trade them for airline miles (20k points = 25k airline miles) which can save you big time money very quickly. We love to travel and go through a lot of points so we find it worthwhile!

[MoneyLifeandMore]

I made just under $1,000 last year but I definitely didn't do anything crazy. Just normal spending and one or two card sign ups.

That WF card that pays toward your mortgage is a neat idea. I had never heard of that before.

[Petunia 100]

I made just under $1,000 last year but I definitely didn't do anything crazy. Just normal spending and one or two card sign ups.

That WF card that pays toward your mortgage is a neat idea. I had never heard of that before.

It is neat, but it only works if you have a Wells Fargo mortgage.

[~bs]

quite a bit, but I use my card for business purchases. IMO the best overall card is a fidelity amex/visa card, which gives you 2% on all purchases. (note the visa is 1.5% for purchases up to $10k or something, then 2% afterwards.)

of course, I do have an amazon & chase freedom card that gives better rewards for other types of purchases.

[Biffard]

Wow, I feel like I'm missing out! I have never had a credit card and I didn't realize you could get $1,000+ cash back a year. We have always avoided credit cards based on not wanting to have any debt issues with them but sounds like it can work out to your advantage if done correctly.

I may have to rethink my strategy!

[~bs]

Wow, I feel like I'm missing out! I have never had a credit card and I didn't realize you could get $1,000+ cash back a year. We have always avoided credit cards based on not wanting to have any debt issues with them but sounds like it can work out to your advantage if done correctly.

I may have to rethink my strategy!

Well just consider this, if gas is $4.00/gallon. A 5% cashback makes it $3.80 a gallon. You'll have this type of pricing advantage no matter where you shop.


Credit card rewards are only good IF you do not make additional frivolous purchases that you wouldn't have otherwise. And especially if you DONT carry a balance. It makes no sense to charge up your credit card to earn a 1-3% reward, when you're paying 15 - 25% interest on balances carried.

Credit cards are also 1-2 month interest free loans, depending on your account cycle. If your statement date is 2/1/13, and you put in a charge prior on 1/31/13, the bill for that won't become due until 3/1/13. Perhaps not that great of an incentive for regular consumers, but great for business, as I can purchase inventory on credit cards, then turn and sell it at a profit before the monthly cycle is even up.

Also credit cards have much stronger consumer protection than debit cards. Back in late 2012, I had a company try to shaft me with equipment that didn't work when I made an online purchase (smaller company). I had offered to send it back to him for a refund at my cost, but he decided to ignore my calls/emails. Of course after getting hit with the chargeback, all of a sudden, his email starts working again. Imagine that... Note that if you make a purchase with cash or debit card, you're pretty much SOL if a vendor decides not to refund you.

[moneybags]

My total for the year is $3500. I converted miles to dollars to get that number. We got 100,000 free miles for signing up for 2 cards, and used one of those cards as a primary to rack up more miles.

I had a few (cashback) big wins shopping through Discover - $275 on a vacation, $100 each on 2computers. I really try to shop through Discover when possible for an additional bonus of 5%-20%!

[sblatner]

No, not too shabby at all! Good job.

I don't know what I managed to earn last year.

I have trimmed down my rewards cards, and am keeping three:

1. AmEx Blue, 3% groceries, 2% gas & dept. stores, 1% everything else
2. WF Home Rewards Visa, 1% everything, redemptions applied against mortgage principal
3. Chase Freedom, rotating 5% bonus categories


So I'm using AmEx Blue for gas, and groceries if they take AmEx (my regular store doesn't). Anything else goes on WF Home Rewards Visa. Unless Chase Freedom is going to pay me 5%, like they are this quarter on gas.

Some of my utility companies have recently changed to allow me to use a credit card with no fee, so hopefully I'll be racking up more rewards points.

I suggest you get an Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card - it has a $75 annual fee but you get 6% back on groceries and 3% gas and department stores. Not sure how much you spend in groceries but we earn enough to cover the annual fee in just a couple months.

[kaleida]

I have Amex Blue Cash Preferred - 6% at grocery stores, 3% on gas and department stores, 1% on everything else.
I got $375 cash back in 2012 ($450 total minus $75 annual fee). I like this card...it's the one I use the most.

[Petunia 100]

I suggest you get an Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card - it has a $75 annual fee but you get 6% back on groceries and 3% gas and department stores. Not sure how much you spend in groceries but we earn enough to cover the annual fee in just a couple months.

I have looked at the Preferred card, but my grocery store doesn't accept AmEx. I shop at this particular grocery store because it is conveniently located and it has very low prices. The name of the store is "Cost Less", and it really does. But I appreciate the suggestion, thanks.

[phantom]

We got back almost $500 last year, and I thought we did pretty well until I read some of the numbers here. We primarily use a Chase Freedom card and an American Express Blue Card. We had a BP Chase card for the first few months of last year, but we dropped it when they changed their rewards structure. We also get $0.05 back per online bill pay through our checking account, which earned a whooping $5.30. But, given the difficulty of using that online bill pay, it's hard to say whether or not it was worth it.

Since groceries won't be a category for the Chase Freedom card this year, paying the fee and upgrading to the American Express Preferred Blue Card is tempting. But, I will have to look closely at how much we spend on transactions that are categorized as groceries.