At the end of May I performed my first app-o-rama of sorts, and received 4 new credit cards. One of the ones I received and only used for a singular purchase was the US Airways Dividend Miles card (http://www.mostmiles.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=1465&cellNumber=163) issued by Barclays. Now a little over a month after receiving the card, I received my 40,000 mile new customer bonus, and I was targeted for a special promotion.
Spend $750 in August, September, and October and earn a 15,000 mile bonus. Pair that bonus with the 2,250 miles from spend, and my account will walk away with an extra 17,250 miles in my account. Keep in mind, I just received 40,000 miles for opening the card. So I am thinking of starting my own experiments.
1) I want to see if other card issuers try and win my business by not using their card. Currently I have spend spread across almost all our cards from our Hawaii trip last month. So once I get them paid off, most will go into the safe to start the clock towards them enticing me back.
2) I want to evaluate the best options for meeting the $750 spend each month, while possibly doing it with as little out-of-pocket costs as possible. I have no desire to use the card just for the sake of using the card to earn miles, but if I can use the card doing things we would anyways, we will come out ahead.
What would be great is if US Airways would 100% bring back the Grand Slam promotion again this year. At this point, no one knows for sure if the GS will return this year. For a while it seemed discussions were still on track to have the promotion again this year, but I also have heard those conversations with US Airways stopped, so it is questionable now whether the promotion will happen again.
Personally, I think it would be a huge mistake on US Airways part not to bring the Grand Slam promotion back, as it is probably the single most discussed travel promotion of the year. It is fun, and rewarding for everyone involved.
So to get back on track, I am looking for any ideas on how to utilize the US Airways credit card to meet the $750 monthly spend, while hopefully not buying things I would not anyways.
My first goal is to try using Amazon Payments, sending money to a family member or friend for free using a credit card. I just set up an account, and have a $1,000 monthly limit, so hopefully I am able to knock off this easy promotion, making earning 15,000 bonus miles a pretty simple task.
As a reminder, Discover Card also provides a free service to send friends and family money for free, although the monthly limits are typically lower, $500/month. Still, I like earning $5 cashback or 500 miles each month.
Save Money, Travel More!
Oh, nice! Both my husband and I got a version of this offer, but we each have to put $1250 on each of our cards per month. Your offer is easier!
@Lindsay: Thanks for the feedback. It is interesting to know there are different target offerings floating around out there. Are you going to use Amazon Payments or any other creative ways to meet the spend?
Definitely. My husband’s offer was June/July/August and mine was July/August/September, so June wasn’t any problem with regular spend, and September won’t be a problem.
In July we supplemented with some additional Amazon Payments and Kiva lending (credited to the Milepoint Kiva Lending Team, of course!), and I anticipate we’ll do the same this month.
One thing that’s not super clear with these offers is how they’re going to take into account billing cycles. My billing cycle is mid-month, so my July statement correctly said I had only spent $1000 (July 17th). I spent another $300+ by the end of the month, but that will be on my August statement. I wonder if I’ll have to argue for the miles later, or if they’ll show up correctly!
Would your babysitter be willing to accept Amazon Payments? That might get you at least partway there, if not all the way
@AmyRenee: I love your thinking! 😉
Amazon Payments concerns me, as they require your soc # . I have a friend that sells on Etsy through paypal and last year she got socked with a huge tax bill. At what threshold do Amazon payments become taxable / considered taxable income for services?
@Beth: Per Paypal, “Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6050W states that all US payment processors, including PayPal, are required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide information to the IRS about certain customers who receive payments for the sale of goods or services through PayPal. These new rules apply to sellers who receive over $20,000 in gross payment volume AND over 200 separate payments in a calendar year.” The same thing would apply to Amazon Payment.
I got this offer as well! I love it…finally got targeted for an offer! WAHOO!
Hi InACents! I’m curious to know how you rec’d the offer? Email, mail? (No similar offer for me just yet, that I’m aware of).
Thanks!
@AnnieLovesParis: We received it via email at first, and then several days later received a postcard in the mail detailing the same promotion. Thanks for reading, and good luck.