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Worth a Try?

August 25th, 2011 at 04:45 am

I redeemed $500 gift cards from Citi today (dh's account).

I chose:

$150 Kohls gift cards
$ 50 Barnes & Noble
$300 Wal Mart
(Will convert $100 Wal Mart to $95 Amazon gift card, and $200 Wal Mart cards into cash - I believe 85 cents on the dollar at PlasticJungle.com?)

{I am giving dh my $500 Amazon gift card from Chase - which I should be able to redeem any second}.

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Dh received a Citi offer in the mail today - the same one we just redeemed. I got the idea to apply for the same card.

Almost like, why didn't I before?

Oh yeah, because initially it came with an annual fee (not waived). I would usually 100% rule out any up-front fee, but I already got $1000+ from ONE Chase offer this year. I figure I could re-invest some of the bounty!

& then dh got a better offer in the mail and we got the fee waived! (For the one I just redeemed).

I still have the original offer (addressed to dh), and it says it expired July 31. I had already applied so didn't apply with the specific offer code. On a whim, I applied for it online today - my name. Our credit profiles are pretty much identical. I thought I might just get rejected off the bat, since I am not him! I put in the information, and changed the first name from his name to my name (it came up with an application pre-filled for the most part - I had to add all the really personal info). & it let me submit it!

The terms were still clearly no annual fee, though I saw no indication of the rewards. They are offering 50,000 bonus points all over the place, but not sure this favorable one will fly if it expired July 31. If it flies, I only have to spend $1000. Well, will be an interesting experiment. Big Grin

If they deny me this deal, I may try another offer. Paying one annual fee for $1000 in gift cards (2 citi cards) is probably worthwhile.

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I heard today that the Southwest rapid rewards card had a $250 gift card offer. (I just earned $500 Amazon gift cards on mine). I was thinking of having dh apply for $250 Amazon gift cards. It had a smaller up front fee. All it took is one purchase - so it was an easy one. Plus, dh wants to buy a $250-ish game system, anyway. Paying the credit card annual fee, instead, is a 72% discount off retail.

& so it keeps going...

If we go through with these, it will be 3 cards each - applied for in a short time - for one-time rewards. It's not that much, really. I see people in other blogs that do far more volume. IF I Were single, I can't say I would be applying for 6 cards. Well, heck, we are starting to double up on the same cards - which would also be impossible otherwise.

5 Responses to “Worth a Try?”

  1. patientsaver Says:
    1314287804

    Was that the Citi Thank You Preferred card you were talking about? It seems they downgraded the reward to 10,000 bonus points ($100), but still seems like a good deal...

    Earn 1 Point for every $1 spent on purchases

    Earn 5 Points for every $1 spent at gas stations, supermarkets and drugstores for the first 12 months; and 1 point for every $1 you spend thereafter.

    No expiration and no limit on the number of points you can earn.

    Redeem your points for gift cards, travel rewards, merchandise, cash back and more.

    No annual fee†

  2. MonkeyMama Says:
    1314288619

    It's the Thank You Premier card.

    Text is http://www.mymoneyblog.com/300-in-gift-cards-or-399-towards-airfare-or-hotel-from-citi-thankyou-premier-card.html and Link is
    http://www.mymoneyblog.com/300-in-gift-cards-or-399-towards-...
    {The offers we have been getting in the mail are better than these mass offers}.

    If I think about it, of course they offer a deadline to make you act fast. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that the offer was still available - but still not sure if the name switcheroo will fly!

  3. patientsaver Says:
    1314290587

    how long do you wait between card application? A few weeks? A few momths?

  4. MonkeyMama Says:
    1314292784

    I haven't been waiting at all between applications. I don't find that it matters.

  5. MonkeyMama Says:
    1314294398

    P.S. I probably applied for all cards within a couple of weeks of each other.

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