What happened to GiftCards.com?
UPDATE 2/21/2016: Portal Rewards are Back
Recently, GiftCards.com became the place to buy Visa gift cards. With Simply Best Coupons offering 1.5% cash back and iCoupons offering 1.6% cash back, one could get back all...
Can iConsumer really deliver cash + shares? My interview with iConsumer’s founder.
A new cash back portal, iConsumer, made a big splash last month by offering some of the best cash back rates around. Some examples include: 8% cash back for Ebay (briefly 16%!) and 32%...
Connecting the dots: Prepaid cards that allow debit reloads
Following the widespread shutdowns Amex inflicted on Bluebird and Serve cardholders, people are rushing to find alternatives. There are many manufactured spend opportunities that do not involve prepaid cards, but for those who prefer...
Earn 300 Plenti points reloading your Green Dot card at Rite Aid
Rite Aid is running an ad this week offering 300 Plenti points when you swipe your Green Dot card and reload at least $50 in a single transaction. Check your local ad to see...
Best practices for increasing credit card spend through prepaid cards
Earlier this week, I published “My winter 2016 approach to manufactured spending.” In that post I mentioned that all 6 of the Serve cards I had been managing were shut down. And, I wrote:
I...
Should you borrow money to get up to 35,000 United miles from Prosper?
Yesterday morning, I received an offer to get up to 35,000 United miles with a personal loan from Prosper. The offer is for 1 mile for each dollar borrowed. Is that a good deal? ...
Quick Tip: iConsumer Double Cash Back rates “already shown”
There has been considerable interest lately in a new portal called iConsumer due to it having significantly better cash back rates than most rivals for many merchants. For example, for Visa gift cards purchased...
My winter 2016 approach to credit card spend
I write frequently about techniques for manufacturing spend. And, occasionally, I write about my own personal approach. Inevitably, though, my approach changes soon after I write about it. The latest big change, of course,...
Bet You Didn’t Know: A New and Improved Staples Rebate Option?
By Julian, author of Devil’s Advocate...
Despite the recent untimely death of Bluebird and Serve for many Frequent Miler readers, it can sometimes still be useful to purchase Visa or MasterCard gift cards at Staples. For...
Low fee $500 Visa gift cards online after rebate (now 1.6% back)
UPDATE 2: A new portal named iConsumer is currently offering 1.6% cash back at GiftCards.com. I tested and received email confirmation the next day.
UPDATE: The cash back rate for GiftCards.com at Simply Best Coupons...
Your Serve or Bluebird is still alive. Now what?
Late last week, Amex delivered bad news to huge numbers of Bluebird and Serve account holders. They shut down accounts due to “unusual usage patterns.” I reported the news here: Amex kills Bluebird and...
Bluebird Serve Birdpocalypse: How to liquidate remaining gift cards
This morning Amex delivered bad news to huge numbers of Bluebird and Serve account holders. They shut down accounts due to “unusual usage patterns on your American Express Serve Account.” I reported the news...
Amex kills Bluebird and Serve for many
Amex seems to have swept through all Serve and Bluebird accounts to identify any that were being used to manufacture spend. Identified account holders received emails today as follows:
Dear ,
We are writing to let...
Credit Card Spend in 2016 and Beyond
There was a time when the US Mint sold dollar coins online at face value, with free shipping, and allowed customers to pay with credit cards. The coins were incredibly popular. People bought the...
