Comments on: How much did I earn on credit card rewards in 2009?

By: Stephen @ ACE Financial Services

Stephen @ ACE Financial Services — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:39:57 +0000

Wow, that’s a lot of cash! I always pay my credit cards too in full monthly, so haven’t incurred interest with them but upon checking my rewards, I only got a $150. Although not as much as yours, I’m happy with it because a reward is a reward! lol

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:29:58 +0000

Another analysis that would be interesting is too see how your credit score changed with the number of credit cards. I found that when closing 2 store cards my FICO score actually went down by 30 points! Guess the more cards you have the better your credit.

By: John @ TheChristianDollar.com

John @ TheChristianDollar.com — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:53:53 +0000

Wow. That’s incredible! While it is clear that you have made a good deal of money from beating the credit card system, I’d like to make an argument for not using credit cards at all . . . even if you’ve never paid interest. For myself, I see the potential of going into credit card debt if I were to have a card even for emergencies. Quick access to a card could mean a balance that grows and grows until I cannot sustain it anymore. You’ve obviously done well, but please be careful with credit card companies! They pour millions of dollars into the rewards system for a reason . . . to take your money. Nevertheless, great post and you have a great website sir!

By: My Crazy Debt

My Crazy Debt — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:48:44 +0000

I would be scared to use credit cards for rewards. Most people come out on the losing end of the deal.

By: used cars knoxville

used cars knoxville — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:25:56 +0000

I’m a little scared to used a credit card just for rewards.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:29:33 +0000

@Dan I am a big fan of the Costco American Express True Earnings Card as well as that is the main card that I use personally. I like to employ a strategy of using cards from multiple issuers though so that I can max out my cash back rewards in the aggregate even when certain merchants don’t accept American Express or Discover.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:22:56 +0000

$500 from Costco Amex this year. The best part is that it does _not_ have to be spent there. They give you a check which you can either use to purchase there, OR put the purchase on your card (and earn a %) and they will give you cash.

By: Even Cleverer Dude

Even Cleverer Dude — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:09:44 +0000

I travel a lot of for business so my experience may not be typical. But I totalled all my rebates up and got back $1050 cash, mostly from Chase Freedom, and an additional $620 in rebates (which you can use for car repairs or new car purchase) on my Citi Drivers Edge card in 2009. How sweeeet is that! I charge all gas and groceries to my Citi Drivers Edge, and put everything else on Chase Freedom. Combine that with signing up for a couple of other credit card offers, and there you go…$1670 extra dollars of income!

Granted, Chase Freedom (now Chase Sapphire) reduced their rebates in Q3 2009, so I unfortunately don’t expect to have the same results this year!

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:22:37 +0000

@Dan, yeah, my boss is getting $600 back from his Costco Amex this year. You would think they’re on the Board of Directors how much they talk about shopping there!

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:52:23 +0000

@Lulu, you reminded me that I also cashed out a few $20-$50 Discover rebates for gift cards, but I think most of those were in 2007-2008, not last year.