May 3rd, 2008
Snowflake City: Credit Cards in Reverse
I am not one of the personal finance bloggers who totally denounces credit cards. I instead see them like a tool, and anyone who took a shop class in high school can tell you that a properly used tool can do wonders and an improperly used tool can injure and maim. Today’s blog post is about a couple of properly used tools giving a bit of a bonus.
My Discover Open Road card, which gives 5% back on gasoline and automotive purchases (up to a relatively low yearly limit) was due to be eligible for a “Cashback Bonus” soon, meaning that my reward would soon cross the $20 threshold that would allow me to use it. Tonight, it crossed that line and I will soon have another $20 in my checking account, since I just clicked on the button to initiate an electronic transfer.
The same afternoon, as I opened my mail, I came across an envelope from American Express. I get a yearly Costco rebate from them; they’ve had trouble with these in the past, and apparently they had trouble again. The fortunate part is that I’ve received a delayed benefit from their error: their miscalculation resulted in my receiving a credit on an upcoming statement of $13.23.
That’s over $30 in snowflaking without much effort. When I add that to April blog efforts of $96.03, it totals $129.26; add that to the previous $164.57 and there’s $293.83–almost $300 to put to the MacBook that I already ordered!
I’ll be borrowing the rest of the money from my travel fund, and replenishing it with my stimulus rebate. It might not be enough to get me on my usual summer trip, but I’m not going to give up easily.
[...] As I’ve stated before, I am not one of the personal finance bloggers who will say to cut up your credit cards, put them in a blender, or make them into blocks of ice. Instead, I am of the opinion that credit cards are like a sharp knife–they can help you do great things, or they can cause you great harm. The difference is in you. [...]