Just signed up for a credit card where it has a $3000 minimum spend in the first 90 days, I don't spend nearly as much. just wanting to know what's the easiest way to reach the spending requirement.
What's the easiest way to meet the minimum spend amount on credit card signups?
SydEng on 10/03/2019 - 16:34
Comments
Business expenses are the way to go
If you don't have a business - make one.Get some dental work done
Buy $3k in shares with ig.com.au, funded by your CC. You can cash out to another account after proving that you can verify ownership of both the CC used to fund IG and the account you're transferring to. And you can pick up another 10k QFF points as well.
I have done this, except I'd been with IG long enough that they didn't require proof of account ownership when cashing out; I have had multiple IG support staff explain that the above would apply though.
Im doing this, since I already trade with commsec.
Just make sure you don't cash back out on to the same card, as that does look like a refund and so will defeat the purpose :)
Also note the fees, trading is cheap but if you don't trade much (which is a pretty easy threshold) they've recently introduced a subscription fee.
Can you buy shares through the commsec platform on credit card?
interesting! So this doesn't count as a cash advance?
No :)
Unless you have a citibank card. They consider this a 'cash equivalent' transaction, like online gambling or buying casino chips
@cruiseronroad: My advice is to overpay bills (health insurance, electricity etc) and buy supermarket gift vouchers - so that you're not undertaking spending money for the sake of hitting a spend target.
The other advantage is that bills in subsequent months feel a lot smaller!
Great idea! Do they charge you an additional inactivity fee if you just hold a few shares in their portfolio? Or Do these guys require more activity/constant trading?
They have shifted to some sort of inactivity fee lately (see subscription fee here), but you don't necessarily have to hang around long enough for that to kick in. Subscribe, deposit, buy, sell, withdraw (and you might be able to skip the buy/sell step, but you wouldn't collect the 10k QFF points and they might be a bit suspicious about your activity and only allow refund to your card).
I think OP has applied for Amex card, and IG don’t accept Amex anymore.
Ah, Amex. They did previously take it, but the surcharge was high. MasterCard is cheapest.
How much is their credit card surcharges normally? Say 1% or less?
@H E B: IIRC it's 1% for Visa and 0.5% on MC. Depending on how you value points it's possibly worth just cashing in and out just to earn the points.
This is fantastic. Wonder how long before they close this loophole.
Question.
So this isn't considered a cash advance?
Was asked by an earlier poster; not in my experience with Westpac and ANZ (no interest charged and points where earned, neither of which would be the case for cash advances), but another comment indicated that Citibank [does consider it cash equivalent )(https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/7042410/redir) so look out for them.
I think OP has got Amex which isn't accepted on IG. Also, don't forget they charge a 1% funding fee.
Yes, but mentioned in the comments up above.
hey, i've just signed up for IG, deposited money, bought and sold, and tried to cash out to bank account. but it said that because i haven't traded long enough that i cant withdraw to bank account. Also went on live chat and they said normally you should only withdraw to the same method you deposited.
a) wait longer (they've let me, but I had held for quite a while - unsure exactly, but several months)
b) ask if you can prove ownership of both card used to fund and account used to withdraw to (e.g. through bank statements), which is what they initially said I'd have to do - then waived, because I'd had the account long enoughWhat amount of time is a good before withdrawing? 2 weeks or 1 month?
I've sent thru my bank statement, and they said it was too early to withdraw to bank account. Should I deposit a small amount Ie.a few hundred bucks from my bank account and hope to withdraw all my funds in a few weeks time?@[Deactivated]: Sorry, I can't speak for them in your case; I asked them straight away what would be required, they said I'd have to prove ownership of funding credit card and receiving bank account, but by the time I actually wanted to withdraw (a few months, can't recall exactly now) they said I'd been there long enough and I didn't need to provide any docs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Eventually they'll let you do it.
@ely: Hopefully, otherwise I'll just wait until I get the bonus points and then withdraw funds back to the credit card =)
- Load up your myki / opal card / whatever public transport you use.
- Buy Woolworths e-gift card for to buy petrol with.
- Pay home/car/health insurance 12 months up front
- Offer to pay when splitting bills and have the others pay you back in cash
When going out with friends, use your credit card for the bill. Then get them to netbank you cash. It's almost a cash advance :)
book a hotel room 6 months in advance that has a full refund policy.
meet spend amount, get points, get booking refund after.
who negs this? this is the easiest way to do it
yeah, I don't get it either.
maybe the hotel association of australia has a lot of members on here?
Done this dozens of times. Totally works. Dunno why noobs are downvoting it. They only reverse the points on the purchase not the bonus points. I use expedia and it's totally painless.
Good to hear and thanks for your input! I think youre the only person on here ive seen who has said theyve actually done it. I'm planning on doing the same as ive just got into churning.
So no risk of them taking away the bonus points after refunding? Is there any benefit to cancelling the card first, then getting the refund? Or doesnt matter?
Know if expedia/agoda/etc allow you to refund to a different card? I.e say you lost it or you moved banks?
Cheers :)
People downvoting because that is a bad practice. Almost like scamming. It's up to you to follow it not. Just use your common sense.
council rates lol… probably the highest bill you will pay on
that will work with amex but not with other banks, becareful.
Body corporate levy, way bigger than the council levy, and unlike the council levy, it counts toward minimum spend.
Pay me 3k and I'll be your friend, no strings attached.
Is this a troll post OP? You want to know the easiest way to reach the spend limit but you have no expenses.
Is that right?OP asking how to meet the $3K expenditure.
Not unusual. $9K per month in mortgage, leases, etc will not count. Not even tobacco counts …
Not even tobacco counts …
It does if you buy a WW egift card on your credit card first, then use the egift card to pay for tobacco xD (assuming you get your tobacco from a supermarket)
Book a fully refundable hotel or flight. Refund once you get the points. Simple.
and the money will come back to the credit card? then the bank will reverse the point?
correct. very simple. fail.they can't send you negative points
They can send you into negative points. I did this to reach the last leg of my Amex card, the bonus went into the QFF account but once the hotel was refunded I had -600 QFF points on my card.
@dengziyi: of course. thats why usually people in ozb will go against people who suggested buy and refund. for two reasons:
- wont work
- it is scamming the system
- just use common sense. if this work, then everyone in the whole world will just do that.@CyberMurning: I have previously booked a business flight got the points and then refunded, it was fine.
@CyberMurning: But the thing is, it does work. You just won't be able to earn QFF points for the next few months while the QFF debt is paid. Obviously, I'd suggest more legitimate ways, but this isn't scamming.
@dengziyi: May be you need to get bonus points, cancel the card, then be refunded to a transaction account or to a different credit card?
They'll be long moved before the refund!
wrong genius
A Tesla model S.
If you are desperate, use rewardpay or b2bpay to pay a tax debt owing, or for any other payments that don't accept credit card. Minor surcharge applies, but well worth it if you're down to last couple of weeks and you NEED to spend.
what will be the description on our credit card statement if we transfer $ to rewardpay/b2bpay? and how we are going to transfer? sometimes bpay is not eligible so we cant use bpay to transfer $ to rewardpay/b2bpay.
also im afraid bank will classify this as "cash equivalent transactions" therefore not eligible.Rewardpay or zenith payments is the description. Hasnt been flagged as a cash advance before for me.
Thanks for this, didn't know they existed. Hello more business points!
Not cost effective. Unless you can constantly redeem points at > 2c pp
Is there an equivalent for personal not business use?
Wouldnt be economical to use as the ~1.5% surcharges for visa/mc and 2.5% for amex isnt then tax deductible.
Not many visas earning more than 1:1 and amexs more than 1.25:1For sure. I'm more wanting to use to hit the min spend for the bonus sign up points.
Both of these seem to be for business use? Is there an equivalent for personal expenses? Im keen to use one for paying ATO, rego, council rates.
not sure how it's not possible to spend 3k in 90 days?
I spend that much within 4 weeks easy.
On items that you can actually pay with a credit card?
Book a holiday.
Credit cards have minimum spends to qualify for the bonus reward points.
Ask family and close friends whether they have any large-ish purchases that you can pay for with your card and then get them to reimburse you. Previously had a mate who moved in to a new place and was furnishing the house, pretty much met the minimum spend in 2 days.
But goes without saying, this is only an option if you trust them completely.
Does Bpay to Ubank's Usaver count? This would be the easiest way.
BPay is excluded. Full stop.
Sorry for my ignorance. How can we pay the bills without using Bpay?
you can. go to for example agl.com.au find section pay my bills. then you enter your CC details there. in contrast: BPAY will be loging to anz.com.au, go to your CC and enter AGL BPAY id to pay.
@yphuongd: yup then it is NOT a bpay whatsoever. but sometimes you need to pay % fee. up to you which one is worth more.
but still dont do this for government website bills, usually excluded (except AMEX cards).learn this after 7 years member in ozb ? :D should celebrate big then haha kidding
Put down a deposit on a hotel stay that offers 100 percent refund if you cancel. Then cancel after you get you points and get a refund.
- Petrol
- Utilities
- Groceries - Stock up with rice, pasta, shampoo, toiletries, canned goods
- Public Transport - Load up your transport tap card
- Eat out/Take away for brekky, lunch, dinner, coffee & snacks every day
- Update your wardrobe. Buy clothes and shoes. Buy expensive watch.
are you telling your monthly expenses for 3 months dont add up to $3000?
—-
if thats the requirement however, pay all your bills and groceries using that. for the gap buy gift cards on groceries. dont spend just because credit card company wants you to :-)This should be a question to ask before signing up for the card…
What card is it?
Have a family.
yes have a family then you wont be able to afford CC
I pay for almost everything on a CC attached to an offset account. But of course being the main bread winner limits any discretionary spend.
PAY FOR YOUR FRIENDS OR FAMILY'S BILLS, THEN THEY PAY YOU BACK IN CASH
I HEAR YOU
If I was desperate to spend $3k I guess I would pre-pay bills ahead of time, say throw $1k into my ISP $1k at my power, $1k at my phone etc.
Then you don't have to worry about them for a while and it's not a capital spend, it's paying an already committed thing.
Paypal family and friends fund transfer. (Incurs %2.5 fees but you might get cc points as well.)
I’ve tried this. They block the transaction because it looks fraudulent? Unless you’re doing $10 at a time.
Hookers
buy a fully refundable plane ticket for a flight in the future, refund it once you get the points
OzBargain addiction.
I paid all the bills on that card and asked for some cash in return. Paid for flights when travelling.
Also booked a hotel then cancelled it
And asked friends if I could pay for group meals and they pay me back (chasing them up might be a hassle)You can try selling something on eBay with one account and buying it with another using the card that needs min spend.
"You can try selling something on eBay with one account and buying it with another using the card that needs min spend."
and cop in 10% fees? thats massive man…."Also booked a hotel then cancelled it"
thats scamming man…When there is a 10% storewide promo. Or free listing with no fv fees.
I see. And pay with credit card directly not cc linked to PayPal.
how about paypal fee? the buyer will use credit card to pay, but the seller will receive in his/her paypal, correct? and paypal will charge 3% fee to the seller.
Makes sense. Otherwise we’d prepay $3k onto our new credit card, then draw it back as cash. Boom - min spend met without buying anything.