Most people are aware that credit cards can lead to serious financial distress. Buying now and promising to pay later is a slippery slope that many people fall into.
However, did you know there are credit card hacks you can employ to make money?
It’s real, and many people make a decent living off of credit cards each year. And today we’re going to show you how you can use credit card tricks to make money.
Credit card debt is nothing new to Americans. According to GOBankingRates.com’s 2016 U.S. Household Debt survey, the median amount owed on a credit card is $2,000.
If you’re one of these folks who has a significant credit card balance, you’re definitely paying interest.
As a result, while your credit card company profits from the interest and fees you must pay, you lose more and more of your hard-earned money.
However, there is a sensible method to pay off your credit card debt: make it work for you.
Sure, swiping your card at every opportunity won’t make you rich overnight.
However, by intelligently using your credit cards, you can create some income for payments.
If you’re debt-free, you can use the additional money toward a vacation or that flat-screen television you’ve always wanted.
Here are eleven credit card hacks to make money.
Credit Card Hacks to Make Money
1. EARN GROCERY STORE BONUSES
Grocery shop bonuses is a way to make money with credit cards. Is your grocery store willing to give you a discount on gas or groceries if you spend a particular amount?
We get $0.10 off every gallon of gas at our main store if we spend a particular amount during a set period of time.
When we buy a particular number of gift cards during a promotional period at our other retailer, we receive a $10 coupon usable for our next shopping trip.
We make sure to keep track of these bonus periods and make use of them.
If we are towards the end of the quarter and have not yet earned the bonus, we will purchase a few gift cards to places we frequent in order to accomplish our target.
So not only do we earn money via credit cards, but we also save money on gas and supermarket purchases by using discounts or coupons.
2. GET MONEY WITH CASH-BACK CREDIT CARDS
Get a card that pays you to shop if you want to make money using credit cards. A cash-back credit card is the name for this type of card. For specific purchases, depending on the sort of card you get, you can earn 1 percent to even 5% in cash-back rewards. Take, for example, the Discover it card.
With this credit card, you may earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases in rotating categories like gas, restaurants, and more every quarter. So, if you spend $1,500 on qualified products, you’ll receive $75 back in your pocket. In addition to the 5% cash back, you will receive 1% cash back on all other transactions.
This card also comes with a unique benefit: Discover will double all cash back you earn in your first-year dollar for dollar, which may add up quickly.
You can earn more money with a cash-back credit card if you use it frequently. But proceed with caution. To avoid credit card debt and exorbitant interest rates, pay off your credit card balance in full every month. The cash-back advantages may not be worth it if you get into too much debt.
3.EARN BONUS REWARDS POINTS
“In my experience, the best method to leverage credit cards for money is to obtain a new card with a significant airline mileage bonus and redeem the points for a free or heavily discounted travel,” said Stacy Caprio, search marketing manager at TimePayment, a company that provides business equipment financing.
If you travel frequently, travel rewards credit cards are a godsend. But what if you aren’t a frequent traveler? Shteyn suggested that you turn your points into cash by reserving tickets for friends and family with your points.
“It has the potential to be a win-win situation for both parties,” he said. “You receive a cheap ticket for your friends, plus you earn cash back at a better percentage than your bank may offer.”
But, before you get too enthusiastic and start selling your undesired prizes for cash, you should be aware of the dangers. Although certain rewards programs enable users to give points or incentives to family and friends, selling these benefits for cash may be against the terms and conditions of some schemes.
You can choose from a variety of credit cards that provide sign-up bonuses. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, which GOBankingRates rated as one of the top travel rewards credit cards, allows you to earn 50,000 extra points after spending $4,000 on purchases with the card within the first three months of account setup. This is the equivalent of $625 in travel funds.
So, you might want to use this card, or similar rewards cards, for as many expenses as possible. And if possible, see if you can rack up rewards points by using your credit card to pay your rent.
“It’s common knowledge that earning points from credit card use is the best method to get value – or money – back,” said Roman Shteyn, co-founder of RewardExpert.com, which helps travelers maximize their credit card points and airline miles. “However, many consumers do not charge one of their largest monthly payments, their rent, to their credit cards.”
Related: 40+ Money-Making Apps For Android/IOS
4. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ZERO PERCENT OFFERS
When you sign up for a credit card, some of them will offer you a zero percent interest rate. You must be disciplined in order to make money in this situation.
Simply start spending on the card and only pay the minimum when the balance is due. Then deposit the remainder of the outstanding balance into a savings account.
Continue doing this every month until the promotional 0% interest rate offer expires.
Then utilize the money in your savings account to pay off your credit card’s total debt.
Assume you spend $500 a month on your credit card. You pay your bill with the bare minimum payment, which is $10. The remaining $490 is then saved.
Each month, here’s how it looks:
In two ways, you made money. First, you were ideally earning cash back or rewards while you were spending money. You would make $60 if you earned 1% on everything you bought.
Second, the sum in your savings account was accruing interest. You would have made $30 if you were earning 1% on your savings account.
In total, you made $90 by using your credit card.
5. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ZERO PERCENT BALANCE TRANSFER OFFERS
Credit card arbitrage is another name for this credit card hack to make money. This is a wonderful way to make money if you are disciplined.
However, if you aren’t disciplined, you can quickly find yourself in trouble.
What is credit card arbitrage and how does it work? The simplest explanation is that you take advantage of 0% balance transfer offers, save the money in an interest-bearing account, and pay it back over time.
Simple right?
Here is how it would work out in real life.
#1. You get an offer from one of your credit cards for a 0% offer. Instead of having the credit card company pay off some other debt for you and carry your balance on the balance transfer card, you request a check and cash it in.
#2. You deposit the money into a high yielding savings account or other safe savings product. My favorite is Worthy, where you can earn 5% on your money.
#3. As the month’s pass by, you pay the minimum on your credit card using the money in your savings account. Bonus points if you just pay the minimum from your income and leave the money in the savings account alone.
#4. The month before your balance transfer special interest rate expires, you withdraw the remainder of the money in the savings account to pay off the debt.
#5. You keep the difference, which is the interest you earned.
#6. Rinse and repeat.
It really is this simple. But let’s give you some real-life numbers to drive home this point. Let’s say you take advantage of a 0% balance transfer offer for 24 months and request $5,000.
You take the $5,000 and deposit it into your Worthy account earning 5% interest.
Each month for the next 23 months, you pay the minimum on your credit card. To keep things simple, we will say it is $75.
You take the money from your checking account and leave the money in your Worthy account alone.
When the bill comes for your next credit card payment, you pay off the balance using the money in your Worthy account.
How much money did you make? You earned $500 in interest. You just made money using credit cards!
6. INVEST YOUR CASH BACK
You can also put cash-back rewards to work for you and invest the money – even if you earn less than a few hundred dollars. Thanks to the power of compounding interest, your cash-back rewards will grow into a sizable nest egg over time.
Assume you receive $300 in cash back each year. If you put $300 into a savings account that pays 7% interest annually, your balance will rise to more than $4,000 in ten years.
Some rewards credit cards allow cardholders to link their cards to qualified investment accounts as an added advantage. Take, for example, the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature credit card, which allows you to earn an unlimited 2% cash reward and have it automatically deposited into an eligible Fidelity account, such as a brokerage account, a 529 college savings plan, a retirement account, and more.
Look for credit cards with no restrictive categories if you want to maximize your investment earnings. The more restrictions you put in place, the fewer opportunities you’ll have to cash in and invest your winnings.
Related: 23 Types Of Financial Investment Vehicles To Grow Your Wealth in 2022
7. SHOP ONLINE MORE OFTEN
Did you know that if you shop online with a cash back credit card, you might get a double bonus?
This is how it works. Visit Rakuten formerly known as Ebates and Swagbucks before making any online purchases. They’re cash-back websites that pay you to shop online.
If you want to purchase something from Best Buy, go to Ebates to see if you can get 1% cash back on your transaction.
Simply click the “shop now” option on Ebates to be sent to the Best Buy website, where you can complete your purchase.
If you spend $100 and earn 1% cash back with Ebates and your credit card, you’ll get $2 back instead of $1 if you don’t use Ebates and your credit card.
What’s the catch, you might wonder? There are no strings attached. Ebates and Swagbucks make money by having you shop through their websites. In other words, Ebates might get 10 percent cash back from Best Buy when you make a purchase. They then give you a percentage of this.
Why do I suggest Ebates as well as Swagbucks? They all have different cash back amounts and stores to choose from. By combining the two, you’ll get the most money back.
Some credit cards allow you to earn cash back or points when you shop online as a perk. To access these savings and take advantage of the deals, you may need to log into your credit card account.
When eligible Discover card members shop through Discover Deals, for example, they can receive extra cash back. This includes 5% cash back on purchases made through LivingSocial, Apple, Wal-Mart, and other online shops. They can also get gift cards or discounts on their next purchases, such as a $25 Sam’s Club gift card. Similar shopping portals are available from other credit card companies
New users to Swagbucks get $5 when you join for free.
New members to Ebates earn a $10 gift card when joining.
Both are 100% free to use.
8. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HUGE SIGN ON BONUSES
This method works best with rewards credit cards, but it can also work with cash back cards.
When it comes to rewards cards, you might see an offer for 60,000 points if you spend $5,000 each month for the first three months.
You can easily earn some big credit card rewards if you can attain this level of spending.
This technique can be rinsed and repeated indefinitely.
Many credit card firms restrict these offers to new cardholders, who are defined as those who have not had a credit card with the company for at least a year.
As a result, you’ll need to keep track of when you canceled accounts and when you can apply as a new cardholder.
Finally, the only other catch here is your credit. In order to take advantage of the best sign in bonuses, you need to have a great credit score.
But as long as you pay your bills on time and don’t get yourself into mountains of debt, you should be able to qualify for these bonuses.
9. JOIN ACORNS AND LINK A CREDIT CARD
If you want to invest but aren’t sure where to start, the Acorns app could be a good place to start. This investing software invests your extra cash from routine purchases automatically.
Simply create an account and link your credit or debit card. Acorns round up all of your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the difference, converting your leftover change into cash.
To reduce risk, your funds are invested in a diversified portfolio, and you can attach as many credit cards as you like. The amount you can earn with the app is determined by how frequently you use a linked credit card.
There’s a $1 monthly fee for using the service. But if you’re a college student with a valid .edu email address, you can use Acorns fee-free for up to four years.
10. USE CREDIT CARD SITE PORTALS
While using online cash back sites to earn more cash back, don’t overlook the online portals of the credit card companies themselves. Many times they offer even better cash back terms.
For a while, I was earning 5% cash back on the Discover Deals site for certain stores.
The nice thing here is the stores the credit card portals offer don’t change much, so once you know what they offer, you won’t have to check back on a regular basis.
You can also sign up for email alerts too, letting you know when any bonus cash back events are happening or when new stores are added.
11. GET CREATIVE WITH EXPIRED CREDIT CARDS
You can’t make a purchase with an expired credit card – but you can turn the card into art and cash in.
This is probably a foreign concept, but some DIY-ers are exploring their crafty side and making handmade jewelry using expired credit cards. The profit you can generate from selling these unique fashion pieces vary. But if you’re interested, there are credit card accessories on Etsy.com selling for as little as $5 and as high as $20.
Tips on how to use a credit card responsibly.
1. Find the right card
It’s difficult to utilize a credit card responsibly if you start with the “wrong” credit card. As previously said, the credit card you select must completely match your demands and spending patterns.
Find a credit card that rewards frequent travelers if you travel frequently. If you’re having trouble repaying a large debt, get a card with a modest limit. Finding the appropriate credit card may take some time, but it will be worthwhile.
2. Spend responsibly
Credit cards come with spending limits and conditions that must be followed. I don’t recommend using a credit card if you have a spending problem.
Their accessibility may tempt you to overspend, but it’s up to you to avoid going into debt and harming your credit history.
With the appropriate card and responsible spending habits, you may enjoy all of the card’s benefits for FREE.
3. Pay your balance in full and on time
Although this is basic knowledge, many consumers fail to consider the terms of credit card payback.
Avoiding needless interest and fees by paying your debt in full and on time is the easiest method to avoid them.
Paying off your credit card in full each month also demonstrates prudent credit card usage.
You’re not only paying interest when you carry a balance, but you’re also increasing your debt amount.
We’ve already seen the average credit card balance climb close to $6,400 for Americans.
4. Don’t share credit cards
Everything that is charged on your card must be paid in full by you. Sharing your credit card will almost certainly result in unexpected charges. Never share a credit card unless it’s an emergency.
You have the option of adding someone as an authorized user on your card, which may seem strange.
Because the authorized user can charge on the account but isn’t technically responsible to pay it back, this is still called sharing a credit card.
An authorized user, unlike a co-signer, is simply someone who has access to the credit line.
5. Track your spending
Although credit cards automatically record all transactions, you must make a conscious effort to review all charges to ensure you’re on track with your spending.
If you take the time to look over your monthly bill, you’ll be shocked at what you spend your money on.
Regardless of the program or budgeting strategy you employ, you should keep detailed records of your spending.
Knowing where each dollar comes from and where it goes is a good financial habit to have.
If you handle your credit card correctly, it will not prevent you from becoming wealthy.
However, you must first obtain the appropriate card. All credit cards are not created equal.
Some will be beneficial to you, while others will not, depending on your spending habits, limitations, and career.
If you follow the advice above, you may utilize credit cards to save thousands of dollars each year, which you can put into a savings account, invest, and grow wealthy over time.
Credit Card Hacks to Make Money: Wrapping Up
At the end of the day, here is the credit card hacks to make money. All you have to do is make a plan, adhere to it, and be disciplined.
Because credit cards are sliced into little pieces, the chances of someone piecing the card together and obtaining your card number are slim.
Still, it’s better to be cautious than sorry. For one item of jewelry, don’t use too many different payment cards.
If you don’t keep a close eye on your spending, credit cards might get you into financial difficulty.
However, if you take advantage of them, you can gain free money from ordinary purchases and use it to pay off debt.