FWF Heavy Hitters: Who is making more than $1000/month from FWF type finance tactics?

This information has been peppered amongst many threads, but occassionally when things such as The Citi Cashreturns card dies, or MBNA billpay dies, etc, people come out of the woodwork and admit they have been making $1000, $5000 or more per month using FWF tricks.

I'd like to hear from others who currently (or have in the past) make serious coin from FWF tactics. About $1000/month or more...preferably those doing a lot more. You dont need to post what your currently up to, perhaps you want to reminisce about some prior (closed) opportunities. If you dont even want to reveal your screename, Feel free to PM me.

I'll go first...

I think my best month ever was a little more than $20k from one particular gift card deal (AAA Everyday Funds) I was making over $1500 per month during the heyday of 0% BT offers. I know some people here did a lot more, making $5-10k per month.

BD929 said:   Not to sermonize but there is a line in the sand between taking advantage of generous offers when they pop up and blatantly exploiting them for near/criminal gain. A good example of this is the infamous micro deposit caper by a young enterprising person.

I'm not sure there was a law on the books that covered this particular scenario but the principle is on display.

There were definitely laws on the books that covered this scenario, the man used fake names, addresses, and social security numbers when opening these accounts.

When live.com/bing was running the CashBack promotion, I would stack CB among multiple sites, and buy/sell gold.

Had a very good run with that

In my best AOR in 2007 I had $255K of debt earning 12% for just over a year.

Most was at 0% but I think I had a $3500 card at 1.9% and I had to shell out about $1,200 in BT fees.

I also got a free portable hard drive and a free flight from Newark, NJ to San Francisco from an AMEX gold card.

therivler1 said:   When live.com/bing was running the CashBack promotion, I would stack CB among multiple sites, and buy/sell gold.

Had a very good run with that
Ditto, I was clearing 2-3K monthly during Bing heydays, north of 20K total only on Bing CB plus other rewards sites stacked , plus CC rewards/miles plus being educated in PMs - priceless.

Now I'm at $$600-700 range, no sweat, but no excitement either.

FatWalletLurker said:   I capped out at about $500/month during the AOR golden age.

I've still got about 20k out there at 0.9% for life.

I also bought several thousand dollars worth of quarters from the US Mint. Got a bunch of airline miles for that. I kept a couple of hundred pounds of quarters in my car trunk through the winter to improve traction on the road. (R.I.P., that deal)

Quarters?

highest was about $12k with BT in 07, now only consistently make $10/month from discover credit balance refund LOL

maxfleischer said:   I did two AORs (thanks suckis!) several years ago and did well before my spendaholic spouse caught wind of all the cards we had and I decided the risk of having them overcharged was too great. But while I remained under the cover of secrecy from said spouse, it was all good. (Thanks again, suckis!) I would be interested to hear from other people with saving/moneymaking-type habits who are married to people withOUT those habits - and how THEY'VE fared. We get along in most ways, but that is one way where there is truly no common ground. Anyone know if there's a thread like that round here? Couldn't find anything in search.

You start that thread and I will join it immediately

2007 AOR1 - $25K (archived thread)
2008 AOR2 - $50+K (negotiated a 35% face value settlement for 2 largest accounts - archived thread)
2009 CCR - $45K (GCO)
2010 Schwab - $15K (gold & Bing)

EdMcK515 said:   Unfortunately the time I was able to join the credit game the AOR golden age had passed. However, right now I'm averaging about $250/mo from mint coins, bank bonuses, and using subsidized student loans for free interest money (as close to the AOR golden age as I'll get now). The extra money is definitely nice to have. I use some to cover my monthly train pass, then the rest I can use for fun without hitting my savings.

How are you getting $250/ mo from mint coins?

Although not finance related as such, the buying and selling a Nintendo Wiis was a big money earner for many people for the first 3 years since it's release. I've done okay with AORs in the past and averaged $500/month, but those days are gone for a while since the 5 to 6% CDs/savings are gone along with the 0% rate/0% fees. Now, I open accounts (checking and cc) for bonuses and points. The points I convert to either cash, gift cards or free vacations. Still doing one free vacation per year which means about $6000 to $12000 depending on where we go (free air/hotel/food). Average $200 extra cash/month between my wife and I with bank offers. The next big resale item that will be sold out and therefore worth money to resellers is the Nintendo 3DS which will be released this spring. It's the first 3d screen (portable game player) that you don't need 3d glasses. They will not be able to keep up with demand on that all the way thru next Christmas.

Not mine, but a somebody I know netted about $300K. Maxed out CC for cash, then left the country.

eaken said:   Not mine, but a somebody I know netted about $300K. Maxed out CC for cash, then left the country.Now that simply doesnt count. We could all score 6-figures if fleeing the country was part of the strategy.

ganda said:   eaken said:   Not mine, but a somebody I know netted about $300K. Maxed out CC for cash, then left the country.

That's just theft. Theft that we're all paying for now. You, me, all other taxpayers.

If the banks refused to give credit to Chinese/Indians/whatever BECAUSE their ethnicity made them a greater risk for fleeing the country, people would scream discrimination!

I forget the amount I made but I bought a big tranche of PenFed CDs on CashBack credit cards back when they allowed that. I was going to buy the CDs anyway, the CashBack was gravy. Gallons of gravy

And you are saying Americans cannot flee the country? Heard of a little country down south called Mehico? When loonies kidnap their own kids during a divorce or commit murder, thats the first place they flee towards. Why bring ethnicity into this discussion.

ahmadcpa said:   What does AOR mean?
Red

I'm always impressed by the heavy hitters. I got over $1K/mo only twice (live CB + reselling). My best AOR was $500/mo. Even with dealpass I only made+saved <$400/mo, and that was a lot of work. Right now it's just $5-7/mo in small balance credits.

scripta said:   Vanilla10 said:   There was a grocery chain gift card opportunity a few years back where they were adding 10% to gift cards purchased, AND they were allowing gift card purchases with gift cards. It lasted 30 days before the loophole was closed. Best 24 hour period for me was $1700. That one never made it on the deal sites .Dayam. What were the limiting factors?

What do you mean?

I've enjoyed reading about FW deals like AORs and U.S.Mint purchases, but I've never taken advantage of them. I just haven't had the time or inclination. I'm happy to simply receive my cc CashBack..........

That's pretty epic, Vanilla. Did you throw in a few token items with each purchase, and if not, did anyone ever ask why you were buying gift cards with gift cards?

As a much smaller but amusing aside, I've found a couple of grocery store infinte loops with checkout coupons. One was 10-packs of Paper Mate pens for three for a dollar. The store also had a promo where if you bought at least 10 participating items, you got a $4 off your next shopping order checkout coupon. So spend $3.33 plus tax, get a $4 checkout coupon. Rinse; repeat. Limiting factor there was inventory of pens, and the fact that your order had to exceed $4 before you could use the $4 coupon. Found a can of beans or something that was about right to make up the diff. I did clear my metro area stores out of pens, and I donated sacks of them to every public school within five miles of my house.

Another was almost identical, but it was Post cereals. They had Toasties or something marked three for five dollars, and if you bought three participating post cereals, got $5 off your next grocery order. That one benefitted my local homeless shelter, where they are probably still eating the stuff. I always tried to mix it up, going through self-check some and then through different regular lines. When the coupon spat out, I'd always say, "Wow, look at that."

There is a prepaid card called Upside. They used to have it so that you could have funds direct deposited into your account easily. They gave you a routing and account number as soon as you signed up. You got one point for each dollar loaded onto the card. $4500 equaled $50 CashBack.

This version of the card was for teens so I signed my brother up and my "teen" self and easily made $50 a week on both cards. Unfortunately the party only lasted three months before they blocked the accounts due to "fraud". Luckily there were no funds in there at the time and I did not feel like dealing with it so I just shut it down.

Now you have to send in a copy of your drivers license before they will give you the routing and account number for direct deposit. You can still load funds by credit card (150 max load at 2.50 per load/1000 per month. I have a 1.75% visa so I was coming out on top) or by bank transfer through their site(you have to fill out a form and send it in and it can take a week for the funds to be available). I tried signing up again to see if maybe I can get the routing and account number anyway but I am banned.