I can post that these post office transactions are coded and most of the time a rewards credit card will not pay on them...so maybe this is not a profitable transaction at all for the bank in a rewards checking account, even if they count it.

Indeed this would be a good way to use up 10 transactions if the bank does not care. I prefer for the bank to define what I must do, instead of judging me an unprofitable customer and closing my account without warning.

ES

flwsoldier said:Has anyone had success meeting the 10 point-of-sale requirement by buying stamps out of the new kiosks inside post offices? please post, if so.

Thanks

So how about we brainstorm some other small purchases that you would really make every month?
I have trouble getting above 10. I don't make too many purchases under $50.

Some thoughts... movie rentals (NetFlix subscription, Redbox.com, ...), audio books (Audible), movie tickets (at theater, at Fandango), purchasing or adding balances to gift cards (Walgreens, Costco, ...)

Has anyone tried any of those? Other ideas?

doublegammon said:So how about we brainstorm some other small purchases that you would really make every month?
I have trouble getting above 10. I don't make too many purchases under $50.

Some thoughts... movie rentals (NetFlix subscription, Redbox.com, ...), audio books (Audible), movie tickets (at theater, at Fandango), purchasing or adding balances to gift cards (Walgreens, Costco, ...)

Has anyone tried any of those? Other ideas?
Cat food. $4 generic prescription drugs. Fresh fruit (buy every few days so it doesn't rot). Milk. Bread (you do bring your lunch to work, don't you?). Stop at grocery store on your way to work Monday am and pick up 6-pack of soda or green tea or whatever (or beer, but that's to drink after work).

doublegammon said:Clearly if you want the good rates to last on *your* bank's reward checking account, you should not be racking up $1 purchases. Spending $150/month on debit instead of on a 1% CashBack credit card, you are only losing ~$18/year in CashBack. ($27 @1.5%. $36 @2%.) These rewards accounts get at least 2% APY above the best non-rewards accounts. With that extra 2%, you will earn back $20 on your first $1000. Balances beyond that are pure profit. You can afford to make some real purchases in order to keep these rates in effect.

How about we brainstorm some other small purchases that
If you're correct that spending $150/month on debit card purchases each month will make the good rate last on your Reward Checking account, then why would the FI care where those purchases came from? For example, add up your phone bill, cable/satellite TV bill, water bill, garbage bill, etc. Is the total $150? If so, and the payees accept multiple credit card payments, you're set. Split the payments among your payees to give you the minimum required number of transactions, and you've met the requirements, without leaving your house.

I'd guess that most people could find $150 of bills each month that allow payment by credit card at the payees' web sites, and allow multiple payments. If not, then split the payments anyway to get the required number of transactions, and then make one or two transactions at the grocery store in order to bring the total up to $150.

IOW, I don't see why one would have to take a lot of time and trouble to make 10 or 12 in-person purchases a month in order to meet the transaction requirement of their Reward Checking account, unless that was a stated type of transaction you had to make, e.g. a PIN-based transaction. I believe those PIN-based transactions are less profitable to the FI than signature-based transactions, which is probably why many Reward Checking accounts specifically say that the transactions must be signature-based in order to meet the transaction requirement.

Ten - 12 in-person purchases a month are only a problem if you have multiple multiple accounts. With only one or two rewards accounts, it's easy to buy groceries, pick up cat food, pay for lunch and other you-have-to-do-it-anyway type purchases. Then push in enough $$ to cover your purchases and fulfill the direct deposit requirement and you're all set.

glxpass said:I believe those PIN-based transactions are less profitable to the FI than signature-based transactions, which is probably why many Reward Checking accounts specifically say that the transactions must be signature-based in order to meet the transaction requirement.Definitely. Pin-based for me are a flat $0.30 while signature-based are $0.25 + a percentage ranging from 1.64% on a standard card up to 3.79% on a premium rewards card.

doublegammon said:Are you a merchant? They charge merchants more if the card is a rewards card?Yeah, more on rewards cards, biz cards, corp fleet cards. I'm not at the front, so I don't see exactly the cards, but I've test-run a few. Last time I looked, there were at least 9 categories of V/MC, 3 AMX rates, and 1 or 2 Discover. But every debit card was the same. That's what makes me wonder about FAB&T.

lhendricks92 said:Visa Interchange Fees

Mastercard Interchange Fees

It's quite a mess.Well, that explains it. My bank pays a percentage of the debit cards to FAB&T, even though I don't. Either my merchant servicer or my bank is losing money on debit transactions and making it back on the credit transactions.

Call me whatever adjectives you like. Doesn't change the fact that there is a substantive difference between charging purchases you normally make anyway and creating $1 payments by dividing up larger ones. I am willing to use their debit card for my genuine small purchases if it meets their requirements. Setting those requirements is up to them. Upping the requirements is different than expecting people to make normal charges, not artificially small ones. Personally, I would not be willing to use a debit card for large purchases, not just because of the cash-back, but because debit cards do not offer the same protections as credit cards. If making large purchases becomes a requirement, these accounts will not work for me no matter how good the interest rate. (Unless they also change the protections governing debit cards.)

edit: grammar

doublegammon,

I'm no more calling you a hypocrite than you are calling me stingy. For reasons I've stated -- that of course you're free to disagree with -- I felt that some of the statements you made were hypocritical. We don't know each other well enough for actual name-calling.

Personally, I'm not convinced that the type of purchases one makes has any effect on the longevity of a Reward Checking rate. Again, I'll spare you from repeating my reasoning. We all have different comfort levels about how to handle these accounts. I understand (I hope) your comfort level better now. You want to use your debit card for "normal" transactions.

So how about instead of statements debating the value of our respective approaches, such as:

I wouldn't think small purchases would be such trouble for most people either, but the discussion in this thread seems to be making a lot of trouble out of it: $1 gifts to charity, splitting up utility bill payments, making extra store visits for the sake of single item purchases... Such a hassle and stingy.

I don't want to resort to such stinginess, but I only make about 1 small POS purchase a week, mostly at small shops where I couldn't or wouldn't want to use a debit card.

you focus on gathering suggestions for using the debit card in a manner that makes you more comfortable?

BTW, I agree with your concerns about debit card usage. Ironically, making signature-based transactions with your debit card (i.e. using it as a credit card) generally makes you liable for $0 with Visa and MasterCard, even though fraudulent activity is currently more prevalent that way than fraudulent activity associated with PIN-based transactions, which generally offer you less liability protection.