PFS Buyers Club: US Mint Coin Purchase Opportunity ($100 + $200 Guaranteed Profit)

(Update: The 3/11 opportunity is no longer available. You can still sign up for an account and be alerted of the next opportunity roughly 48 hours prior. They seem to pop up every 3-6 months.)

The US Mint regularly releases limited-edition coins to collectors. The coin sets are often limited to one per customer. PFS Buyers Club is a website broker that recruits regular folks to buy their allotted coin set with a set markup amount, with the agreement that they will sell only to PFS Buyers Club. For example, you might pay $300 for a coin and they’ll agree to pay you $350 for it – a fixed profit of $50.

Note that the eventual value of the set may exceed that elsewhere – you may be able to get $400 for that coin on eBay, for example – but if you want to make that bet, don’t promise to sell to PFS Buyers Club. Just buy it on your own and try to sell it yourself. Keep in mind that eBay fees can be quite high, and you’ll be responsible for other costs like the proper shipping with adequate insurance. PFS Buyers Club will send you a prepaid mailing label (including insurance) and pay you via eCheck, paper check, or PayPal.

On Thursday March 11th (short notice, I know), there is a new guaranteed profit opportunity. The commission is larger than usual (up to $300 + credit card rewards), but so is the upfront cost (up to $6,500). I will be trying this out myself for the first time, especially as the high spending amount will also help me trigger some big credit card bonuses. PFS Buyers Club has a very solid reputation, but this way I can also write more honestly and in detail about the process.

The cost of the Four-Coin Set should be either $4,317.50 or $4,410.00 and the cost of the One Ounce Gold Eagle should be either $2,325.00 or $2,375.00. (The Mint will only be releasing the exact price for these products on Wednesday the 10th, and it will depend on the spot price of Gold over the next couple of days.)

Each item would need to be purchased as a separate Mint order, as such, each purchase will also have a $4.95 shipping charge. You will have each order shipped to your own house or office and then ship it to PFS Buyers Club with a prepaid shipping label that we will provide for you.

PFS will be offering a commission of $200.05 for each Four-Coin Set.

PFS will be offering a commission of $100.05 for each One Ounce Gold Eagle coin.

This is also a great opportunity to earn valuable points/miles on your credit cards, as well as meet any spending thresholds.

Spending $6,500 on your credit card would earn another $130 profit at 2% cash back. That’s a total of $430. You could do even better if satisfying a credit card sign-up bonus hurdle. Here is the 4-coin set and the 1-ounce coin.

If you want to jump on this, you can sign up to join PFS Buyers Club here. I’ll write a more detailed review afterward. If you use that link, I will receive a referral fee if you successfully sell your coin for a profit.

BofA Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard: $500 Statement Credit

The Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card (yes, that is really the official name!) is the no-annual-fee “cash back” credit card in the Bank of America small business card line-up. The normal bonus recently has been a $300 statement credit, but this special link has a $500 statement credit after spending $5,000 within the first 90 days. Here are the cash back highlights:

  • 3% cash back on your choice of one of the following six categories: gas stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services.
  • 2% cash back on dining and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. The 3% and 2% cash back applies to the first $50,000 in combined category/dining purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter.
  • No annual fee.

This card really gets interesting if you can take advantage of their Preferred Rewards for Business program, which can boost your effect cash back rates by up to 75% (to effectively 5.25% on your selected choice category, 3.5% on dining, and unlimited 1.75% cash back on all other purchases.) Unfortunately, the Preferred Rewards for Business program is separate from the consumer version of Preferred Rewards. You will need a eligible Bank of America business checking account, as well as 3-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more in qualifying Bank of America business deposit accounts and/or Merrill® business investment accounts.

You can find more information on the consumer Preferred Rewards program in my review of the consumer version of this card, the Bank of America Cash Rewards card.

I will be adding this to the Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers. Chase Ink Business Unlimited, Chase Ink Business Cash, and US Bank Business Leverage cards are also on that list. Each has different rewards structures, and the best ongoing card will depend on your business expense needs.

Starbucks Mastercard Promo: Buy $20 eGift Card, Get $5 eGift Card Free (12/23 Only)

sbux_cupHere’s a simple Starbucks promo that expires soon: Buy a $20+ Starbucks eGift, Get a $5 Starbucks eGift Card. You should be able to see a banner on the front page of your Starbucks app, but the terms say you can order via Starbucks.com too. Surprise a friend or just give yourself the wonderful gift of caffeine. 🙂 If you’re interested I’d take advantage of this offer as soon as possible. Offer for 12/23 only. They usually take down the banner if the promo ends.

The Promotion is valid only on 12/23/20 beginning at 06:00 AM PST and ending the earlier of 11:59 PM PST) or when all 100,000 Promotional Gifts are distributed.

Google Pay App: Referral Bonus, Target, Walmart+ Subscription Offers

Update: My apologies, Google is changing up the details of these promotions on everyone rather quickly. The referral bonus looks to be decreased and the Target promo is no longer taking new activations. Please assume this post is outdated and go by whatever you see on their website and in-app.

Original (outdated) post:

The newly-redesigned Google Pay app is offering several different incentives for you to try it out. It as available on both Android and Apple iOS devices. First up, if you join via a referral link (open on smartphone), you can get a $21 bonus after you either send $10 to a new friend or pay via a contactless NFC-enabled Android phone. That’s my referral link, but you could next refer another friend and then simply agree to send $10 to each other.

Download the new Google Pay app with my invite link – we’ll both earn $21 when you make your first qualifying payment of $10 or more. While supplies last!

$21 cashback at Target when you make a qualifying $50 transaction at Target or Target.com. As long as you enroll your credit card in Google Pay Rewards first, you don’t even need to pay with Google Pay. You can just pay normally with your linked credit card. It also appears a Target gift card purchase works, so that’s another $21 back on a $50 gift card without changing your spending habits if you already shop at Target.

$30 cash back on Walmart+ annual plan subscription. Walmart+ is the new direct competitor with Amazon Prime, including the free next day and 2-day shipping with no minimum and free grocery deliveries with $35 minimum.

Here are some other deals that caught my eye:

  • 20% cash back at REI (max $50 cash back).
  • 20% cash back at Burger King (max $10 cash back).
  • 20% cash back at Crocs online.
  • 10% cash back at Adidas, HM, Gap, Banana Republic, Asics, and more.

A couple more screenshots:

Citi Credit Cards: 5% Back on up to $500 of Online Purchases

If you have an existing Citi credit card, log into your account at Citi.com and see if you are targeted for 5% back on up to $500 of online purchases ($25 max per card). It appears to be widely available on a variety of Citi-branded consumer and small business credit cards including the popular Citi Double Cash and Citi Costco cards (but not all of them). The offer does not start until 11/24 and ends on 11/30. However, you must enroll to get the bonus, so it is important to activate first.

Here’s what it looks like for my Citi Double Cash card:

If you don’t see it upon login or accidentally click past it, try to look under “Rewards & Benefits” and then “Offers for You”. You can also try this link. The wording suggests that this stacks on top of your normal earnings of cash back, miles, or points, so you could really be getting for example 7% cash back total (2% + 5%). Remember that you can enroll multiple cards as well, but you must activate each one individually.

Chase Sapphire Cards Add $60/$120 Peloton Membership Credits

Chase has announced a new Peloton membership benefits for Chase Sapphire Reserve and Preferred cardholders:

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve card now includes up to $120 in statement credits on Peloton Digital and All-Access Memberships through December 31, 2021.
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred card now includes up to $60 in statement credits on Peloton Digital and All-Access Memberships through December 31, 2021.

Cardmembers can activate their Peloton membership benefit simply by visiting Onepeloton.com/ChaseSapphire and enrolling in an eligible Peloton Membership using their Sapphire card. The statement credits will be applied automatically until reaching the full value offered on that card. Sapphire cardmembers are also invited to join the #SapphireSquad Tag within Peloton to connect to others in the community and find and motivate each other on the Leaderboard.

Peloton Digital membership is $12.99 per month and includes live and on-demand workouts streamed to your smartphone, tablets, and computers across 10 exercise categories including strength, yoga, meditation, cardio, stretching, and others like cycling and running. There is also a free 30-trial for new members that you should taken advantage of first. No Peloton hardware is required.

Peloton All-Access Membership is $39 per month and is their original service that works with the Peloton bike and treadmill.

Free Uber Eats Pass with American Express Gold, Green, and Platinum Cards

American Express has announced new Uber perks for US holders of the American Express Gold Card, the American Express Green Card, or The Platinum Card from American Express. First, consumer Platinum, Gold and Green cardholders can enroll now for a complimentary Eats Pass Membership for up to 12 months. Uber Eats Pass usually costs $9.99 a month ($119 a year) and includes:

  • $0 delivery fee + 5% off restaurant orders of $15+.
  • $0 delivery fee on grocery delivers of $30+
  • Unlike Doordash Dasspass and Grubhub+, these benefits apply to every restaurant available on Uber Eats, not just select participating restaurants.

Note the fine print:

Offer valid thru 12/31/2021 on U.S. subscription. Pass will auto-bill starting 12 months from initial enrollment in this offer, at then-current monthly rate.

If you haven’t signed up for Uber Eats yet, you can first use my referral link to get $20 off your first order of $25+. Or simply apply this promo code at checkout: eats-ubermymoneyblog. Thanks if you use it!

In early 2021, the American Express Gold Card will also be getting $10 a month ($120 annually) in Uber Cash, which works both on Uber Eats orders and Uber rides in the US. For 2021, there will still be the $100 incidental airline credit (baggage fees, etc) but it has been announced as going away in 2022. This is in addition to the other $10 a month ($120 annually) dining credit which works on Grubhub, Seamless, and other select restaurants.

So in 2021, Gold cardholders can get all three credits: $120 Uber Cash, $120 Grubhub/Seamless/dining credit, and $100 Incidental Airline Fee credits. Right now the American Express Gold is also running a 60,000 point limited-time offer (the highest I’ve seen), making this is the best opportunity in a while to apply as a new cardholder.

It certainly looks like American Express is working hard to make their Gold card a better competitor against the Chase Sapphire line-up. This follows closely on the heels of the Chase Sapphire Reserve including Lyft Pink and Grubhub+ memberships, in addition to Dashpass and Doordash credits.

Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve: New Benefits November 2020

Newly added and extended benefits as of November 2020. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Chase Sapphire Reserve card have been very popular for their generous travel and dining perks, but right now travel and dining aren’t really happening. Chase has adjusted their rewards program for this new environment, including the following:

Chase Sapphire Preferred new changes:

  • New: 2X points at Grocery Stores. 2x total points on up to $1,000 in grocery store purchases per month from November 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021, including pickup and eligible grocery store delivery services. It’s automatic—no activation required.
  • Extended through April 2021: Redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.25 cents per points towards grocery store, dining, and home improvement stores. (Previously only travel through their portal.) Through April 30, 2021, your points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for statement credits after using your card at grocery stores and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), home improvement stores and select charitable organizations. Footnote1(Opens Overlay) Just choose an eligible purchase made with your Sapphire Preferred card from the past 90 days. Then, apply the points for all or part of the purchase and receive a statement credit.
  • 12+ months of included DashPass membership. For a minimum of one year, enjoy a complimentary DashPass, DoorDash’s subscription service that provides unlimited restaurant deliveries with $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders over $12 on DoorDash and Caviar. Activate by December 31, 2021.

If you earn 2x points on a grocery store purchase, and can use those points at 1.25 cents per point towards grocery store purchases using the Pay Yourself Back tool, that works out to 2.5% cashback towards grocery store purchases.

Chase Sapphire Reserve new changes:

  • New: 3X points at Grocery Stores. 2x total points on up to $1,000 in grocery store purchases per month from November 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021, including pickup and eligible grocery store delivery services. It’s automatic—no activation required.
  • Extended through April 2021: Redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.50 cents per points towards grocery store, dining, and home improvement stores. (Previously only travel through their portal.) Through April 30, 2021, your points are worth 50% more when you redeem them for statement credits after using your card at grocery stores and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), home improvement stores and select charitable organizations. Footnote1(Opens Overlay) Just choose an eligible purchase made with your Sapphire Reserve card from the past 90 days. Then, apply the points for all or part of the purchase and receive a statement credit.
  • Extended through June 2021: $300 annual travel credit works on gas station and grocery store purchases. There are more ways to earn your annual $300 Travel Credit. Through June 30, 2021, gas station and grocery store purchases will count toward earning your Travel Credit. You’ll also earn points on these purchases. And, as always, after your first $300 in travel purchases, you’ll immediately start earning 3x points on travel.
  • 12+ months of Dashpass Membership plus $60 in Doordash food credit per calendar year. For a minimum of one year, enjoy a complimentary DashPass, DoorDash’s subscription service that provides unlimited restaurant deliveries with $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders over $12 on DoorDash and Caviar. Activate by December 31, 2021. Plus, earn up to $120 in statement credits on DoorDash purchases through 2021—that’s $60 in statement credits through 2020 and another $60 in statement credits through 2021.
  • Annual fee renewal $100 discount. Sapphire Reserve annual fee renewals through the end of 2020 will be $450 instead of the normal $550. This is only for renewals, not new cardmembers.

If you earn 3x points on a grocery store purchase, and can use those points at 1.5 cents per point towards grocery store purchases, that works out to 4.5% cashback towards grocery store purchases.

Simple Credit Card / Brokerage / Bank Promotion Spreadsheet Template (Google Drive)

gsheetsIf you can’t tell by now, I enjoy participating in various credit card, brokerage, and banking promotions throughout the year. I think of it as a profitable hobby, as I enjoy trying out different financial products in addition to the thousands of dollars in extra income each year. Below is the simple spreadsheet that I use to I track all of the various the requirements and deadline dates involved. I also set online calendar reminders using those dates.

I just moved it over to Google Sheets – the first link will allow you to make your own personal copy to edit as you wish. Please don’t ask for access to the original sheet, as that would mess it up for everyone else.

 

I intentionally keep it rather minimalist. This Reddit template by u/garettg is another example with many more bells and whistles.

See also: MMB Simple Portfolio Rebalancing Spreadsheet Template and How I store my physical credit cards.

Free Grubhub+ Membership with Lyft Pink (Chase Sapphire Reserve), $10 Off First Order

Lyft has announced that Lyft Pink members will automatically get a free Grubhub+ membership (or Seamless+ if you live in New York City). Grubhub+ usually costs $9.99 a month and includes:

  • Unlimited free delivery from from nearly 200,000 restaurants ($12 minimum order).
  • Exclusive member discounts featuring free food, dollars-off and more from popular restaurants
  • Donation matching through Grubhub’s Donate the Change program with all proceeds currently going towards the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, supporting communities in need impacted by COVID-19

This is notable because Lyft Pink (reg. $199 a year) is included free with the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve card. This adds another potentially valuable perk to offset that high annual fee.

Receive up to 15% off car rides, plus other benefits, such as priority airport pickups, relaxed cancellations, and exclusive saving opportunities with one year of complimentary Lyft Pink, a $199 minimum value, when you or your authorized user activates with a Sapphire Reserve card by March 31, 2022. Lyft Pink will be registered in the name of the cardmember who first activates the benefits.

If you have not joined Grubhub yet, you can get $10 off your first Grubhub order of $15+ if you join via my referral link. I will get food credits as well. Thanks if you use it!

If you already have both Lyft Pink and Grubhub accounts, link them together and activate here.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve also gives a free year of Dashpass membership (free delivery on DoorDash) along with $60 in statement credits on DoorDash food purchases ($60 in 2020 and $60 in 2021). If you are new customer to DoorDash and sign up via my DoorDash referral link, you will get $10 off your first 3 DoorDash orders over $20 ($30 total savings). I will get food credits as well. Thanks if you use it!

Southwest Companion Pass: Free 2-Month Pass With Paid Flight

Southwest has a new companion pass promotion where can get a companion pass free for nearly two months at the beginning of 2021. Here are the requirements (you must make your ticket purchase soon):

  • Register at the promo link, and then purchase a flight by 9/24.
  • Travel by 11/15.
  • Companion flies free with you from 1/6/2021 to 2/28/2021.

The qualifying flight only need to be one person with a paid flight. Remember to register your Rapid Rewards (RR) number at the promo link first, then buy your ticket using that same RR number. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase may eliminate qualification for promotion.

I have written more about the Companion Pass here, including how the requirements are loosened for 2020. Obviously this promo won’t be of interest to everyone, but if you needed to fly anyway, it can be a good opportunity to try out the companion pass. Thanks to reader Mark for the tip.

Organize Credit Cards Physically Using Business Card Holders

A reader asked me how I keep track of so many credit cards, and I wasn’t sure what they meant. I track active credit card offers using online calendar reminders and a simple spreadsheet, but physically I keep them all in a business card organizer (if not in my wallet). I realized that I still had an old article published way back in 2007 about repurposing my old baseball card sleeves and a 3-ring binder. I’ve deleted that post since it’s very outdated and replaced it with this one, as I’ve actually used a business card holder for several years now. Mine looks almost identical to this 4.6 star item or this smaller 4.7 star version on Amazon (both around $7):

As a few readers back then noted, my baseball card sleeves were a little too big and the cards could fall out if the binder was tipped upside down. With these business card holders, the sleeves are smaller and the openings are on the sides for a much more secure fit. This also makes the overall package smaller, making it possible to keep nearly a hundred cards in a single, compact folder.

I have three of them altogether: one for credit and debit cards, one for gift cards and loyalty/membership cards, and one for business cards. Instead of a “sock drawer”, I have a subtle, black folder that blends in discretely on a bookshelf, and is also easy to quickly throw into a lockbox for added security. Of course, these days it’s also handy to keep all your credit card numbers in a password manager like Keeper or Dashlane.