Here's the article: www.allcards.com/rewards-stacking/ And remember, you should only try rewards stacking if you pay off your credit cards in full every month. Otherwise, the interest you'll pay is more than the rewards you can earn.
Like the videos, but I think this is dangerous advice. Forget to pay off 1 card for more than 1 billing cycle and it can start eating into those extra rewards real quick (if not negate them entirely - depending on the balance). My advice, get one of the 2% back on everything. Use it for a 1 or 2 years. Then look at the annual report it gives you and do the math on whether it is worth the effort to min/max rewards in exchange for remembering the additional logins, carrying multiple cards, remembering categories, etc....just the overall hassle. Unless you are putting up some crazy numbers, basically it is only $100 reward for each additional 1% for every $10k you spend. You may have a compelling use case (e.g. small business), but for most folks, I would argue it probably isn't worth the hassle of managing more than 1 or 2 cards tops. You can probably make up the difference far more easily by just buying less. Also, bear in mind that cards change, rewards change, new cards are introduced, so now you need to also keep an eye on that year over year. Oh also also, not all rewards can be put directly back into back account, or they use points, or something silly like that.
I only like cards with 0% APR for the 1st year or 18 months etc.. Then I cut them up and apply for another one. Do you know of any with good rewards with $0 annual fee, a sign up bonus & 0 APR?
@@TheSorrowWithinMe - I have the 2% Fidelity card. The reward, $250-$300/mo, is deposited to my daughter's Roth acct. But it needs to be invested. I sign in, and put it in Fidelity's S&P fund. An insanely low 0.015% expense. (i.e. over 66 years, the total expense is 1%) 2 minutes, the first week of every month is a small effort.
@@SpookyEng1 - I have the same card, deposits go to a Roth IRA. I see the cash deposited early each month, but need to make the 'buy' of the fund I want. Did I miss an option for automatic investment?
Don't knock Dave. He targets a very specific audience who, for the most part, should not go near a credit card for obvious reasons. For the rest of us, who have graduated from Dave, or never needed him in the first place, congratulations! Dave helps a lot of people to be able to come up for air.
DR is worth well over $200 million incl real estate holdings and growing. Im sure he can handle some feedback incl alt views or opinions. Dave does the same. Comes with being a public name.
The problem with Dave is that he's good in some areas (like basic personal finance), and downright awful in others (like investment), but he comes across as equally confident about both. This is a problem with a lot of "guru"-type personalities.
The thing is the people he targets are misses a lot my family is very against credit cards even though they aren’t bad with money just based of Ramsey. I have other friends that are scared to get them now but are fine with loans and stuff, it’s become irrational fear holding them back from all the benefits of credit cards even though
Yep, I’ve been doing this for about 8 years now, where all credit card cash back rewards are functionally put into a 3-fund portfolio. If I can’t put them there directly, I’ll just get the statement credit or purchase credit and manually match it once a month. It adds up quick!
I agree people underestimate this and don't understand it. I choose to seek points and miles and each year usually save $4k-$6k net of annual fees on flight and hotel savings. A lot of this comes from new sign ups that I'm willing to do because the spend is so easy to hit. This allows my family of three to get a lot of highly discounted vacations and extra trips with friends that we would not otherwise do if we had to pay cash. So some is a true savings and some is additional flexibility when trips come up.
Same here. I play the miles game. Not only do I get miles, I have had several free airfares that were booked at discounted miles, so I'm winning in more than one way. But we want to fly; not everyone does.
Us too. We know a time will come when our travel will slow down and we will switch to the cash back and invest, probably to benefit our son. Folks miss out on so much.
@@tonyriddle5491 That's about what I see in my circles too, about 50/50 if I had to put a number on it. So yeah, I don't know what he's talking about putting Android down either.
Figured this out after college and started rolling all my credit card / bank bonuses and cash back to a dividend fund to generate more income. Built it up to the point of covering 3 months of expenses. This year my wife and I used our bank bonuses to pay for our wedding.
Great content. I must be doing something right if I did the same exercise you did. Good on ya Rob. Now find an SEC team to follow... Amex 6% cash rewards on groceries. Amazon card 5% cash on Amazon purchases. Gas card 3% cash on gas. Visa 2.5% cash on everything else. Each card is a different color. Blue for Groceries, Red for gas, etc. Easy rules for the spouse to follow.
@@myutoob2011 I was looking at this, then saw a $95 annual fee. That would be a good portion of the rewards I would see for gas and groceries, unless you have to call them every year and "complain" about the fee and get them to waive it.
@@piggsinablankie I understand. It took me a while before I would pay for a card. They do have special offers on particular purchases that can offset the fees.
@@myutoob2011 oh ok, thanks. I'll look at that card a little more, but yeah, paying a fee for a CC always got under my skin. My philosophy always has been they should be paying me to have my purchases go through them.
For years my wife and I used United cards to get frequent flyer miles. We've had free first-class flights all over the US, Mexico and Australia, and combined with hotel and time-share offers we've enjoyed great vacations for $200 ~ $500 per week at really nice resorts and hotels. But since Covid we've stopped flying and have built up a huge number of miles, so the time has come to switch cards to something that offers cash-back. Thanks for the overview of the different card offers, we'll probably switch to a card that offers 2% ~ 3% on everything.
Way to go Rob!!!! We once got enough bonus miles that covered our RT tix to London with a free for a year airline credit card. And I love your math. You can definitely come out ahead on the credit card games.
More and more businesses are fighting back against fees by charging the customer up to 3% interest on credit card transactions. My wife and I have started carrying substantial cash again to avoid these fees. I’m interested in how this is going to play out - are cardholders just gonna use their cards anyway and negate the rewards or are they gonna respond by going back to cash? And if they do, how will credit card companies respond? Bigger rewards? Lower merchant fees? It’s all going down as we speak.
Dave Ramsey’s problem with credit card rewards is not because he has any problem with free money, but because it keeps people locked in to using credit cards for the rewards, and so often people end up with credit card balances and interest to pay that totally outweigh the rewards. There is a reason credit card companies offer the rewards. Ultimately they make money doing it. For many people it is a trap.
@johnschneider2429 that’s fine, but Ramsey talks as though credit card rewards are purely a scam, and that any person who uses them is behaving irresponsibly. He’s barely able to contain his contempt. He’s a thoroughly off putting personality, IMO.
@@tripillthreatwhen getting rewards, you are taking someone's else money they paid to the credit card company. Why do you want to take their money when they are struggling? Shame.
@@GoKU-xx2vgthat logic doesn’t work if you think it through. The credit card companies are going to take debtor money no matter what you do. They are using rewards to entice you to pay through them because it makes them even more money eventually. They won’t give the money back to poor people if you refuse.
@@GoKU-xx2vg I’m not sure I know what “[someone else’s] money they paid to the credit card company” means. Are you suggesting that if I didn’t have a rewards card these people would not have had to make their credit card payments? How are credit card rewards different from other loyalty rewards programs? I’m having a tough time seeing what is shameful about it.
Totally agree with you Rob. Have specific cards for specific areas giving me the highest return (ie food 5% card). On the 1st of month go into each CC on line and prepay all in full for the month. Now also looking at the Robin Gold card.
Started doing this when I was 24 years old and will have 41 years of compounding, going with AMEX, Wells Fargo and Visa cash back. Going to be saving and investing.
DR sells to people bad at math by telling them they are bad at math while ignoring those good at math by stating being good at math doesn’t matter to people that are bad at math. A complex but profitable formula…for those good at math 🤣😎.
I don't chase cards and have used the same 2 cards for many years, USAA (1.5% I think) and Citi Costco (multiple %'s). We end up earning enough to pay the household reoccurring electric, internet, subsription TV, cell phone, and garbage for 3-4 months. Haven't paid interest on a card in more than 15years.
I'm sticking with our Costco Visa card at no annual cost and great cash back rewards. We also have Marriott and Delta cards, but they may not be worth it unless you travel a lot.
One thing to be mindful of is that if you get new credit cards, it can temporarily lower your credit rating until they age. So maybe wait to get 10 store cards to get everything at 5% until after getting that mortgage or car loan. 😉
I started doing it too about 3 years ago. I make about $100/mo in cc rewards and that gets put in my high yield dividend portfolio every month. Combined with my food delivery side hustle, survey taking, and 9-5 raises/bonus - I’m making $1700/mo in dividends after 3 years of doing this! And it started with CC rewards.
@@louiswelrod not really. I made maybe $150 off of it. I dont do it any more. back when i started this journey in 2020 it was all about doing everything I could to scrape money together since we all had so much free time because of the lockdowns and stuff. "What can I do from home to make money".... I also forgot, i started an online print on demand store to that generates passive income. lol
@@michaelsaenz380 it started out that way, all in safe big name dividend ETFs... then when yieldmax came out, I moved about 20% over to that, and then some others like NEOS and Rex Fang etc for more income. My goal with this particular portfolio is to generate income for vacations and bills.
I started this year. With swppx infex fund, can buy partial shares. Very exciting. Costco pay just once a year but you can't go wrong on 5% on gas all year round.
@@noreenn6976 Hello Noreen -- I hope all's well with you in Florida. And I hope Rob will be up for sitting on Monday May 6. Looking forward to your moderation of the chat...da
When I saw the title, I initially thought, "Oh no, I hope Dave doesn't hear about this", lol. I don't think I've gotten rich from credit card rewards, but I have certainly benefited regardless of what Dave says.
Rob, the problems are not mathematical, they are behavioral and ethical. Behavioral: People that use credit cards with the knowledge that they will use the rewards tend to spend more even when they try not to. And even one extra purchase will defeat your net worth increasing from the rewards. Ethical: Credit cards do create a trap for those trapped in debt to them. Your rewards are being paid by those struggling in debt. Some choose not to play the game as they may feel responsible.
Hmmm....Either the CC company keeps the money or I can have a small percentage for using the service. People have choices and I'm not going to feel responsible for anyone making bad financial decisions.
Can you cite a source saying that people using credit cards tend to spend more? Or maybe people with no financial discipline is going to spend no matter if they are using a credit card or not.
That just sounds like "people with more income spend more" Ok and? Would you also complain about a small raise in the same way you'd complain about a card rewards program?
@@Chris-N916 i think the fact that credit card companies are highly profitable should suffice as evidence in support of the idea that credit cards influence people into overspending.
Be careful about those category-specific cards. The second it causes you to buy something you otherwise wouldn't, the benefit is wiped out. Find cards that give you enhanced rewards for things you are already buying. Groceries and gas are your friend. Dining and travel, not so much. The Amex Blue Cash preferred is a no-brainer at 6% on groceries.
You can put your Medicare premium on a charge card, and to the extent you have any IRMAA charges, the charge is not insignificant. This is basically an unavoidable cost, and getting the rewards/points is certainly a nice benefit. I also agree that many of Dave's listeners should stay away from credit cards because they accumulate debt. But others are more disciplined and will pay their credit card balances each month, so why not benefit from costs you have to pay anyway. Although I thought stacking was somehow getting rewards on more than one card for the same purchase.... no such luck.
Dave's advice isn't based on math, it's based on psychology and mentality around money for the other 90% of people. People who don't over analyze everything to maximize earnings.
I use 3 primary no fee CCs, usage is based on cash back points, 5X gas, 3X eating out and grocery, 3X utilities, and 2X on everything else. Last year, more than 2,500 cash back. But, I didn’t invest it, I spent it! Overall, I still have over 20nCCs in 50 years. Never close them because it would ding my perfect credit score. Just need to remember to charge at least 1 small item per card per year so they don’t cancel you.
All said and done. The reason they offer the points is a trick that often works. They trap you into spending more than you should and eventually paying 29% per year.
i try to put everything on a CC, including ,in the past, continuing education expenses which would later get reimbursed, as much as i was allowed for a new car purchase( they limited it to 2K) and currently health insurance. i used to harvest my rewards and put them in VOO regularly. for the past year, i have been slacking off and just put them in my moneymarket fund at 5.28% apr and from there it gets used for my monthly draw. egad! last reward i used to pay for a purchase. tsk tsk...
If travel isn't your thing (like us), this is totally the way to do it. Take the rewards and invest. If you are young it really adds up with compound interest. Particularly with sign up bonuses to start the savings off.
What about cards like discover that will let you convert that money into a gift card and save 2,5, 10% on store cards? I go to home Depot and Lowe's a lot. I can just buy gift cards with my rewards money and save another 5% right there.
Some very good information here, thanks.. I do it slightly different and just use rewards to pay off basic necessities and sometimes larger purchases, which is nice when you make a big purchase for "free". I wasn't aware of the options like 6% CC's for groceries, etc, but when I did the math (math nerd here too), it was only coming to around $100 or so more a year from my current rewards card (when you add in the $95 annual fee for AmEx, you essentially get nothing). For those of us that greatly watch spending, getting 2% or 5% doesn't make too much of a difference on specific categories for the year. So yeah, for extreme penny pinchers, it's good, but for me carrying that extra card or cards just might seem like a hassle bulking up my wallet.
Amazon Prime card only pays 5% on Amazon purchases if you maintain your prime membership, so that’s what, a $120 annual fee? Otherwise it is 3%. Sams card pays 5% reward on gas, Costco, 4%.
Solid gold video. Just a shame us Europeans don't have that much choice in cashback cc's. We're lucky with 1% cashback with a low limit. Let's see what the future holds.
Kinda wondered why not also mentioning churning credit card sign-up bonuses in addition to getting rewards. Yes spending $1k/month at 2% will get you $240/yr in free money but many credit cards have sign-up bonuses in that same range for minimal requirements. Many of these sign-up bonuses can be done every other years in addition to getting rewards for using them. These additional strategies can get you relatively easily $3-5k rewards each year for reasonable spending levels (say $20-30k/yr).
Rewards aren't free money. You're paying for it because the card companies raise their fees to cover the rewards, and the stores raise their prices to cover the fees.
But you can't opt out of paying this fee (in most cases) so it's already built into the price whether you pay cash or not. The grocery store is not giving me a 4% discount to pay in cash. If it was, then paying cash would be the definitive answer.
I looked into this. One way to think about it is that we pay more for the convenience and security of credit card transactions. The victims are people who have credit card debit. It's one of countless mechanisms that penalize poor financial decision-making.
Hey Rob - When I was 16 (I'm now 67) my father, a banker, cosigned for a credit card for me with a stipulation. That being, if I didn't pay it off every single month and even had to pay one cent in interest he was going to cancel it. So with the fear of Dad in me I followed his direction. But he also told me never to have more than one credit card, however, make sure I have a "good one". Well back then credit cards did not give cash back because if that was in place I'm sure he would follow your advice. That being said I still only have one credit card (Bank of America Cash Rewards - chosen category with 3% back are online purchases). After watching this I need to rethink what I want to do based on your recommendations. So my question to you is at any given time, how many credit cards do you have?
Playing the rewards game is like active management in investing. Sure, you might be one of the few individuals who beats the system (doesn't carry a balance OR doesn't overspend), but it's likely you're not. In aggregate, we lose, banks win. In active management, sure you can try to outperform the market, some people will, but in aggregate, we lose, wall street wins. The safest best in both cases? Don't play the game.
Sorry, I'm not trying to convince you. Let's agree to disagree. That does leave me curious: Have you considered the Discover debit card that offers 1% cash back?
@@ajrobbins368 This is basically my plan too. Haven't paid interest on any credit card since 2002. All cards currently set to auto pay, and I watch my spending.
I’ve also violated Dave’s credit card rule. I have paid off the full balance BEFORE the due date every month for four years. I get little rewards payments and immediately stuff them into a mortgage overpayment. I figure getting paid by the bank to be responsible with money with money taken from debt morons is fair enough considering how much those debt morons take from me in taxes every year.
George knows. That said George would say how much brain power went into optimizing the points game, and are you spending more than you would otherwise because you are using a credit card, and just so you know the rewards are not coming from interchange fees they are coming from the late fees and interest paid by the folks that can least afford it. The Ramsey folks are dogmatic but at least they are not hypocrits. A huge part of their wide audience is folks who are already in trouble with money. Much of their content is more like an AA meeting than a financial planning meeting. They don't tell people who are bad with credit that using a little credit wisely can be a good thing. Rob's audience is people who are good with money wanting to optimize.
I actually like watching his content. I just get tired of Ramsey dogma. Recently, the Ramsay folks have been subtly suggesting credit cards are immoral- earning interest in the lending system is encouraged. Earning cash back in the lending system is considered abusive towards single moms. It's just weird and counterproductive.
@@yhckelly I really like their stuff in small doses hahaha. The truth is if most people followed their advice they would be better off. Most people (56%) don't have $1,000 for an unforseen expense. 2% cash back on credit card purchases is not what those folks need, because if they have one unforseen thing happen, they are going to late pay or min pay and the credit card companies know it. The real interesting part is the kind of folks watching this video who have never paid a dollar of credit card interest or late fees and are happy to take the 2% are their worst customers. The interchange and transaction fees don't cover what they are paying out. They are not dumb, so you have to assume this gravy train will come to an end at some point with lower caps on annual payouts or higher fees to access the cards with premium rewards. Miles cards make more sense long term because the redemption rates are so low and the depreciation rate is so high on the points. 2% cash back is just a money loser. So you slap a big reward on the advertisment to attract the folks that don't read fine print and pay late fees and carry balances and the fine print caps they payout at some more reasonable annual payout.
@@jkopvo We have found the Marriott Bonvoy card to be the best. They have 586 unique locations and the points earning rate is high on purchased. It’s a JP Morgan Chase backed bank card.
The maths is fine, but unrealistic for most people. It assumes that you have a zero balance each billing cycle (else you are paying like 20% interest) and have a card that allows more than a few hundred dollars per YEAR maximum in cash back. Good for you if you can do that
Most people charge their credit card with no idea how much they're spending until they get their statement. If you have a plan in place, it's perfectly viable. I get paid weekly, so I pay off my balance in full when I get my check, all while sticking to a budget
I am curious if the Discover debit card offering 1% cash back would be safe for those who are not "credit card people." I guess (realistically) what matters most is if a person has the discipline to adhere to a budget.
Any cash back cards for travel that you choose who to buy the travel from? Chase is good, but requires you purchase travel through them. Not willing to do that.
If you have Saphire card you get 25%-33% discount on flights using accumulated points. $300 a year travel reimbursement pays for over 50% of cost of card anually.
@@martinneumann9345 not cash back though. The major carriers all have cards that get you points to pay for flights. I am a chase customer and they keep offering me the cards but I can’t see a benefit to switch since the cash back for travel wouldn’t apply to me.
I think it would be easier to just swag how much rewards I get every year and put that amount once a year into a separate investment account so I can feel good about it. :) I don't think I am spend more because I am getting rewards.
If you belive that every person getting cash back is also spending more than they would without the credit card, then by the same logic all coupons are trickery, not discounts. Look, sometimes we are convinced by the coupon, sometimes we get a discount on something we would have paid full price for. Same with cash back. It's not black and white.
Is it true that if you take your cc rewards out as cash then you have to declare the money as regular income but if you use it to pay down your monthly cc statement you don't?
Too many merchants are now charging “convenience fees” to pass on the swipe fees they are being charged by the card processing network. The “convenience fees” negate the benefit of the rewards earned by the transaction, making it a bad economic decision to pay by credit card in many cases. Taxes, utilities, tree service, pool service, insurance all charging convenience fees higher than the card rewards multiplier.
To be fair to DR *if one wants to!) I still don't think it makes you rich, unless you do something lucky but unwise, like invest in a single stock that turns out to be the next Amazon/Google etc. If you spend a lot on credit cards, obviously your 2-5% investable amounts are bigger, but then presumably so is your original wealth. Which is not to say it's not worth doing, but it isn't a path to significant new riches.
Well there's lots of study that says you over spend the body 18% when you use a credit card, so few times 18 percent by what you banged out on the credit card, you spent more than you made
Paying off unsecured debt is the best investment you can make. The guaranteed interest charge each month is higher than the potential in stocks and other investments.
You aren’t going to outsmart a multinational bank. Not a chance. Credit card debt is ridiculously stupid and expensive. Most people don’t have the discipline to pay it off every month. When you don’t, those banks are making far more off of you than you are off of them. And that’s before they sell your information to hundreds of other companies.
Am I missing something? I was hoping to see an automated mechanism to invest the rewards dollars in your designated investment target. You’re doing it manually, right?
Most cards you'll probably have to do it manually. I have a fidelity rewards visa..so 2% cash back automatically goes into my HSA. You can set it to go into any investment account automatically
You do not mention the merchants charge when using a credit card - 2-3 % per transaction. I pay cash for the majority of my purchases. I generally use one card, if there are no surcharges for cruise rewards only.
You must live in an area where merchants give you the option of paying less for an item if you pay cash. Where I live, the price is the same regardless of how you pay for the item.
One way to think about it is that we all pay slightly more for the convenience and security of credit card transactions. The benefits are not shared equally. Also, in my area everyone pays the same price regardless of payment method.
Dave is right when he says the following: 1. You spend more when you use credit cards at supermarkets. 2. Banks have bigger buildings than you, because you are paying for them. You are not winning any games against them. 3. Too many people get into credit card debt and pay high interest and fees. They were lured by rewards and cash-backs. Dave is wrong when he says the following. 1. You can always rent a car without a credit card. Fact: many car rentals at small airports require credit card payments only. 2. You must be in debt to have a good credit score. Fact: if you have a credit card and never use it, your credit score goes up and stays high.
I think of my credit card as my actual money and I pay the balance in full every Friday. I use it for all my bills, groceries, gas, everything. It's possible to use credit for purchases while still sticking to a written budget, and benefitting from the actual free money. I realize most people don't put that much thought into it though
That sounds like a lot of work for small benefits over a long period of time. I’d rather spend my time finding ways to hone my skills and make more money in my career. The number one wealth builder. Of course he is retired and has the time to do these things as a hobby.
If someone can’t manage their credit cards and carries a balance, they have a behavioral problem that isn’t going to be fixed by cutting the cards. They’re just going to blow the money on some other stupid thing, probably lottery tickets or timeshares.
