My Ideal Wallet Q3 2015

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame, Discover

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from July 1st until the end of September 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else. There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You earn 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Amazon.com, Department Stores and Home Improvement Stores. Discover Doubles your rewards for a year so 5% becomes 10%! This is the new it card (see what I did there ;)
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%.  I use them for Staples or Bed, Bath and Beyond Gift cards.  $20 in rewards is a $25 gift card.
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• $50 sign up bonus via my referral link (or anyone else's).  $50 becomes $100 after 13 months.  Refer your spouse/friends/family members to earn $100 yourself for every referral!
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• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Gas Stations and Kohl's.
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter. You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $200 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days (ends very soon), you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.
  

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Hilton Hotels and Airlines
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  I haven't used it much this year.
• I might use this for airlines, but I am sure many of you can use this.
• You can't sign up for this card, but many people have reported that you can product change from a different Citi card to the Dividend.

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month. Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.

• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.
• Sign up for a card with a sign up bonus and then product change to the BBR card.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• "Old" American Express Blue Cash - 5% cashback at groceries and select pharmacies after $6,500 of yearly spend at 1%.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
• This card is always in my wallet.  Discover it can replace this card for a year.
• Alternatively, you can use the Discover it Miles card for 3% cashback everywhere during your first year of the card.

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet 2015 Q2

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from April 1st until the end of June 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $200 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Hilton Hotels and Airlines.
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).
• I might use this for airlines, but I am sure many of you can use this.
• You can't sign up for this card, but many people have reported that you can product change from a different Citi card to the Dividend.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at restaurants, bed bath and beyond, H&M and overstock.com 
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days, you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Restaurants and Movies.  
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• Discover points are not as valuable as Chase Ultimate Rewards currency so only use it for restaurants if you have already maximized your Chase Freedom frist.

• 
  

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
• This card is always in my wallet
• Alternatively, you can use the Discover it Miles card for 3% cashback everywhere during your first year of the card.

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet - Q1 2015

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from January 1st until the end of March 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months - email me for a referral, public link is for $100 only.
• You get 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.
• Not as important this quarter because of Chase Freedom.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at grocery stores, movie theaters and Starbucks. 
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days, you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Gas and Ground Transportation.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• Most 7-11 Stores are considered Gas Stations and sell $500 Vanilla One Visa Gift Cards and Paypal Reload Cards.  Your particular cashier/manager may not allow for credit cards to be used for the purchase.

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Macy's and other Home Furnishing stores.
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).
• Unfortunately, unlike last year, pharmacies are not a category at any point.  I likely won't use this card much until July when Airlines are one of the categories.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet Q2 2014

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame 

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will be in my wallet (assuming my wallet was the size of George's) from now until the end of June 2014


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.
• You also get one year free membership to Amazon prime if you have signed up for the card in the last 3 months

• Citi Dividend - 5% categories have not been announced yet
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  I have no use for this card anymore this year since I already maxed out the rewards for the year in the first quarter.
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Restaurants and Lowe's (Lowe's sells many third party gift cards).
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2014 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Discover it®  - 5% cash-back on Home Improvement stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.), Furniture Stores, Bed Bath and Beyond.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Activation and 2014 Calender is here
• $150 Sign up Bonus for spending $750 in three months.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 4.5% if you have a Bank of America Privileges Card.
• Normally in my wallet for gas, but I will use Chase Freedom for 3 months.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet Q1 2014

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame
Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet (assuming my wallet was the size of George's) from now until the end of March 2014


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.
• You also get one year free membership to Amazon prime if you have signed up for the card in the last 3 months

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback at Drug Stores, Macy's and Fitness Clubs.
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days.
• Lots of Free Money potential here

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Gas, Starbucks and Movie Theaters.  
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2014 5% categories
• $200 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days
• Most 7-11 Stores are considered Gas Stations and sell $500 Vanilla One Visa Gift Cards.  They sell Vanilla Reloads too, but the register is hard coded to only allow cash purchases for that.

• Discover it™ - 5% cash-back on Restaurants and Movies.  Meh, unimpressed by this quarter (ie - no way I can figure out to buy Vanilla reloads or Visa gift cards at 5% cashback). $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Activation and 2014 Calender is here
• $150 Sign up Bonus for spending $750 in three months.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 4.5% if you have a Bank of America Privileges Card.
• Normally in my wallet for gas, but I will use Chase Freedom for 3 months.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

Citi Dividend and Bluebird - $240 Free - It's Just Too Easy!

Last year, the most lucrative 5% category of the year by far was the first quarter with the Citi Dividend.  Their 5% rotating cashback categories included drug stores (ie Vanilla Reloads at CVS).

Most credit cards (Discover, Chase Freedom etc.) have a cap for each quarter on how much spending you can get 5% on, which is usually capped at $1,500 for a maximum of $75 per quarter.  Not the Citi Dividend.  They give you a max of spending of $6,000 a year which can be maxed out at any point.   Spend $6,000 at CVS right away and you can get $300 in 5% cashback in one quarter!  Of course, I made sure to do that.  After the first couple of months I didn't use the card the rest of the year.

Considering that there is a 1% fee for buying the Vanilla Reload cards, you are making $240 free.

Check out this point to see why Vanilla Reloads are important and how to load them onto a Bluebird card

It's Back Again This Year, Really!?

I assumed they would never bring that back.  It was too easy to get free money.  I am happy I am wrong! This year, again, drug stores is part of the 5% categories for January- March 2014. Same rules as last year.  I will make sure to get one for my wife as well, $480 free!

Can't find Vanilla Reloads at CVS?  It can vary store to store, but my local stores restock prepaid cards on Friday.  I go on Saturday night or Sunday morning and there are usually still some left.  Ask the people who work at your local CVS when they restock.

Don't have a CVS?  You can buy $500 visa gift cards at Walgreens (at least you could a few months ago) and either spend them or load them onto Bluebird at Walmart.  You can't buy Vanilla Reloads at Walgreens, the cash register is hard coded to not let that happen


Sign up for a Citi Dividend here.  You will get a $100 bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months or $340 for each new card. Easy Peasy and there is no annual fee either.  If you get a new card for you and your spouse you can get $680 very quickly!


A few words of caution:

• Don't spend $6,000 the first month at CVS even if your credit limit allows it.  Do $2,000 a month.  It will look less suspicious.
• Don't buy Vanilla Reloads in 2 $500 increments.  A purchase of $1,007.90 from CVS is very suspicious.  Buy denominations that are slightly less.  I tend to put $495 on each card so that the total purchase is below $1,000

My Ideal Wallet - Quarter 4 2013

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers
New Credit Card - Bank of America Better Balance Rewards

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet or never too far away from October 2013 through the end of the Year.

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Amazon.com and Select Department Stores like Sears and Macy's.  Walmart, Target and Membership Stores are excluded.
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• Chase Freedom 2013 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Discover it™ - 5% cash-back for any Online Purchase.   $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback at Best Buy, Department Stores and Toy Stores
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  Doesn't help me much since I've already used my entire $6,000 allotment
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 4.5% if you have a Bank of America Privileges Card.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet - Quarter 3 2013

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers
New Credit Card - Bank of America Better Balance Rewards

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will be in my wallet from July 2013 through the end of September.

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back on Gas, Theme Parks and Kohl's.  $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• Chase Freedom 2013 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Discover it™ - 5% cash-back on Gas.   $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Discover 2013 5% categories - they haven't fully released them so I'll wait and see
• Not going to be in my wallet unless I have maxed out my Chase Freedom categories.

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback at Hilton's, Car Rentals, Movie Theaters and Theme Parks
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  Doesn't help me much since I've already used my entire $6,000 allotment
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.  eBanking Online Checking account has no monthly fees.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance.  You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

Sign up for Quarter 3 5% Categories - Chase Freedom, Discover and Citi Dividend

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

The beginning of enrollment for the various 5% credit cards for Quarter 3 has come.  Here are the stats.

All of the cards are for purchases from the beginning of July until the end of September.


Chase Freedom 

• 5% Cashback at Gas stations, Theme parks and Kohl's on up to $1,500 in purchases (up to $75 cashback).
• Key to maximizing:
• Finding $500 Visa gift cards at Kohl's and cashing out on Bluebird
• Find a gas station that sells gift cards in the convenience store coded as a gas station to get 5% off gas for the full $1,500.  For those who live in Buffalo, there is a Sunoco like this.

 DISCOVER IT™

• 5% Cashback at gas stations on up to $1,500 in purchases (up to $75 cashback)
• Key to Maximizing
• Same as Chase Freedom, but if you find $500 visa gift cards at Kohl's and use the full $1,500 use the Discover for gas.

Citi Dividend

• 5% Cashback at Hilton's, Car Rentals, Movie Theaters and Theme Parks
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  Doesn't help me much since I've already used my entire $6,000 allotment

2013 Free Money Roundup

Disclaimer: I do not receive a referral fee for any of the links below with the following exceptions: Top Cashback and Betterment

The first 4 months of 2013 have been a decently lucrative start for me and my wife for Free Money (though she would rather not know how I accomplished it for plausible deniability - kidding of course).  The opportunities have been in great abundance and also very lucrative this year!

I am aware that this is not actually free money.  Time and work are involved and everyone has to make their own calculation whether a deal is worth it to them

I don't write this to gloat, rather to show everyone what I've done so that you can try and replicate the same thing yourself in the future.  Obviously, you can pick and choose which ones you think are worth it and which ones are not.  Some you can still do now and some are dead deals, but new ones are always popping up, but you usually need to jump on them to get full value.

Instructions in how to leverage each deal are found at the provided links.

Vanilla Reloads and Blue Bird

• Total of $315.75 - Unfortunately, these deals ended at the end of March.
• Chase Freedom - $63.15 - Chase Freedom was offering 5% back at drugstores, including CVS with Vanilla Reloads up to $1,500 of purchases.
• 7,500 ultimate rewards points, which I value at more than 1 cent per point, but they can be redeemed for cold, hard cash at 1 cent per point so we'll call that $75.  $11.85 in fees for a total of $63.15
• This is from January (I also paid part of my tuition on this card during this bill)
• 
  

• Citi Dividend - $252.60 -  Same thing as Chase Freedom except the limit was $6,000 in purchases, instead of $1,500.
• $300 in rewards and $47.40 in fees is a total haul of $252.60 over 3 months

Chase Gift cards and Blue Bird

• Chase Freedom - $20 a month (only $20 so far)
• Chase recently started selling $500 gift cards with no fees whatsoever.  They need to be bought with a Chase credit card.  I bought $2,000 of them last month so that was 2,000 free ultimate rewards points. 24,000 free points a year is pretty good to me, hopefully it lasts.
• The statement hasn't closed yet so I don't have a picture to show you yet.

Top Cashback and Blue Bird

• American Express and Visa Gift cards through Top Cashback shopping portal - $167
• There was one day recently where you could get 2.5% back on a purchase $3,000 of american express gift cards ($75).  The next week, I used the $3,000 to buy 3 Visa gift cards of $993 dollars each (accounts for the fees) and got another 2% back ($60).  Add 2% from Fidelity American Express ($60) and you get $195 in rewards and $27.95 of fees  for a net profit of $167
• 
  

New Credit Card Sign up Bonuses

• American Express Blue Preferred - $150 Sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in first 3 months

• $1,000 on Vanilla reload in the first month
• Already received $150 statement credit
• I already have this card.  I got it for my wife because there is a $6,000 yearly limit on the great rewards.  In addition, I will close my card so that I can be eligible for a new bonus.
• There is an annual fee of $75, which is not waived the first year.

• Citibank AAdvantage - 30,000 miles after spending $1,000 in first 3 months.  I value AA miles at least at 1 cent a mile, so it is a minimum of $300 towards AA flights.  I won' t count this because I cannot redeem the miles towards cold, hard cash.

• $1,000 on vanilla reloads in the first month
• Still waiting for the bill to settle to get my miles
• Annual fee is waived the first year

Better Balance Rewards Credit Card

• I signed up myself and my wife for the Better Balance Rewards Credit Card along with fee free checking accounts.  I expect to get $60 a quarter ($10 a month for me and $10 for my wife), basically for free.
• I already have them on autopay (you have to call up) and I hope to get one automatic bill a month to be paid by these cards so that I never have to think about the card and it is always generating the $10 a month for the both of us.
• It has only been two months so I don't have anything to show for it yet.

New Checking Account Bonus

• $125 - This is cheating a little bit.  I signed up for this is November of last year, but I didn't get the money until this year, but I did get $125 for free.

Betterment

• $25 - Still active - Add $250 to your Betterment account and you will get $25.  Betterment invests your money automatically.  You allocate percentages of bonds and stocks.  Your principle may appreciate or depreciate.
• To get the bonus, you need to add $250 within 90 days and keep it there for 90 days.  At that point you are free to take your $275, or so, out.

Grand Total = $862

$315 in 5% categories, $20 from Chase gift cards, $167 from topcashback, $150 from sign up bonuses, an assumed $60 from Better Balance card, $125 from checkout account, $25 from Betterment = $852 for 4 months or $213 a month.  Not bad when you don't have a job!

Sign up for 5% Categories Q2- Chase Freedom, Discover It and Citi Dividend

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

It's time to sign up for Q2 categories to get 5% cashback.  The main feature from April until the end of June is Home Improvement

Chase Freedom - 5% back on up to $1,500 of purchases at restaurants, movies and Lowe's - Activate here
         Apply for Chase Freedom here - $100 Sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

Discover It - 5% back on up to $1,500 at Home Improvement Stores - Activate here.
         Apply for Discover it™

Citi Dividend - 5% back at Home and Garden Stores, Home Furnishings and The Home Depot.            Activate here.  $300 max of 5% cashback per year (instead of $75 per quarter with the others).
           Apply for Citi Dividend - $100 Sign up bonus for spending $500 in 3 months.

Last Week to Sign up for Chase Freedom, Citi Dividend and Discover It 5% Quarter 1 Categories

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

You have until March 14th to sign up for Chase Freedom and Discover It quarter 1 categories


Chase Freedom Q1 Categories - Gas Stations, Drug Stores and Starbucks

Check whether you have already signed up here

You will still get 5% for purchases you made before you sign up, as long you sign up by March 14th 

Don't have a Chase Freedom? Sign up here 

Discover It Q1 Categories - Restaurants and Movies

You will not get 5% for purchases before you sign up

 Don't have a Discover it™? Sign up here 

Citi Dividend Q1 Categories - Drug Stores, Zappos, Fitness Clubs

You will not get 5% for purchases before you sign up

Don't have a Citi Dividend? Sign up here 

You have until the end of March to finish your 5% category spending.  Even if you haven't done your spending, you can still maximize your spending with Vanilla reloads at CVs for the Citi Dividend and Chase Freedom