How I Made $450 with Wealth Hacks
Nothing is better than free stuff. Even better than free stuff is free money! If someone told you right now that you could earn a few hundred dollars just by participating in a “special program,” would you do it?
The truth is most people get offers like these all the time but don’t capitalize on them. However, there are a select few out there that make considerable money by doing things like Credit Card Hacking.
It boggles my mind why more people don’t take advantage of these offers. Here is how I pulled off my latest hacks.
The Credit Card Hacks
The simplest definition of a Credit Card Hack is when someone takes advantage of the rewards and bonuses that come with signing up and using credit cards.
Capital One’s 0% Intro APR Credit Card
Before I drop this knowledge on you, I have a word of caution. Credit Card Hacking is not for first-time credit card holders or people who haven’t established their credit yet.
I suggest starting with a secured credit card from a federal credit union before getting real credit cards.
Once you’re ready, you should get credit cards that you know you will use frequently or ones that will provide you with relevant rewards.
For instance, don’t open a travel credit card if you don’t like traveling because you’re less likely to benefit from it.
My reasons for opening Capital One’s Platinum Credit Card were:
- I needed funds to move into a new apartment.
- It had 0% intro APR for the next 8 months (meaning it wouldn’t charge any interest on my balance for the next 8 months as long as I made minimum payments).
- I had a solid budget and knew I could pay it all off within the term.
Related: How to Budget in 5 Easy Steps
It’s wise to have safeguards when opening credit cards like a budget and automatic payments, so you’re never late paying.
When you have a credit card that does charge interest, you should pay off the entire balance before the end of the statement period. Otherwise, you’ll end up having to pay more money!
I know your thinking, “This didn’t put any cash in his pocket!” Just keep reading, and you’ll see how the money flowed in.
Marriot Bonvoy’s Boundless Chase Credit Card
I was reserving a hotel room for a wedding when I received the random opportunity to open Marriot’s Bonvoy Boundless Mastercard with Chase.
The deal was if I successfully opened the card, a credit of $250 would be added to my account at my first purchase within three months.
My hotel room for the wedding cost $250.70, and the reservation was within three months of opening the card. The hotel room was my first purchase, which resulted in the credit of $250, leaving me a measly balance of 70 cents!
I got an entire weekend hotel stay for virtually free!
Usually, annual fees accompany cards that offer bonuses. I made sure to call the credit card company to ask when the fee would be charged and if I could cancel before then without penalty.
It turned out I could cancel this card if I wanted and never pay the annual fee!
Closing a credit card won’t hurt your credit score on its own, but it may affect your utilization rate. The utilization rate is what can improve or damage your credit score.
Although, I could decide to keep the card open and use it for the travel rewards.
There are so many rewards, and I didn’t realize I was about to be offered even more!
The Bank Promotions
A couple of months after opening the credit cards, the banks allowed me to open checking accounts with them in return for cash bonuses!
The $100 Capital One Offer
Capital One offered me $100 to open a checking account with them. I had to set up direct deposits with at least $1,500 each statement period.
I didn’t follow through with this one because my goal was to open an account, divert a smaller amount of deposits to it, and eventually close the account.
Managing $1,500 in a different account for only $100 wasn’t worth it to me.
The $200 Chase Bank Offer
Chase offered a $200 bonus for opening a checking out and initiating only $500 of monthly direct deposits. As long as I maintained the direct deposits, they wouldn’t charge any account fees.
In addition, The customer service representative informed me that I could close the account after 6 months without penalty!
This had fit my standards. So, I diverted $500 from my paycheck to go to the new account and changed a couple of bill payments to pull from there instead of my main credit union account.
The next thing I wanted to do was make my free money create even more money through passive income. I put the $200 cash bonus into a Total Market Index Fund in my Fidelity Roth IRA.
Related: 20+ Best Passive Income Ideas from Millionaires
You can use a basic compound interest calculator to find the future value of an investment. I have about 43 years until I will be old enough to start withdrawing money tax-free from my Roth IRA, and the stock market returns about 7% on average over 40 years.
According to the calculator, an initial $200 investment will most likely grow to $2,450.09. This doesn’t take into account that I actively contribute to my Roth IRA every month, but does show the power of investing and compounding returns.
Conclusion
Credit Card hacks are an easy way to earn rewards and passive income.
I made $250 in value just by opening a credit card, which paid for an entire weekend at a hotel. In addition, I can close the credit card to avoid the annual fee without penalty.
Other “wealth” hacks become available or more noticeable once you start. Since I had opened a credit card with them, Chase gave me a $200 bonus just to open a checking account and set up direct deposits.
A final word of advice: don’t try credit card hacking unless you’ve built up your credit score, have a solid foundation in managing your money, and have a full understanding of all the terms and conditions.
