CREDIT CARD REWARDS CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE
Purpose: Future “forever” travel fund!
I love travel hacking. I mean, I used to LOVE travel hacking. I used to sign up for credit cards that gave me a ton of points so that I could travel for free, but as my career became more time-consuming and as the cost of travel went up, I couldn’t substantiate the cost of travel (even if the flights and hotels were nearly free).
In 2018, I opened up the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card after having this bright idea of taking all of my credit card rewards and depositing them into my investment account and invest it for the long term.
Since 2018, I have used various credit cards to maximize the amount of rewards I receive and then subsequently deposit into my investment account.
Below are my results of almost 5-years of investing my credit card returns:
| Year | Earned | Interest Expense | Net Reward | Per Month Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $220.11 | $92.72 | $127.39 | $18.34 |
| 2019 | $723.43 | $187.14 | $536.29 | $60.29 |
| 2020 | $1.137.87 | $35.70 | $1,102.17 | $94.82 |
| 2021 | $2,549.41 | $224.91 | $2,324.60 | $212.45 |
| 2022 | $6,580.89 | $40.46 | $6,540.43 | $548.41 |
| 2023 | $2,108.86 | $166.65 | $1,942.21 | $175.74 |
| Total | $13,320.57 | $747.58 | $12,572.99 |
tHE pLAN
When I started this challenge, the plan was to take any rewards that was earned (and can be converted into cash) and move it into my Fidelity Investment account. Over the years, I have expanded what gets deposited. Today, most of the huge increases in savings are due to bank and credit card bonuses for opening accounts. Here is what goes into my Credit Card Rewards’ Portfolio:
Credit Card Rewards
- Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card – 2% rewards on all charges
- Bank of America Customized Cash – 3% rewards on gas
- Citi Custom Cash – 5% rewards on grocery
- Chase Sapphire Preferred – 3% rewards on restaurants and fast food
Credit Card Rewards Site (Apps)
- Rakuten
- Retail-Me-Not
- Ibotta
- Upside
- Dosh (Defunct)
- Bumped (Defunct)
Other Rewards Site
- Swagbucks
Bank Bonuses (Recent)
- Laurel Road
- SoFi
- Truist
- Wells Fargo Business
- American Express Business