Believe it or not, you could make money off your credit cards. For most people, credit cards are something that takes money out of their pockets. However, if you’re one of the relatively few people that know how to turn credit cards into money, you’ll know full well that credit cards don’t have to be something to fear. In fact, credit cards could be your friend when it comes to paying the rent and making ends meet.
Here are the top three ways you can make money off your credit cards.
Buy Stuff with Reward Points and Resell
If you want to make money with your credit cards, the first step is to apply only for credit cards that have rewards programs and have a low interest rate. This is very important. You need credit cards that will actually pay you money or give you gifts if you use them frequently enough. However, you don’t want to burn yourself by going with credit cards that have high interest rates. Thankfully, there are credit cards that have reward programs as well as low interest rates. As a result, you can use the cards at a heavy volume while being charged very little interest.
The most obvious way to make money with your reward points is to buy stuff with your reward points. Some reward programs actually have a pre-selected list of products that they are going to give you, while others will give you vouchers or credits. Either way, use this feature of reward programs to get stuff on Craigslist, eBay, and other websites. This is basically free money.
Pair with Department Store Rewards Programs and Resell
Truly clever credit card holders will not just make money with the free stuff that they get from their credit cards’ reward programs; they also use those credit cards to qualify for department store rewards programs. In the United States and many parts of Europe, there are big department store chains that have reward programs of their own. These programs are a part and distinct from credit card reward programs. In other words, if you shop at these particular department store chains frequently enough, you get reward points there and also you get reward points with your credit cards.
Use the free stuff these department stores give you, both in terms of credits or actual products, to make money. You can use the credits to buy stuff that is in demand online and resell online. If the department store requires that you select from a list of freebies, then do so and resell online. Either way, you’re getting free money.
Buy Stuff in Bulk with Friends and Resell Extra Items
When you buy stuff in bulk using your credit card, you are obviously wracking-up a huge credit card bill. You can offset the huge bill by buying in bulk with friends so they compensate you for the stuff that they bought, and you just end up paying for the stuff that you bought. Simple enough, right? The good news is when you buy stuff in bulk, you also wrack-up a lot of reward points. So basically with this strategy, you are using your social network to increase the amount of items you buy with your card so you can get more reward points. With more reward points, you get more free stuff. Resell that free stuff online.