More than $3,700 in Credit Card/Bank Rewards in 2012? How's That Possible?

Call me "creditcardoholic", "bankoholic" or "credit card freak" :) but I just looked at my Mint.com account and I can tell you we made more than $3,700 in credit card rewards last year!  Yes, that's $3,700 and that is   worth 2 months of mortgage payments.



Wondering how we did it? Here's our secret (or I guess, not anymore):

• We use credit cards instead of cash or check on almost all  purchases. Yes, on all purchases whenever a credit card is accepted.
• We use credit cards that give us 3%-5% cash back/rewards on most purchases. It is not that easy to do this nowadays because banks scaled back their credit card rewards since the 2008 recession but we found a way to do this by carrying multiple credit cards. While they do not cover all purchases, they at least cover most purchases, and then we get 1% on others. Here are the credit cards that we currently carry:
1. BarclayCard Sallie Mae Rewards Card - This card gives 5% cash back for groceries and gas. So we use this card when we go to Publix or any other grocery stores or when we go to Shell or any other gas stations to fill up our gas tank. From this card alone, we received more than $500 last year, as we spent more than 10k for groceries and gas. Yes, that's how much we ate and drove last year...:) And half of it is probably for Sophia! =)
2. Citi Forward Card - This card gives 3% rewards for restaurants and entertainment. This card gave us about $150 in rewards last year.
3. Citi Thank You Premier Card - This card gives 1 point (equivalent to $1) for every mile you fly and $1 for every dollar you spend on  it. This adds up especially if you love to travel or when you travel for work! Imagine how much I made on my trip to India from Chicago? 
4. Citi Professional Card - This card gives 3% for rental cars and gas stations. I took advantage of this card because I normally rent a car when traveling for work.
• We also take advantage of introductory offers. When Citibank was offering 50,000 points just to apply for the Citi Thank You Card and spend $3,000 for the first 3 months, sure I applied for it. That was a one-time $500 rewards. When Chase Bank was offering 60,000 points to apply for Chase Slate Card, sure I got one. Heather did too, so that alone was $1,200.

Now, my situation is a little bit extreme and it's worth for me to do so because I am a consultant and I fly and travel almost half of the year. But an average person could still make at least $1,000 a year I think by choosing the right credit card. Keep in mind that in America, every card holder has 4 credit cards on average.

If you are not comfortable opening many credit cards or if you think it is too much to manage, at least get a card or two that can give the most rewards based on your situation. Look at the category that you buy most and get a card that gives you the most rewards. For example, if you spend a lot of money on groceries or if you commute to work, get the Sallie Mae Rewards card and get 5% on groceries and gas. Or if you are that type of person who does not cook and would rather eat out for dinner all the time, take advantage of the Citi Forward Card and get 3% on all restaurant expenses. And by the way, Blue Cash Everyday from American Express currently offers 3% CASH BACK at U.S. stand-alone supermarkets, and 2% CASH BACK on gasoline at U.S. stand-alone gas stations and at select major department stores. This could be a good start for most persons especially those Department Stores shoppers.

And if you think too many cards is too much to manage, take advantage of auto payment option so you do not have to worry about missing payments and get charged a fee.

Credit card deals and rewards change every year so keep watching for new stuff. Or follow my blog =). I will post any new deals that I find here... at least I will try!