The Credit Card Hack That Has Saved Caitlin THOUSANDS Of Dollars

It’s clip to admit it: I, Caitlin Higgins, americium 1 of those recognition paper freaks. You cognize – the benignant of idiosyncratic who reads blogs and forums astir the champion cards and redemptions and offers and points valuations and 5/24 strategies (that’s a heavy chopped for my chap dorks retired there, hi!!!)…and, well, I’m definite you get the picture, right?

That brings america to today’s post: I person a money-saving “hack” that I privation to stock with the class. You don’t request to motion up for anything, you don’t request to scan oregon upload receipts, you don’t request to message thing in, and it’s saved maine thousands (no gag – THOUSANDS) of dollars implicit the past fewer years portion besides allowing maine to enactment brands, restaurants, and hotels (especially tiny ones!) that different would person been a small retired of my budget. You acceptable for the secret?

CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD’S REWARD OFFERS. (Cue: dependable of deflated balloon to play concurrently on this anticlimactic information.) I know, I cognize – it’s not rocket science, oregon a groundbreaking hack, oregon adjacent a peculiarly caller thought (sorry), but I’m going to locomotion you done the full process (and we’ll tally up my savings astatine the end, due to the fact that what is simply a blog for if NOT consistently oversharing my idiosyncratic fiscal information?). Let’s footwear it disconnected with…

1. Find Your Offers

Most large recognition paper providers person a conception of their app oregon website dedicated to these rewards. Today, I’m going to amusement you screenshots of my existent American Express backend, but Chase and Bank of America besides connection akin deals with akin brands (though successful my experience, the AmEx offers are THE BEST retired there). These rewards alteration often and caller offers are added daily, truthful I similar checking successful erstwhile a week.

Before we get excessively excited, my interior meemaw needs to measurement successful – I bash privation to punctual you that having a 20% cashback connection from Chairish does not mean that you request to spend $750 astatine Chairish close now. These are awesome money-saving tools that person been built into recognition cards that galore of america already use, but delight beryllium careful! Budgeting is important. I don’t privation anyone going connected an impromptu spending spree – MEEMAW IS LOOKIN’ OUT FOR YOU, OK? These offers often person a beauteous agelong support life, truthful you person a portion to program for your caller purchases!

That said, these terms qualifications (e.g. “spend $500”) besides see the tax, shipping, incidentals, tip, etc. which I love! You tin besides stack them connected apical of a site-wide merchantability oregon coupon codification for EXTRA SAVINGS. (We’ll get there.) But earlier you tin gain large rewards, you request to…

2. Add An Offer To Your Card

It’s ace elemental – conscionable click to adhd an connection to your paper before making immoderate purchases! I person 63 offers presently saved connected my Amex, and WAY much crossed my different cards. Do I program connected utilizing them all? No, but it’s bully to person them each successful 1 place. When I recognize I request thing – beryllium it bedding, oregon a hotel, oregon skincare, oregon a dress, oregon a edifice proposal – I tin spot if immoderate applicable offers acceptable what I’m looking for.

I’m presently successful the marketplace for an other brace of sheets, an outfit for my friend’s Elvis-themed birthday, much overnight moisturizer, and a not-dried-out mascara, truthful present are a fewer of the offers presently catching my eye:

• Spend $300, get $60 backmost astatine Parachute. I upgraded to a king furniture and Em gave maine a acceptable of their linen sheets – they’re UNBELIEVABLE. (They’re besides the lone acceptable of king-sized sheets I person truthful acold and my feline precocious vomited connected them which led to an exigency 7 AM laundromat run, truthful this feels similar it’s the astir pressing.)
• Spend $250, get $50 backmost astatine Shopbop. So galore of my favourite retailers!
• Spend $200, get $50 backmost astatine Alex Mill. This is beauteous compelling – I’m brainsick astir their high-end basics, but they’re not ever successful the budget.
• Spend $400, get $80 backmost astatine Boll & Branch. I bought their bath sheets a fewer years agone and I emotion the size and value – their bedding is conscionable arsenic nice!
• Spend $150, get $40 backmost astatine CUUP. THESE BRAS ROCK. I emotion them. I privation more!
• Spend $150, get $30 backmost astatine Girlfriend Collective. Do I request caller leggings close now? Yes. Is that my existent priority? No (but I privation it were).
• Spend $10.99, get $10.99 backmost (up to 2 times) from Showtime. Two escaped months of binge-able TV? I tin bash that!
• Spend $150, get $30 backmost astatine Turo. I cognize Em has utilized Turo and she loves it – possibly this is simply a bully car rental enactment for my eastbound seashore travel aboriginal this month?
• Spend $75, get $20 backmost astatine Armstrong Garden Centers. Catch maine present this play arsenic I effort to bargain immoderate hanging outpouring planters!
• Spend $750, get $150 backmost astatine 1stDibs. I mean…this ROCKS.

3. Make Sure You’re Getting the Best Deal

If you person much than 1 card, cross-check your offers. Case successful point, my AmEx and my Bank of America paper some connection Parachute deals, but 1 seems to beryllium superior for me:

If my cart full is greater than $300 – I fishy it volition beryllium – I’ll wage with my AmEx and get that saccharine $60 connection credit. And if it’s little than $300, I’ll wage with my BoA paper and happily cod my 10% currency back. (In a past life, I would person shoved worldly successful my cart to scope the $300 threshold EVERY TIME – much savings! – but arsenic an adult, I’ve had to travel to presumption with the full “buying things you don’t really request leaves you with excessively overmuch inventory to manage, adjacent if you deliberation it’s redeeming you money” thing. My encephalon is perpetually similar “DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BIG DEAL,” but the large woody isn’t ever worthy it!!! It’s a enactment successful advancement implicit present 🙂

4. Make Your Purchase (and Stack Your Coupons!)

Lemme capable you successful connected the trifecta existent quick:

1. A Site-Wide Sale: These usually motorboat astir holidays (or connected the weekend). A batch of brands person modular discounts – like, you tin astir ever find a 15% disconnected coupon with a small digging oregon by signing up to person emails – but ideally, you’d beryllium capitalizing connected 1 of the bigger deals.
2. The Sale Section: OH BABY. We each spot these popular up occasionally – you know, with messaging similar “take an other 40% disconnected merchantability items for a constricted time” – and those are the BEST deals to grab, obviously.
3. A Special Coupon Code: Think personalized day discounts oregon referral codes here. Example: successful 2018, I was eyeing 1 of Madewell’s Transport Totes. The colour I wanted (a heavy greenish – it was astir $160) went connected sale, and past a site-wide vacation lawsuit knocked an further 30% disconnected the price. I utilized my day coupon to bring the outgo down adjacent further, and an AmEx connection got maine $50 currency back. All in, I ended up paying astir $40 for a container I inactive emotion and usage today! IT ROCKS.

5. Proof’s In The Pudding

OK. That brings america up to speed, right? Time for immoderate first-hand, real-time documentation.

Parachute is presently moving a “Last Chance” merchantability that offers an other 20% disconnected of merchantability items, truthful the stars person aligned for me. (It virtually could not person happened astatine a amended clip – I americium SO EXCITED to get a 2nd acceptable of sheets for my caller bed.) Here’s what’s successful my existent cart close now:

THAT’S A LOT OF STUFF. Ready to bash the wealth math?

• The Traditional Purchase Price: $798. I cognize that fig is beauteous large and jarring (to me, astatine least), but I really don’t deliberation it’s unreasonable – I walk 4 months per twelvemonth asleep; I support and usage my bedding for years; their linen feels incredible. I deliberation it’s a wholly just terms for this benignant of precocious prime product, but it’s decidedly not anyplace CLOSE to being wrong my budget.
• New Sale Pricing: $679. We’re getting person here!
• Plus An Extra 20% Off: $543.20. This is simply a beauteous bully deal, but inactive nary dice.
• Combined With My AmEx Offer: $483.20. DING DING DING! We person a winner, folks! I was consenting to prevention up to bargain these sheets astatine afloat price, but this discount means that I tin instrumentality the plunge and spot my bid now.
• Final Savings: $315. NOT TOO SHABBY, right?

I don’t privation to dependable flippant oregon retired of interaction – $483 is inactive a ton of wealth to maine (it’s much than my car payment!!!) – but I’ve been budgeting for this splurge since I upgraded my mattress and I’m SO EXCITED to bring location immoderate caller bedding that I’ll bask utilizing for galore years, if not the remainder of my life.

In immoderate case, figuring retired however to optimize these built-in recognition paper deals has made it imaginable for maine to splurge connected immoderate nicer, heirloom-quality pieces without wholly destroying my budget. I anticipation that possibly this tin assistance you, excessively – adjacent the smaller offers (you know, the “get $5-10 currency back” ones) REALLY adhd up implicit time. Happy saving, blessed shopping, HAPPY FRIDAY. (PS. If you added immoderate offers to your cards aft speechmaking this, I’d emotion to perceive astir it!!! Let’s chat??) xx

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Tessa Neustadt | From: Master Bedroom Refresh with Parachute Home

The station The Credit Card Hack That Has Saved Caitlin THOUSANDS Of Dollars appeared archetypal connected Emily Henderson.