If You Aren't Using a Cash Back Credit Card, You Hate Money
There are no downsides, if you use them properly.
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Alright, listen up. This post will be direct and to the point.
Far too many people are operating businesses or funding personal expenditures without using cash back or rewards credit cards.
I know someone who runs a business that brings in about $100,000 in revenue (you know, just like my book flipping business) who didn’t have one until I recommended it.
Just from operating their business like they always have, they’ll now make an extra $2,000/year or $167/month.
The downside? There is no downside. As long as you pay your statement balance in full every month, it’s straight up free money.
Even if you don’t have much of a business running, use one for your personal expenses as well.
Now, there are a million different options when it comes to choosing which card to get.
My favorite resource is Doctor of Credit.
No, they did not pay me to say this. I’ve used them for several years.
The cool thing about these cards is that many of them have great sign up bonuses.
I earned an extra $800 on one of mine last year, for example.
Here are the cards I use and I’ll explain why I have several of them. All of these require a business to apply for.
I have an LLC, which are very easy to form in the United States.
The first one is the American Express Business Prime Card.
It’s a no brainer because if you have a Prime account, you get 5% cash back on Amazon purchases.
That means I get 5% cash back on all my Amazon book purchases and card investments that I make through them.
You won’t really find a higher rate than that.
Heads up, if you decide to apply for this card using the link above, you’ll get a $100 Amazon gift card I believe.
Next up is the Capital One Spark Business Card.
This one is just a flat 2% cash back on everything, doesn’t matter what it is.
I use this one when I’ve maxed out my bonuses for the year or buy things outside of Amazon like on eBay or Walmart.
I also like it because Capital One has a system called Eno, that allows you to create virtual credit cards.
This keeps your main card number safe and allows you to skirt “quantity” limits when placing orders on limited stock products.
The third card I own is the American Express Business Gold Card.
This card is what I call my advertising and shipping card.
You essentially get 4% cash back (in the form of points) from the two highest spend items on this list:
Airfare purchases directly from airlines.
Online, TV and radio advertising.
Computer hardware, software and cloud systems from select technology providers.
Gas stations.
Restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
Shipping.
My highest two are always advertising and shipping.
You can hit a cap, where the amount earned goes down to 1% on this and the Prime card.
However, when I do hit that point I just start using the next card on this list until the bonuses reset (after a calendar year).
My last card is the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.
This is essentially the same thing as the American Express Gold.
You get 3% cash back on Advertising and Shipping, but get a 25% bonus if you use the points on travel, making the total reward 3.75%.
Like I said before, using these is just free money if you don’t pay interest.
None of this is financial advice, but do not pay credit card interest.
It’s far too high and never worth doing in the long run.
Only use rewards credit cards if you pay your statement balance in full, every single month.
Do your research using the Doctor of Credit website I linked above and find the best bonuses that work for your business.
If you just want one for personal use, use that same website.
Think about this for a moment.
Even if you ran a business that only profited $50,000/year but it had $500,000 in revenue, these cards would bring in an extra $5,000 - $25,000 in profit.
That’s a 10-50% increase in profit.
Now do you see why I’m making this post?
Thanks for reading.
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As always, these posts are not financial or investment advice. They are made for entertainment purposes only.
Yu mentioned you use your prime account to buy books and then resell them. Can you actually do that? (being Prime).
The links to the credit cards aren't working for me.