One of the neatest (but more time consuming) ways to earn points (effectively for free) is to use your points earning credit card to purchase something at less than it’s resale value on eBay, and then sell it. This is most easily calculated and understood when considering gift voucher of fixed monetary value, which retailers sometimes put on sale.
A great example (and it’s still live, so you can get in on the action if you want) is the current offer Best Buy in the US have on iTunes US gift cards – being sold at a 15% discount, so a $100 (US) card is $85 on sale. The US iTunes store has more content, available sooner than overseas stores, so they have a decent resale value.
A quick search on ebay shows that most US itunes cards are selling for somewhere between $102 and $111 Australian. Factor in credit card currency exchange fees, eBay listing fees and Paypal payment fees and you are still looking to break even on a $100 sale, or make a profit if you can sell for more.
You deliver the voucher code to the winning bidder on eBay by email, so there are no postage fees, and minimal administration.
Rinse and repeat – the only cost for these free points is your time in administering the sales, the risk of a sale at less than your cost price, and the cost of the time it takes for your balances to make it back onto your card.
Of course, if everyone tries to do this the supply of iTunes cards on eBay would increase, decreasing prices. So I’d hold back just a little and time your sales so that you are not selling 100 vouchers at once.
This method is just as useful for meeting minimum spend requirements on Credit Card bonuses, such as the recent Virgin Flyer card which requires $7.5k spent in 3 months.
I’ll continue to post any gift card (or other) offers that can be used in this manner, and refer back to this post as a quick how-to.
Best Buy offer via Gift Cards on Sale
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