Prepayments ideas with credit card
So we messed up and signed up for two miles credit card (one each) that requires spending a certain amount to get the mile award. I know staggering them would have been best but we had a miscommunication about timing so we are now stuck. Now we have to spend $8,000 in 3 months by credit card and our usual credit card monthly charges will barely account for half of that. Any ideas of type of charges or expenses we can pre-pay with credit card? Our insurance policies are all already paid in full, and I don't know what else to check. My husband is excited about going shopping and wants to buy electronics we meant to buy and been postponing, like xbox and new tablet, but I'm wondering if there is a smarter way to meet the required spending without a shopping spree. We can afford the electronics and pay the credit card bill in full monthly so by no means are we planning on spending above our means to get the mile award but I still don't like buying everything on our to-buy-eventually list in one swoop and would rather pre-pay expenses if possible.
Parent Replies
You could book any upcoming trips for the summer. Also summer camps or maybe even lessons that you know your child will take. Other dues or charitable contributions that you know you will need to pay in 2017? I think you can pay PGE and other utilities on a credit card, though I don't. Anything you write a check for, see if you can put it on a card.
It's a nice problem you're having! You might consider using your cards to donate online to non-profit groups you support. It's a triple whammy: 1) you get the miles 2) you get a tax write-off and 3) non-profit organizations get a boost. (FWIW, we use our mileage card as much as possible (groceries, gas, sundries, etc.) and then pay it off weekly.)
Would you be able to work out something with your employer where you pay bills for office supplies on your credit card and then get reimbursed? I can see a couple of potential pitfalls, but depending on your situation, it might work.
I never buy or give gift cards.... But this might be the only exception I can think of. What if you buy gift cards for stores where you shop. Safeway (if they still do it), Target, Macy's, HomeDepot if you are remodeling, etc. Some stores offer you 10% or a gift card with some $$ for buying a gift card. The only drawback is if you every lose the gift card you screwed,.
You can buy Amazon gift cards and then load them onto your Amazon account. With one of our miles cards, we get extra miles when we buy the Amazon cards at Office Depot/Max/whatever. Having the gift cards loaded onto Amazon makes using Amazon even easier!
Charitable contributions and tuition/daycare expenses are other good uses.