Paying Big Stuff on AGR MC

[Tumbleweed]

I guess one possible advantage would be if you needed to get a bunch of points right away you could buy gift cards, collect the points, and use the cards later for whatever....

 

[Meat Puppet]

Acura allows $10,000 on the AGR Mastercard for new or pre owned.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?

&

By and large, gift cards are offered for merchants that accept credit cards, so I'm not sure I see an advantage in buying gift cards over simply using the AGR credit card for the everyday purchases. For a card that gives 5x, I see it.

&

I have to agree. Except for buying a say Macy's gift card at Office Depot, I don't see any advantage to using a gift card that gave you 5x or using the AGR MasterCard and getting 5x.

&

I guess one possible advantage would be if you needed to get a bunch of points right away you could buy gift cards, collect the points, and use the cards later for whatever....

One of the more lucrative reasons to buy gift cards is to unlock a new account bonus requiring minimum spend without having to lockin specific purchasing decisions. Changes to US law have made gift cards more useful by restricting fees and preventing expiration dates. Which is good because there are now more than four billion "star bucks" locked up in gift cards for a certain coffee conglomerate. I don't shop at Starbucks myself but there are some stores I do shop at that also sell gift cards. I don't know what I'll need from a store like Amazon or Home Depot, but I know I'll probably need something, so I can bank the signup bonus and category bonus now and spend the money later when I actually need whatever it is.

 

[pianocat]

Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?

&

By and large, gift cards are offered for merchants that accept credit cards, so I'm not sure I see an advantage in buying gift cards over simply using the AGR credit card for the everyday purchases. For a card that gives 5x, I see it.

&

I have to agree. Except for buying a say Macy's gift card at Office Depot, I don't see any advantage to using a gift card that gave you 5x or using the AGR MasterCard and getting 5x.

&

I guess one possible advantage would be if you needed to get a bunch of points right away you could buy gift cards, collect the points, and use the cards later for whatever....

One of the more lucrative reasons to buy gift cards is to unlock a new account bonus requiring minimum spend without having to lockin specific purchasing decisions. Changes to US law have made gift cards more useful by restricting fees and preventing expiration dates. Which is good because there are now more than four billion "star bucks" locked up in gift cards for a certain coffee conglomerate. I don't shop at Starbucks myself but there are some stores I do shop at that also sell gift cards. I don't know what I'll need from a store like Amazon or Home Depot, but I know I'll probably need something, so I can bank the signup bonus and category bonus now and spend the money later when I actually need whatever it is.

I think this is what I'm going to do to fulfill the 'spend $1,000 in 3 months to receive 18,000 points' offer from my new AGR MC. I've used nearly $500 already, and since I purchase food, prescriptions, etc. at Walmart every week - I know a gift card from there would be eventually used up. Another question...after I pay the MC bill, how soon can I expect to see the 18,000 points post to my AGR account?

 

[the_traveler]

Most likely, the bonus points will post to your AGR account the day after your credit card statement closed! (If your credit card statement closes on the 10th, your bonus points will probably be in your AGR account on the 11th!)

 

[pianocat]

That's good info. to know, Thanks! Noticed that the small print at Teleflora where I ordered flowers yesterday says 'allow 4-6 weeks for points to post'. I would like to book my next trip sooner than that....will Amtrak let me pay for the trip now, then when the points are there, refund me for the portion where I want to substitute with points...or would it be better to simply be patient and wait til they're all in my pts. balance?

 

[rrdude]

That's good info. to know, Thanks! Noticed that the small print at Teleflora where I ordered flowers yesterday says 'allow 4-6 weeks for points to post'. I would like to book my next trip sooner than that....will Amtrak let me pay for the trip now, then when the points are there, refund me for the portion where I want to substitute with points...or would it be better to simply be patient and wait til they're all in my pts. balance?

No.

And, just if you are paranoid, like I am. (or want a leg to stand on if you have a dispute) I'd suggest taking a screen shot of your computer, directly AFTER you complete the sale online, and B4 you take the screen shot, click the history arrow (depends on which browser you are using) to PROVE to AGR that you did indeed "navigate" to their partner seat, directly from the AGR pages......

It's shortened my dispute time on many, many occasions. Here's a sample of what I mean.

 

[the_traveler]

The only way that work would if you book separate reservation.

Example: If you want to go from STL to Winslow, AZ and book one reservation, you could not get a refund. But if you book 2 reservations (1 to the zone border of ABQ and the 2nd from ABQ), you could get a refund for the STL-ABQ portion. That is if it's by the cancellation deadline and/or minus any penalty amount.

 

[Fin]

I pay my homeowners and auto insurance on my CC, that really adds up

 

[pianocat]

rrdude, I appreciate that info. and though I didn't take a screen shot [btw, how do you do that??] I have a printed receipt for both floral purchases that have the AGR logo on the top, Teleflora logo on the side - it's a confirmation page listing billing info, etc. and also each receipt says " You will be awarded 2625 points", and "You will be awarded 1375 points" When I made the purchase, I linked directly to the flower site through the AGR email I had been sent. I guess I could take a picture of this confirmation page in case there's a dispute....now you have me nervous that the points might not get posted. I'll try to be more patient.....but I'm pretty good about staying after something I'm due. [believe it or not, I'm STILL waiting for Greyhound to refund the unused portion of my December Christmas trip - I need to call them again tomorrow, as a matter of fact!] Traveler - I'll probably just take my chances and wait to reserve when all points are posted and then not have to mess with a cancel. Cross fingers that the dates I want are available for travel, but I'm pretty flexible in the summer months.

 

[Dan O]

I pay gas, groceries, etc on AGR card. Found out my son's college takes it too w/o extra fees so $40K is going on that last year and this year. I was surprised they didn't charge extra.

Dano

 

[Ryan]

Jackpot!

That's awesome.

 

[pianocat]

Dan, that's a great perk! Did someone say in this thread that the IRS will take MC? As a self-employed operator, I pay quarterly taxes and that'd be great to be able to use AGR MC for that.

 

[pennyk]

Dan, that's a great perk! Did someone say in this thread that the IRS will take MC? As a self-employed operator, I pay quarterly taxes and that'd be great to be able to use AGR MC for that.

Generally, IRS payments may be made through certain contractors, but there is a fee. If I remember correctly, the fee was more than the value of the points.

 

[Ryan]

Here's a good analysis.

http://thepointsguy.com/2012/03/does-it-make-sense-to-pay-taxes-with-a-credit-card/

 

[pianocat]

I'll probably not pay my quarterly taxes with AGR MC just because it looks like it's more expensive, with side costs. As I said earlier, I'll get a Walmart gift card and use that puppy over the next few months. Surely this will make my account blossom with points! HAHAHAHH. We'll see. Just wish it were easier to SEE the results of instant purchases. Why, oh why do they make us wait 4-6 weeks???

 

[Dan O]

Dan, that's a great perk! Did someone say in this thread that the IRS will take MC? As a self-employed operator, I pay quarterly taxes and that'd be great to be able to use AGR MC for that.

The thought of a train trip kind of takes the sting out of tuition...well a bit. But I have to pay it in any case so might as well get a train ride out of it.

 

[sechs]

Is there any reason a person could not purchase gift cards and use them for purchases yourself for everyday items....and pocket the points?

By and large, gift cards are offered for merchants that accept credit cards, so I'm not sure I see an advantage in buying gift cards over simply using the AGR credit card for the everyday purchases. For a card that gives 5x, I see it.

Now that prepaid Visa and Mastercards can be assigned PINs and used like debit cards, for a small fee, you can buy something to use at places that take debit but not credit.