[Manufactured] Spending $44,000 in 3 Months

Get this offer, grab that offer. Maybe I bit off a bit more than I could chew in the last app-o-rama last round of applications. However, I am happy to say that I have come out on top thanks to a few ill-conceived purchases, too many trips to the pharmacy, and Nino Brown purchases at the grocery store.

If you look back at the history of manufactured spending, you’ll agree that it is more challenging than ever to spend without spending. Today we are left with few options to hit those pesky mins and more fees in order to get there. Sure you can purchase Amex gift cards on topcashback then try your luck at purchasing Vanilla Visas at your local drugstore. But is that really worth the hassle of it not working or the $5.95 to simply buy the card outright? If you’re a cheapskate devout frugal traveler then the answer is yes.

My situation is a bit different. My closest Target is 100 miles away meaning I can’t risk jumping through the hoops of buying this card, waiting for that card, and then hoping that it all goes down without a hitch. I have to unload $7500 on theBIRD all in one day because of the pain of getting to Target.

Although I’m not happy at the amount of fees I had to pay, I rationalized that the 45k I previously spent for free before little Red died offset the costs this time around. Furthermore, the benefits I receive from completing this MS will far outweigh the incidental costs. Finally, as I alluded to in the opening, not all my spending was manufactured. (see membership at the country club.)

Here are the cards, the, mins, then the rewards that TPOL +1 collected.