Beginner’s Series - Part 4 of 4
In this 4-part series, you’ll learn everything you need to navigate this site and begin earning your way to free credit card points
Month-by-month Beginners Guide to Manufactured Spending
In our previous posts, we gained an overview of manufactured spending and how it works. Now, we’re ready to implement our learnings and start earning points! On this page, you’ll find a month-by-month schedule for specific cards you should open and how to generate spend on each of them.
The guide is separated into multiple difficulty levels, based on the amount of spending involved. The more number of cards you open, the more profitable you will be! The easy difficulty will earn you $2,400 in points, while the advanced difficulty will net you $10,400 in points. If you run into any questions, feel free to use the comment section below for help!
I suggest newcomers to start with the “Beginner” level tasks and work your way up as you feel more confident. Feel free to customize the schedule as needed - nothing is set in stone!
Earning potential and difficulty levels
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Beginner Difficulty
Earn $3,200 by:
Opening 2 Chase Cards
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Intermediate Difficulty
Earn $8,000 by:
Opening 2 Chase Cards
Opening 2 Amex Cards
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Advanced Difficulty
Earn $8,000 by:
Opening 2 Chase Cards
Opening 2 Amex Cards
Opening 8 Amex Business Cards
Opening 3 Chase Business Cards
Manufactured spending methods
As this is a beginner’s manufactured spending guide, we’ll only use the simplest and most beginner friendly manufactured spending techniques on this page. As you become better acquainted with the hobby, I suggest you expand to other techniques, which will allow you to massively increase your spend volume and earn way more points. At any point, you can always refer to our manufactured spending methods list.
Beginner friendly manufactured spending methods
We’ll use the following 3 techniques for our guide:
Funding bank accounts using credit cards
Gift card buyers groups
Purchasing Visa gift cards at grocery stores, and then liquidating them using money orders
Month-by-month Schedule
Month 1
Beginner
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Open the above two cards on the same day, online. While usually, Chase only allows users to hold either the Preferred or Reserve at any one time, applying on the same day allows you to be approved for both. This is known as the MDD.
Earning Amount: $2,400 (120K Chase Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Bank account funding
Fees: None
Manufactured Spending Time: 1 hour
Earning Rate: $2,400 per hour
Create an account with the following two banks:
Unify Federal Credit Union ($5K funding limit) - Fund with one card
X Federal Credit Union ($5K funding limit) - Fund with the other card
When funding, be sure to fund the maximum allowed volume, since you earn 1 point per dollar on the transaction itself! Once your account is funded, allow the funds to sit for a few days. Then, use the funds to pay off your credit card statement.
*If you’ve had either of these cards in the last 2 years, you are not eligible to sign-up for it again! You must wait until 2 years have passed, and downgrade any existing Sapphire cards to Freedom cards.
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Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
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Advanced
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Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
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Month 3
Medium
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Month 4
Advanced
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Month 5
Advanced
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Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
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Month 6
Advanced
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You’ve earned yourself a break. If you want to continue, I suggest maxing out any remaining categories on your cards, or to explore other reward paths that interest you.
Month 7
Advanced
-
Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
Month 8
Advanced
-
Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
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Month 9
Medium
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You’ve earned yourself a break. If you want to continue, I suggest maxing out any remaining categories on your cards, or to explore other reward paths that interest you.
Month 10
Advanced
-
Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
Month 11
Advanced
-
Search online for the current best referrals. You can also try my referral link.
Earning Amount: $2,500 (125K Amex Points @ 2 cents per point valuation)
Suggested manufactured spend method: Gift Card Buyers Group / Physical Gift Card Liquidation
Fees: 0% (for Gift Card Buyers Group), 1-3% (for Physical Gift Card Liquidation, $60 - $180)
Manufactured Spending Time: 5 hours (Gift card buyers group) / 2 hours (Physical Gift Card Liquidation)
Earning Rate: $500 per hour (Gift card buyers group) / $1,160 per hour (Physical gift card liquidation)
Gift Card Buyers Group Approach
We have a whole post on Gift card Buyers Groups here. With this method, you will buy discounted digital gift cards online with your credit card, then sell the gift card to a buyers group by providing the card number. The buyers group will refund you the full cost of your purchase to a bank account of your choice. These groups make money from selling your gift card at higher rates to other customers. We prefer gift card buyers groups since the transactions can be done entirely from the comfort of your own home, and don’t have risks associated with normal buyers groups, like shipping and lost packages.
For details on our favorite groups and how to use them, read our full breakdown post on the method.
Physical Gift Card Liquidation Approach
This is a two step approach, where you will need to (1) acquire an open loop (i.e. Visa/Mastercard) gift card and then (2) liquidate it. I promise this is not as daunting as it may seem at first!
We have a post on the acquisition aspect, as well as several posts on liquidation. My suggestion would be to acquire gift cards at a Kroger-brand grocery store as the Visa gift cards they sell are easy to liquidate. You can use the self-checkout machines to complete your purchase. Their machines allow $1,500 in gift card purchases without requiring an attendant. To increase our purchase volume, we typically complete multiple separate transactions, one after another on the same machine. And remember, manufactured spending is NOT illegal, so you can honestly explain that you are just “acquiring points”.
To liquidate, I suggest completing a money order using your purchased gift cards. These can even be done at the same Kroger that you are at. Just ask for a “Western Union money order”. If you make a single $1,500 order, you can just swipe each of the 3 x $500 cards. This feature is known as “auto-drain”.
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Month 12
Month 2
Medium
Advanced
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You’ve earned yourself a break. If you want to continue, I suggest maxing out any remaining categories on your cards, or to explore other reward paths that interest you.
Click each reward play to see our suggested methods to manufacture spend for it. Remember, take your time, and work your way up to higher spend volume as you become confident.