$100,000 Challenge: July 2023 Recap
Tokyo! We stayed at the Hyatt there last month, all paid on points of course
Summary
Welcome back to another edition of the $100,000 challenge. This month, we’ve made great progress, pretty much wrapping up all the spending requirements on all the cards we have in our deck!
The highlights
Completed Amex Delta Reserve’s $30K spending goal on prime day ($16K spent)
Completed SUB for the Amex Gold ($2,000 value: 100K SUB with $4,000 minimum spend)
Earned 10K Bilt ($100 value) points with July’s Bilt Rent Day bonuses
Finishing the Amex Delta Reserve’s $30K spending goal
This month’s spend: $15,774
2023 Spending Goal Progress: $30,000/$30,000
Amazingly, I was able to wrap up my manufactured spending on the Amex Delta Reserve card in the span of 48-hours, spending a whopping $15,774! This was entirely done using Buyer’s Groups. Specifically, I used the following 4 groups:
BuyForMeRetail
BuyingGroup
MaxOutDeals
PointsMaker
Most of these groups have a WhatsApp channel that blasts new deals as soon as they get them. However, some groups, MaxOutDeals for example, have a quota of how many buyers they will accept. So you need to be quick to get into a deal.
I basically spend that 48-hour window hovering over my phone, and committed instantly to any and every new deal that popped up.
On top of this, Amazon also had deals on Gift Cards during Prime Day. For that, I used TheCardBay to liquidate all my cards, to get a few extra thousand in spend.
NOW, all that being said, there was one mishap. One package - specifically a $100 kindle - was not correctly delivered. It never arrived at the warehouse, at least according to the message I received from the Buyer Group. Since this was just a single package that was lost, I actually decided not to file a complaint with Amazon, as I didn’t want any extra eyes on my account which could possibly lead to a ban. My reasoning was that I had already completed $16K in spending on Amazon, and this was not worth arguing over $100. I chalked this one up to a loss, and I’m not upset - $100 in extra cost to get my Delta Status boost is well worth it for me.
Amex Gold SUB for P2
Expected Earnings: $2,000 value (100K Amex MR Points)
Spending Progress: $4,000/$4,000
For the minimum spend on this card, I simply applied the same methodology I used for my personal Amex Gold card - going to a Kroger Grocery stores and purchasing Visa Gift cards. Specifically, I use the self-checkout option during rush hour, so store associates are too busy to look at my transactions. I then purchase 3 x $500 gift cards in one transaction, which is the maximum number of gift cards allowed in a single transaction at my store. Then, I complete two separate additional transactions, back to back. This lets me complete $4500 (3 x $500 x 3) on a single trip. Then I typically liquidate using Western Union bill pay.
Easy earning on Bilt’s Rent Day
Earnings: $100 value (10K Bilt Points)
Spending Progress: $1,666/$1,666
For this one, I’ll just refer you to last month’s post. I think I’ll be doing this every month from now on, for some easy earnings.
