My Co-Worker's Story....had to share

I have to share what my co-worker does. For privacy purposes, I will call my co-worker Fred ( although it may be a man or a woman..for this post he/she is Fred). 

Fred applies for credit cards that give gift cards for reward points. Fred said that one card offered a $500 gift card if he/she purchased $2,500 in purchases. So, for a few months, everything he/she bought was on that credit card. He/she hit the $2,500, collected the gift card and paid off the card so no interest was built on it. Then, Fred got another offer for a $400 gift card if purchases are made up to a specific limit. So, Fred did that. Spent the purchase amount, paid it off, collected the gift card.

Now, if you have the discipline and income to do this, it's a great idea! Fred now has $900 in gift cards to use for Christmas shopping and it's basically free money ( as long as you don't collect any interest on the credit card). 

As of right now, due to my car breaking down, I have credit card debt again. It's not a lot of debt and I am doing everything I can to get it paid off. After it's paid off, I would like to do this same thing and see what kind of gift cards, or points I can collect.

Do you do this? How successful have you been? If you have any stories, please post in my comments section!