Thank You Network from Citi – Free Money for Being Responsible

If there is anything I can ever recommend to everyone in the country, it is the Thank You Network from Citi. The Thank You Network is a credit card kick back system; i.e. free money for using your credit card. You may have heard of credit cards that give you frequent flier miles for using your card, but the Thank You Network from Citi is a far better concept than trying to keep track of miles. Thank You gives you points for every dollar you spend, and you can redeem the points for all sorts of items or electronic gadgets you may desire. Don’t want any of that stuff? You can redeem your points for gift certificates or even pay down your student loans. Furthermore, there are many ways to earn points than just using your card. You can earn points by opening a bank account with Citibank, or shop on their website to earn many more points for every dollar you spend. Earn 7 points/dollar for shopping at ShoeBuy.com. 10 points/dollar at Restaurant.com. 1000 points for signing up with Netflix. The points will add up, and you will be surprised how much money you will make in a year. In February I had to buy new tires for my Mazda 3, a $700 bill. I payed it off with $700 worth in gift certificates at Sears.

Thank You Network Strategy:
It’s not enough to just tell you what the Thank You Network is. You have to understand how to use it to maximize the amount of free money you will receive. This is my second year on the Thank You Network, and I have learned a few costly lessons (costly in the sense that I missed out of some free money). I will share with you my strategy to achieve maximum points and more money.

1. Sign up for a Premier Pass Credit Card (no annual fee) from Citi. I have a Mastercard and an American Express card. I recommend the Mastercard because it is accepted almost everywhere. The Amex is only needed if you like shopping at Costco. If you don’t shop at Costco, don’t get the Amex as it is not accepted in as many places (Amex is not business friendly). You are going to receive 6,000 bonus points after $300 in purchases within the first 3 months (easy).
Alternative 1: You can start off with the Diamond Preferred Card (no annual fee) and receive 0% interest for 6mo, and 5 points/dollar in supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations for 1yr.
Alternative 2: If you have balls, go for the Elite Premier Pass Card ($75 annual fee – Trust me it pays for itself). You will receive a bonus of 20,000 points after $600 in purchases within the first 3 months (again, very easy). You will also receive 2 points/dollar spent. I just signed up for this today. My error was not signing up for this sooner. I would have doubled the amount of points I earned!

2. Put your cash and debit card down and start paying for everything using your new magic card. Use it on everything! Fast food, groceries, auto insurance, anything and everything you can put on the card – do it. Pay off the entire bill at the end of the month so that you won’t suffer interest charges.

3. If you need to purchase any discressionary items, first go to ThankYou.com and see if you can purchase it through the many online stores in their network. You will receive many points on the dollar. Use your card for even more points on top of that.

4. Be especially sure to use your card for the purchase of air fares. You will receive points for every mile you fly. If possible get people you know to give you cash, and use your card to purchase the air fare for them. Points are going to fly into your account. Before booking a flight, check with Expedia to see how many bonus points they will offer you for your flight (Expedia is an affiliate of Thank You. You get even more bonus points for qualifying flights). If they offer you a big bonus, go with Expedia. If not, don’t bother as Expedia tends to be more expensive than other sites.

A Few of the Credit Cards Offered by Citi

5. Soon after you get rolling, Citi will send you offers for more bonus points. Pay close attention to these. Some may be worth going for. I received 10,000 points for opening a checking account last year with Citi (that’s $100!). The checking account is great because I just use it on a couple of auto bill pays, and I get several bonus points each month for that activity.

6. Always be sure to buy stuff for other people if they offer the cash up front. You’ll be surprised how many times this situation will arise.

Your first year, you should make close to a $500. That’s $500 for doing nothing except for spending the same amount of money you would normally spend. If you’re married, expect to see double that amount. I’m trying to set up my parents with a card so that I can get even more points. The more expenses you funnel through the card, the more free money you will receive – it’s as simple as that. Be smart, be responsible, and take advantage of this program. You will love it!

Go to ThankYou.com to get started.

- The Crumb

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   Naiad says:

   September 30, 2009 at 7:36 am

   That is similar to the concept we use at Costco. We have the Executive Card that cost $100/year for membership. However, the card gives 2% back of all your purchases. We use that rebate to pay the Costco membership at the end of the year and still have money left over.

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