Using FAR to Manufacture Spend for American Express Membership Rewards

When the American Express revised their Business Gold Rewards Card they added a new multiplier category, 2x for Computers.  The initial splash page doesn’t go into much detail, but a quick link and you get the list of vendors that are approved for 2x Earnings of the valuable Membership Rewards program.

• Apple
• CDW
• Dell
• HP
• IBM
• Intuit
• Lenovo
• Microsoft
• Newegg
• Oracle
• Rackspace
• Sage Software
• Salesforce.com
• Symantec
• Tiger Direct

New Egg and Tiger Direct are unique among the list in that they are more of hobbyist supply stores, people shop there when they are building their own Computer, or for certain peripherals, and their pricing is generally very good.

Furthermore, they offer deals on a regular basis for FAR – Free After Rebate items.  Buying FAR items is a great way to boost up your spending, and multipliers like earning 2x really make them great earners.  Additionally, you can click through shopping portals to make even more money.

The cash back/points earning portals are always changing, but as of today we have:

Here is an example of how you earn points from a FAR item.  You find something that is on offer Free After Rebate, such as this from Kapersky:

• Cost is $40, which is rebated in full, if you have state tax then you need to add that on $3.55, for NY, shipping is free.
• Your ROI 2X$43.55 for 87 Membership Rewards Conservative Value 1.5 cents each for $1.30 plus another 87 Ultimate Rewards for using their portal at the same valuation fro another $0.65 cents.
• Deduct the rewards from the cost,  of $3.55 gives you a final cost of $1.60 for this item. If you actually need it then perfect.

However, when we talk of Manufacturing Spend it is for items we do not need, so in some regards living in a taxable State means that the Kapersky deal is a loser, because the mindset should be that we could toss the item away and still profit.

An additional angle to consider is does the FAR Item have a resale value attached to it.  When it comes to most Internet Software type FAR items the answer is generally no, because they have figured this resale approach out and force you to activate the software in order to get the refund.

So, lets think of the above type deal as a good way to get your product for pennies on the dollar (paying $1.60 for a $59.99 item, but not as a Manufactured Spend prospect.

Money Maker FAR Items

Other items however do not have these rules, hardware works well, as in the case of this laptop cooler panel called the Coolermaster Ergo 360

• Cost $20+tax (if applicable) +free shipping.
• Tax in NY would be $1.78, this is your cost basis (basis is zero for those in zero tax states)
• 2x Membership Rewards= 44pts plus Ultimate Rewards Shopping Portal for 22 pts lets call that $1 in earning.
• Resale Value $15 (going on eBay for $22.50-25, minus shipping and 10% eBay service fees)

P/L $15+$1 minus $1.78 for $14.22

Neither of these are huge money makers, but I advise you to keep an eye on this space, as their are great FAR opportunities with both Staples (using the Ink Bold Card) and now with Newegg and TigerDirect.  Some can be considerable earners too, the best I have had was around $250 from Staples for Webroot, at 10x points, and I actually use the software!

It can also be a neat way to build up a bunch of supplies from these vendors at little to no cost, and a nice thing you could do if you want to shift software, such as in the Anti-Virus example I used here would be to donate it to charity for their use.  I personally think the easiest way to stay abreast of new FAR offers comes from keeping a watchful eye on Slickdeals.net

Word Of Caution

Certain Manufacturers have imposed limits on the number of times you can repeat a FAR offer (within a category) in a set period of time, typically a year, as now have certain vendors like Newegg, for your first one you will be fine, but once you start doing multiple offers like this and applying everyt ime a new one emerges make sure that you check the terms of the offer so that you do qualify for the Rebate.