With about six weeks left in 2021, I wanted to check in on my claim that I could max out the annual IRA contribution limit of $6,000 using the profits from various promotions alone. If you had put $6,000 into your IRA every year for the last 10 years (2011-2020) and invested in a simple Target Date retirement fund, you would have turned .
Example. I was just approved for the new , and I was hoping the $1,000+ value would put me over the $6,000 threshold. I’m very confident that I’ll get at least $1,000 out of this card, as (1) we have multiple upcoming trips planned, (2) are renewing Global Entry for $100, and (2) this is the rare card that lets us gain lounge access for a family of 5. Each cardholder is free plus 2 guests, but additional cardholders are free ?. I will offset $1,000 in travel expenses I would have incurred anyway, and invest it instead.
The ground rules: Real-world results for one person only. As following with My Money Blog tradition, this will track my personal, real-world results. It would be quite easy to list a bunch of promotions that add up to $6,000, but these will be promotions that I personally sign up for and complete the requirements (even though I’ve already opened so many bank accounts, credit cards, and brokerage accounts over the years). I will track my individual results only (no spouse/partner). I quickly ran through all posts in the :
One-time bonuses for 2021 so far.
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (live)
- (still live)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (live)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- (expired)
- 40,000 MR points to upgrade from Everyday (no annual fee) to Preferred ($95 annual fee). No new account or credit check.
- (live)
- (live)
- (currently 60k/$750)
- (expired)
- (live)
- Amazon Pay with Points Promos $50 (, , , )
- (live)
- (live)
Total from one-time bonuses: $5,327
I’m pretty close to $6,000 without counting the money from higher bank interest or other credit card rewards like . Hopefully the holiday season has a few more gifts for me in that regard! ? I did multiple US Mint coin deals this year, but also much fewer credit card applications than in a normal year. My wife and I were thinking of trying to get dual , but we decided not to go for it yet.
Bank interest accounts. With a simple direct deposit change, I am earning 3.5% APY on $100,000 at HM Bradley, FDIC-insured and with no interest rate risk. (I have the HM Bradley credit card as well.) This is money that could be earning 0% at BofA/Chase/Wells Fargo, 0.50% at a “high yield” savings account, or about 0.40%-1% in short-term US Treasury bonds as part of an investment portfolio. Even calling it only 2.5% APY above what 99% of people earn on the same thing, that works out to a difference of $2,500 in interest per year.
I could hold even more cash at high interest rates via other fintech like One Finance and Porte. US Savings bonds are paying 7.12% interest for the next six months. I track these in my . I view this is a legitimate form of “profit”, but the value is dependent on the size your cash/bond holdings. Thus, I’ve kept it separate.
Total from higher bank interest: $2,500
These are all deals with minimal downside risk, but they also tend to be both sporadic and temporary. Some months had zero lucrative deals, and some months had several. I try to only share the ones that will last at least a few days, but it’s a bit like value investing where you have to be ready to jump on an opportunity when it shows up, because it usually won’t last long. For example, HM Bradley now requires a referral to join, and each person can only refer three people.
Total for 2021 so far: $7,827
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