How I just made $442 off a business trip.
No - nothing illegal of course! But here’s a story that will help you turn a negative into a positive and make lemonade out of lemons.So this coming week I will be spending in Seattle. My mom broke her ankle and has been very very bored stuck at home. Plus she needs help around the house. We decided to get a 1 way ticket because I still had an unused Seattle to Phoenix ticket from the last trip. So… long story short they wouldn’t let me use the ticket on the weekend I needed to. I gave up to resume the ticket hunt today.
- In this morning’s meeting at work it was decided I would be going to Denver for some information gathering on a major project we’re working on in the next few months. (Southwest) DING! A business reimbursed Seattle to Denver - Denver to Phoenix trip solves this problem. Total cost saved ~ $250.
- Logging onto Marriott to book my room, I realized I still had $150 worth of Marriott Gift Cards sitting around my house that I couldn’t use. My company re-imburses me for the total bill - whether I pay with cash, credit, or gift cards is irrelevant. Total cost saved (back to me) $150
- Costco Business Amex - I knew there was a silver lining in this cloud! Now that the intro APR has expired, it won’t make much difference if I charge to the card. All travel gets a 2% rebate. Car, Hotel, and Airfare charged to the card - $981.00 2% Rebate back to me - ~$19.
- The card also gives you an automatic 5% rebate on all Marriott Springhill Suites charges back to your card. Minus the $150 - I am charging $469. At 5% rebate - that’s $23 back in my pocket. Best of all - since this is a business credit card the balance does not affect my credit score while I am waiting for reimbursement.
Total gained from this excursion - $442. And yes - it’s all being applied directly to the Costco Amex debt.
