It’s been a quieter week on the manufactured spending front, a far cry from the $23,500 gift card hauls of the past or any Redbird-related drama. Life’s been busy, limiting my ability to engage in large-scale churning. However, whenever the opportunity arises, I still find myself drawn to purchasing MetaBank Visa gift cards from Safeway, simply because they are so convenient to liquidate.
This week brought me back to San Jose, an area I’ve grown to appreciate for its ms-friendly environment. Almost every Safeway and Target here seems accommodating to manufactured spending activities. While the Walmart stores are less impressive – possibly the worst I’ve encountered – the abundance of Targets more than compensates. And then, there’s the gem of downtown San Jose: Philz Coffee. Honestly, even if the entire trip had been a washout, the presence of Philz alone would have made it worthwhile. Imagine starting your day of strategic shopping with a delicious Philz brew; perhaps even using a Philz Gift Card if you had one!
A diverse selection of Visa and Mastercard gift cards displayed on a rack at a Safeway store, highlighting the accessibility of prepaid cards for manufactured spending strategies.
While my sister was at work, I took the opportunity to explore downtown San Jose, my mint mojito iced mocha from Philz in hand. I made my way to a downtown Safeway Market. For those unfamiliar, these stores are somewhat of a hybrid, blending elements of a 7-Eleven and a Trader Joe’s, though missing some of Trader Joe’s more unique snack offerings like cookie butter or garlic naan.
Historically, I had success using Amex gift cards to buy Visa gift cards at this location. However, with Amex gift cards no longer in the picture for this strategy, I reverted to using my regular credit card, just like most everyday shoppers. It’s a reminder of how the landscape of manufactured spending is constantly shifting.
My next stop was another Safeway, a few miles away, also known to be ms-friendly. I purchased $1,000 worth of gift cards there. This amount seems to be a sweet spot, generally avoiding unwanted fraud alerts – a concern that the now-defunct Amex gift card method conveniently circumvented. Across the street, a CVS beckoned, where I picked up a much-needed USB cable for my phone, and, of course, a couple of Paypal My Cash cards. The hope, as always, is to keep the Paypal gravy train running just a little longer, even though the end feels perpetually near.
Later, I made a stop at Target to unload some Vanilla Visa gift cards that I had acquired from CVS the previous day. The loading process was smooth and uneventful, thankfully.
When my sister finished her workday, I collected her and we headed towards Santana Row. Remarkably, Santana Row features both a CVS and a Safeway directly across from each other. Capitalizing on this proximity, my sister assisted me in stocking up on more gift cards, as I had already reached my self-imposed daily limit of $2,000 at CVS earlier that morning.
While we were there, she impulsively decided to buy a lottery ticket. Just the day before, news broke that someone in San Jose had won a staggering $15 million lottery prize, with the winning ticket purchased at the Safeway right next door. “That could have been me!” she exclaimed, caught up in the ‘what if’ scenario.
With our gift card purchases complete, our focus shifted to escaping the area. The traffic between 2:30 PM and 2:30 PM was, as usual, absolutely chaotic. It’s ironic that in a region brimming with tech geniuses, solving the daily traffic congestion seems to remain an insurmountable challenge. For me, the commute home in San Jose traffic is consistently the least appealing part of any visit, a true test of patience.
On our drive back, we made a detour to the Emeryville IKEA, a predictable stop for purchasing items that are likely to have a short lifespan. The $8 French press from my previous visit, for instance, didn’t even last a week before self-destructing while I was washing it – the glass simply shattered inexplicably.
I also couldn’t resist picking up some IKEA Cinnamon Rolls. In my opinion, IKEA’s cinnamon rolls are unmatched. Despite Cinnaholic’s appearance on Shark Tank and subsequent fame, I tried them before their rise to stardom, and frankly, found their rolls inedible. IKEA still holds the cinnamon roll crown in my book.
Our final stop was a Target store near home that had previously caused some issues for my brother. I ended up waiting in line for a considerable time behind a woman juggling energetic children while simultaneously searching for a receipt in her overflowing bag. The single cashier on duty was tied up resolving her issue, leaving me waiting for a good 20 minutes.
When my turn finally arrived, I decided to make the most of it and loaded a total of $5,000 across five Redbird cards. The cashier, perhaps feeling sympathetic for my extended wait, was surprisingly unfazed by the transaction.
In total, I estimate I churned around $10,000 worth of gift cards this past week. While not a spectacular number, it’s a manageable amount given the current, somewhat diminished state of manufactured spending opportunities. It’s enough to keep the points accumulating and the travel dreams alive. Maybe next time, I’ll treat myself to a Philz gift card as a reward for the effort!
This week, I’m heading to Chicago for the annual Chicago Seminars. I don’t anticipate engaging in much manufactured spending while I’m there, unless, perhaps, I stumble upon a Neighborhood Walmart within the city limits. In that case, I might be tempted to prioritize churning over the seminar, potentially until someone raises an eyebrow about possible money laundering activities!
