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Introduction: Stop Leaving Money on the Table
Most people treat credit card points like a lottery—hoping they accumulate enough for a free flight eventually. That is a losing strategy. To truly fly business class for pennies on the dollar, you must treat your personal finances like a logistics operation.
You don’t need to churn twenty cards a year to build a massive balance. You just need to optimize the spending you are already doing. This is called “farming.”
Farming is distinct from churning because it requires zero behavioral change after the initial setup. You buy groceries. You put gas in your car. You pay for internet. By simply aligning the right payment instrument with the right Merchant Category Code (MCC), you turn liabilities into assets.
If you aren’t earning at least 3 points per dollar on your top three spending categories, you are effectively paying a 3-6% tax on your life. Let’s fix that immediately.
1. Grocery Stores: The Heavy Lifter
For 90% of households, grocery spending is the single largest variable expense. It is also the category where banks fight the hardest for your wallet, offering multipliers that defy logic if you understand the math.
Most “premium” travel cards offer a pitiful 1 point per dollar here. That is unacceptable. A proper setup should yield 4x points minimum.
The Math Behind the Multiplier
Let’s look at the numbers. The average family spends roughly $800 a month on groceries.
- Standard Card (1x): 800 points/month = 9,600 points/year.
- Optimized Card (4x): 3,200 points/month = 38,400 points/year.
The Valuation: If we value flexible points (like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards) at conservative 2.0 cents each, the difference is staggering. 9,600 points is worth $192. 38,400 points is worth $768.
That is nearly $600 in free travel value just for using the correct piece of plastic. This covers the annual fee of almost any premium card on the market.
The “Supermarket” Trap
Be careful with definitions. Banks use Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) to define a “grocery store”.
Typically, big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs like Costco do not code as supermarkets. They code as “Discount Stores” or “Wholesale Clubs,” earning you a measly 1x. To farm this category effectively, shift your food spend to dedicated supermarket chains (Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s).
2. Dining and Delivery: The High-Frequency Earn
Dining is unique because it combines high frequency with high variance. One month you might spend $200; the next, $1,000. It is critical to have a card that captures this uncapped volume.
Banks generally define “dining” very broadly. This includes fast food, fine dining, bars, and importantly, delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash.
The Stacking Strategy (Advanced)
This is where amateurs earn 3x, and pros earn 7x or more. You should never just “pay” for a meal. You should stack rewards.
- The Card (3x–4x): Use a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Amex Gold.
- Dining Rewards Programs (3x–5x): Link that specific credit card to an airline dining program (e.g., United MileagePlus Dining). You can earn 3 to 5 airline miles per dollar on top of your credit card points.
- Reservation Apps: Apps like Seated can offer Amazon gift cards or credits for booking through them, effectively adding another 10-20% return.
Example Math: Spending $100 at a participating restaurant:
+ 400 Amex Points (Card)
+ 300 United Miles (Dining Program)
Total: 700 points/miles for a $100 meal. That is a 14% return on spend.
3. Online Shopping: The Invisible Multiplier
If you go directly to Nike.com or HomeDepot.com to buy something, you are failing. You are bypassing the single easiest point-farming mechanism in existence: Shopping Portals.
Shopping portals are websites run by airlines, banks, or third parties (like Rakuten) that pay you a commission for clicking their link before you shop. This does not cost you a penny extra.
How It Works
The merchant pays the portal a referral fee. The portal shares that fee with you in the form of points, miles, or cash back. This stacks on top of whatever points your credit card earns.
- Base Spend: Buy a $200 laptop bag with a 2x card = 400 points.
- Portal Bonus: Click through the British Airways portal offering 8 Avios/$ = 1,600 Avios.
- Total Haul: 2,000 points on a $200 purchase.
That is an effective 10x earnings rate. Platforms like Rakuten even allow you to earn American Express Membership Rewards points instead of cash back, which is often far more valuable for luxury travel redemptions.
4. Office Supply Stores: The Universal Currency
This category sounds boring, but it is the backbone of manufactured spending (MS) and organic farming alike. Certain business credit cards earn 5x points at office supply stores.
Why does this matter if you don’t buy toner? Because office supply stores sell gift cards to everywhere else.
The Gift Card Arbitrage
If you need to shop at Amazon (typically 1x–5x depending on your card) or Home Depot (typically 1x), you can walk into an office supply store and buy a $500 Amazon gift card.
- Direct Amazon Purchase: $500 = 500 to 2,500 points.
- Office Supply Route: Buy $500 Gift Card with 5x card = 2,500 points (guaranteed).
This allows you to export your “5x category” to merchants that usually have no bonus category. It converts low-yield spend into high-yield spend.
5. Transit and Commuting
For city dwellers, transit is a surprisingly high spend. This includes subways, tolls, parking garages, and rideshare.
Cards that classify “Travel” broadly are essential here. A generic 2x card is fine, but a card with a specific 3x multiplier on “Transit” is better. Over a year of commuting, spending $200/month on trains and Uber adds up.
Data Point: According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average household spends thousands annually on transportation. Ignoring this category is a significant leak in your points bucket.
Common Mistakes / Gotchas
Even veterans mess this up occasionally. Here are the pitfalls that will kill your earning rate.
1. Buying Gas at Grocery Stores
Many grocery chains have fuel pumps. While convenient, these often code as “Fuel” rather than “Grocery.” If your card earns 4x on groceries but only 1x on gas, you lose massive value here. Always test a small transaction first.
2. Third-Party Delivery Services
Ordering groceries through Instacart usually codes as “Grocery,” which is great. However, buying dinner through a third-party app *might* code as “Professional Services” depending on how the restaurant set up their tablet. Usually, the major apps (Uber Eats, DoorDash) are safe and code as travel or dining, but local delivery services are risky.
3. The “Target” Loophole
As mentioned, Target is not a grocery store. However, you can buy Target gift cards at a proper grocery store (earning 4x) and then use those gift cards to shop at Target. This requires a physical trip but effectively extends your 4x multiplier to everything Target sells.
Is It Worth The “Mental Load”?
I often hear that juggling three cards is too hard. Let’s analyze the time cost versus the reward.
The “One Card” Strategy:
Spend $30,000/year on a 2% cash back card.
Result: $600 profit.
The “Three Card” Strategy (Dining, Grocery, Catch-all):
Spend $30,000/year optimized (avg 3.5x points).
Result: 105,000 points.
If you redeem those 105,000 points for a one-way business class ticket to Europe (often costing $3,000+ cash), your return is $3,000.
The Difference: $2,400 in additional value.
The Effort: Putting a piece of tape on your cards labeled “Food” or “Gas.”
Is labeling your cards worth $2,400 a year? The math says yes. It is the highest hourly rate you will ever earn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Walmart Neighborhood Markets count as grocery stores?
It depends on the specific credit card issuer. Generally, Walmart Neighborhood Markets have a higher chance of coding as “Grocery” compared to Supercenters, but Amex is notoriously strict and often excludes all Walmart locations from the bonus category. Chase is more lenient. Always do a test purchase of $5 before committing large spend.
What is the best “Catch-All” category rate?
Your baseline should never be 1x. At a minimum, you need a card that earns 2x points (or 2% cash back) on “everything else.” This creates a floor for your earning potential. If you are earning 1 point per dollar on medical bills, taxes, or car repairs, you are losing money.
Can I earn points on rent or mortgage?
Traditionally, no, because of processing fees. However, the Bilt Mastercard has disrupted this space, allowing you to earn 1x on rent (up to 100k points/year) without transaction fees. For mortgage, services like Plastiq exist but charge a ~2.9% fee, which usually negates the value of the points unless you are hitting a sign-up bonus.
Do foreign transaction fees wipe out point gains?
Absolutely. Most cards charge a 3% foreign transaction fee. If you earn 3x points (valued at roughly 4.5% to 6%), you are still technically ahead, but barely. You should strictly use cards with “No Foreign Transaction Fees” when traveling or shopping on international websites. See our guide to No-FTF Cards for recommendations.