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Are You Losing Thousands in Rewards Every Year Without Even Knowing It?
Are you missing out on hundreds or even thousands of dollars in cashback and travel rewards every year? Learn how matching the right credit card to your everyday expenses like gas, groceries, and dining can help you earn more without spending more.
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Losha Nazarov
Losha Nazarov I enjoy finding smart ways to earn more rewards from money I'm already spending.
We all have expenses.
Some happen every week.
Some happen every month.
Some only come around once a year.
But here's a question that completely changed the way I think about money:
What if the money you're already spending could help pay for your next vacation or put cash back into your pocket?
I didn't believe it either.
For years, I looked at credit cards as nothing more than a way to pay for things. Then I started learning how rewards actually worked, and I realized something.
A credit card isn't automatically good or bad.
It's simply a financial tool.
Used the wrong way, it can become expensive.
Used the right way, it can reward you for money you were already planning to spend.
The biggest mistake I see people make isn't choosing the wrong credit card. It's using the same card for every purchase without thinking about where they spend the most money. By matching the right card to the right expense, many families can earn significantly more cashback or points without increasing their spending.
First Things First: Don't Spend More
Before we go any further, let me make one thing very clear.
I'm never going to tell you to spend more money just to earn rewards.
I'm never going to tell you to carry a balance.
I'm never going to tell you to use a credit card like it's free money.
The entire idea behind this blog is the opposite.
Use the money you're already spending more efficiently.
If you were going to buy groceries anyway, why not earn better rewards?
If you were already going to fill up your gas tank, why not get something back?
That's the mindset behind everything I write.
My Biggest Everyday Expense
In my line of work, I drive a lot.
Whether I'm repairing garage doors or sliding doors, I'm constantly on the road visiting customers. Most days I'm driving to three to five different jobs, which means I'm filling up my truck every two or three days.
Today, it costs me around $100 to fill my tank.
That works out to roughly $200 every week.
About $800 every month.
Almost $9,600 every year.
Now here's where things get interesting.
Instead of looking at gas as just another expense, I started asking myself how I could get something back from money I was already spending.
I use my American Express Business Gold Card because one of my selected bonus categories is gas. That allows me to earn Membership Rewards points every time I fill up my truck, subject to the card's current terms.
Over the course of a year, that adds up to around 40,000 Membership Rewards points from one vehicle alone.
That's not counting my wife's car.
That's not counting groceries.
That's not counting dining.
Just one work truck.
Those points became real for me when I booked a weekend getaway in Williams, Arizona, for my wife's birthday.
It wasn't a luxury resort.
It wasn't a five-star hotel.
It was simply a nice place for us to get away together.
The hotel cost me about 12,000 points for one night.
Think about that for a second.
If my gas spending alone earns roughly 40,000 points each year, that's enough for about three nights at that same hotel without paying cash for the room.
I didn't drive extra miles to earn those points.
I didn't buy more gas than I needed.
I simply used the right card for an expense I already had.
That's when rewards stopped feeling like numbers on a screen and started feeling like real experiences.
Start With Your Biggest Expenses
Most people ask,
"What's the best credit card?"
I think the better question is,
"Where does most of my money go every month?"
Once you answer that question, choosing the right card becomes much easier.
For many families, the biggest categories look something like this:
Gas.
Groceries.
Dining.
Travel.
Those are recurring expenses that happen month after month whether we think about them or not.
Imagine Combining Everything
Now imagine your gas rewards.
Add your grocery rewards.
Add your dining rewards.
Maybe add your travel expenses or other everyday purchases.
You're not earning rewards from one category anymore.
You're building them from your entire lifestyle.
That's when things start getting exciting.
One category alone helped me earn enough points for several hotel nights.
Imagine what happens when every major expense is working together.
It Doesn't Have to Be Complicated
A lot of people think maximizing rewards means carrying ten different credit cards.
I don't believe that's necessary.
For most people, simply identifying their biggest spending categories and assigning the right card to each one is a huge improvement.
You don't need the perfect setup on day one.
You just need a better strategy than using one card for everything.
My Reward Stack Take
One of the biggest myths about rewards is that you have to spend more money to earn more.
You don't.
The goal isn't to increase your spending.
The goal is to increase the value you get from the spending you're already doing.
My work truck is going to need gas whether I like it or not.
The difference is that today, every fill-up moves me a little closer to my next trip instead of simply emptying my wallet.
Now imagine doing the same thing with groceries, dining, travel, and the rest of your everyday expenses.
That's how ordinary spending can turn into something much bigger over time.
That's what building a Reward Stack is all about.