Transaction Date vs. Post Date for Spending Categories

Summary

In this video, Beefy discusses the intricacies of credit card category bonuses, focusing on whether spending counts on the transaction or post date. He shares a personal experience with Bank of America's customized Rewards Card, explaining the importance of hitting the quarterly spending limit before it resets. Beefy also highlights the benefits of the Platinum Honors tier in the Bank of America preferred Rewards program, which can significantly boost cash back rewards. He concludes with a tip to allow a buffer for transactions to post, ensuring they count towards the correct quarter.

Takeaways

• 💳 The video discusses the importance of understanding how credit card category bonuses work and the difference between transaction and post dates for bonus eligibility.
• 🗓 A transaction made at the end of a quarter may not count towards that quarter if it posts in the next quarter, which can impact cash back bonuses.
• 💰 The difference in timing can result in a significant cash back discrepancy, potentially amounting to hundreds of dollars.
• 📱 The video is sponsored by Mumu, a commission-free trading app offering free stock shares for opening accounts and making deposits.
• 🏦 The presenter shares a personal experience with the Bank of America Customized Rewards Card and its category bonus system.
• 🔄 The card allows changing of spending categories with immediate effect and offers a 3% cash back in selected categories.
• 💎 Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program offers additional bonuses based on customer tiers, with the Platinum Honors tier offering the highest rewards.
• 💼 The Platinum Honors tier requires a substantial amount of investable assets and provides a significant boost to cash back rewards.
• 🛒 The presenter experimented with spending limits to test how the bank calculates bonuses and found out that the post date, not the transaction date, determines eligibility for category bonuses.
• 🧩 There is a rounding up policy in place for exceeding the bonus limit, as demonstrated by receiving two cents instead of 1.75 cents for a partial bonus.
• 📝 The video concludes with advice to allow a buffer period for transactions to post to ensure they count towards the desired quarter's bonuses.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video by Beefy?

The main topic of the video is category bonuses on credit cards and whether spending counts on the transaction date or the post date.

Why does the transaction date versus post date matter for credit card category bonuses?

It matters because it can determine which quarter a purchase counts towards for bonus eligibility, which could result in a significant difference in cash back bonuses earned.

What is the promotional offer mentioned by Beefy for the Mumu trading app?

The promotional offer is that users get five free shares of stock for opening an account and depositing a hundred dollars, or ten free shares of stock and a hundred dollar coupon for depositing a thousand dollars.

How much did Beefy deposit in his account to get the Mumu trading app reward?

Beefy deposited one thousand two hundred fifty dollars to get the Mumu trading app reward.

What is the category bonus feature of the Bank of America customized Rewards Card discussed in the video?

The category bonus feature allows cardholders to choose a spending category each quarter that earns a higher cash back rate, with the bonus effective the same day the category is chosen.

What is the additional bonus percentage that Beefy gets for being in the Platinum honors tier of the Bank of America preferred Rewards program?

Beefy gets an additional 75 percent bonus on top of the base cash back rate for being in the Platinum honors tier.

What is the minimum amount of investable assets required to reach the Platinum honors tier in the Bank of America preferred Rewards program?

The minimum amount of investable assets required to reach the Platinum honors tier is one million dollars.

How does Beefy use the category bonus feature to maximize cash back rewards?

Beefy uses the category bonus feature by strategically choosing the spending category and making purchases close to the end of the quarter to maximize cash back rewards.

What was the outcome of Beefy's experiment with the category bonus on his Bank of America customized Rewards Card?

The outcome was that the bonus counts on the post date, not the transaction date, and Beefy found out that exceeding the quarterly limit results in a partial bonus being rounded up.

What is the quarterly maximum for the category bonus on Beefy's Bank of America customized Rewards Card?

The quarterly maximum for the category bonus is two thousand five hundred dollars.

What advice does Beefy give for ensuring category bonus purchases count towards the correct quarter?

Beefy advises leaving around three days for a purchase to post to ensure it counts towards the correct quarter for category bonus purposes.

Outlines

00:00

💳 Understanding Credit Card Category Bonuses

In this paragraph, the speaker, Beefyboys, introduces the topic of credit card category bonuses and the importance of transaction posting dates. He discusses a hypothetical scenario where a category bonus is missed due to a transaction date versus posting date discrepancy. The video is sponsored by Mumu, a commission-free trading app offering stock bonuses for new accounts. Beefyboys shares his personal experience with the Bank of America customized Rewards Card, highlighting the ability to change spending categories for bonus rewards and the benefits of the Bank of America preferred Rewards program, especially the Platinum honors tier, which offers significant cash back bonuses. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the nuances of cash back rewards to maximize benefits, using the example of a laptop purchase that exceeded the cashback limit.

05:01

📅 Transaction Posting Dates and Category Bonuses

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of transaction posting dates and their impact on category bonuses. Beefyboys recounts an experiment he conducted with his Bank of America customized rewards card, where he attempted to maximize the quarterly category bonus but faced uncertainty due to the transaction posting on the following quarter's date. He explains his thought process and the steps he took to determine whether the spending counted for the current or next quarter, including making additional purchases to test the system. The paragraph concludes with the discovery that Bank of America rounds up partial bonuses and confirms that the card's category bonuses are based on the post date rather than the transaction date. Beefyboys advises viewers to allow a buffer period for transactions to post to ensure they count towards the desired quarter, thus maximizing the use of cash back bonuses.

Keywords

💡Category Bonuses

Category bonuses refer to the additional rewards or cash back that credit card holders can earn for spending in specific categories, such as groceries or gas. In the video, the host discusses the importance of understanding when these bonuses count towards the spending limit, which is crucial for maximizing rewards. For instance, the script mentions a category bonus on a credit card that offers 3% cash back plus an additional bonus through the Bank of America preferred Rewards program.

💡Transaction Date

The transaction date is the calendar date when a purchase is made using a credit card. The video script highlights a scenario where a purchase made on June 29th does not post until July 1st, which affects whether the spending counts towards the current or the next quarter's category bonus. This distinction is vital for credit card users who are trying to maximize their rewards within a specific time frame.

💡Post Date

The post date is the date when a transaction is officially recorded and appears on a credit card statement. In the context of the video, the host discovers that for Bank of America cards, category bonus eligibility is determined by the post date rather than the transaction date. This realization is crucial for strategic spending to ensure that purchases count towards the correct quarter's bonus.

💡Cash Back Bonuses

Cash back bonuses are rewards offered by credit card companies where a percentage of the money spent is returned to the cardholder. The video emphasizes the significance of these bonuses, explaining how they can amount to a substantial sum, such as 'a hundred dollars difference of cash back bonuses'. The host also shares personal experiences of maximizing cash back through strategic spending.

💡Mumu Trading App

Mumu is mentioned as a commission-free trading app in the video, which offers incentives like free shares of stock for opening an account and making deposits. The host uses this as an example of an additional reward system outside of credit card bonuses, illustrating the broader landscape of financial rewards that consumers can leverage.

💡Bank of America Customized Rewards Card

This is a specific type of credit card from Bank of America that allows cardholders to choose a spending category each quarter to earn bonus rewards. The video script discusses the card's feature to change the category effectively on the same day and the various categories available, such as online shopping, gas, dining, and more. The host uses this card as a case study to demonstrate the concept of category bonuses.

💡Platinum Honors Tier

Platinum Honors Tier is the highest level within the Bank of America preferred Rewards program, which provides additional benefits, including a 75% bonus on top of the regular cash back rate. The script explains that to qualify for this tier, one needs to have a significant amount of investable assets, and it is particularly beneficial for maximizing credit card rewards, as it applies to all credit cards under the program.

💡Investable Assets

Investable assets refer to funds that are available for investment, such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. In the video, the host clarifies a common misconception about the requirements for the Platinum Honors Tier, noting that it is not about having cash in a high-yield savings account but rather about the amount of money invested in taxable accounts or brokerages.

💡Quarterly Max

The quarterly max is the maximum amount of spending that can qualify for a category bonus within a given quarter. In the script, the host describes an experiment with the Bank of America Customized Rewards Card, where the quarterly max for a category bonus is $2,500. Understanding and adhering to this limit is essential for earning the full bonus.

💡Rounding Up

Rounding up is a method of calculation where numbers are rounded to the nearest whole figure. The video script describes a situation where the host receives a partial bonus for exceeding the quarterly max by one dollar, and instead of the expected 1.75% bonus, they receive a rounded-up 2% bonus. This example illustrates how credit card companies may handle calculations for bonus rewards.

💡Churning

Churning refers to the practice of frequently opening and closing credit card accounts to take advantage of sign-up bonuses and rewards. While not explicitly defined in the script, the host's discussion of maximizing cash back and experimenting with different cards implies a churning strategy to optimize financial rewards.

Highlights

Beefy discusses category bonuses on credit cards and their importance in maximizing cash back.

Spending counts on the post date, not the transaction date, for category bonuses.

A hundred-dollar difference in cash back bonuses can result from the timing of transactions.

Mumu, a commission-free trading app, offers free shares of stock for new account deposits.

Beefy's personal account experience with Mumu, including a $100 bonus from purchasing shares.

Bank of America's customized Rewards Card allows changing categories with same-day effect.

Platinum honors tier in Bank of America's preferred Rewards program offers a 75% bonus on top of cash back.

Investable assets, not cash savings, determine the eligibility for higher reward tiers.

The importance of understanding credit card bonus structures to avoid missing out on cash back.

Beefy's experiment with the Bank of America customized rewards to test the quarter limit.

The significance of the post date in determining which quarter a purchase counts towards.

Beefy's strategy to maximize cash back by spending close to the quarter's end.

The rounding up of cash back bonuses when exceeding quarterly limits.

A safe bet is to allow three days for transactions to post to ensure they count towards the right quarter.

The impact of shifted category bonuses on the ability to spend more on rewards.

Beefy's conclusion on the mental exercise required to maximize cash back rewards.

A call to action for viewers to like, subscribe, and engage with the content for more insights.

Transcripts

how's it going everybody this is Beefy

boys today I'm going to talk about

category bonuses on credit cards and

whether if you're spending counts on the

transaction date or the post date let's

say you didn't spend anything on a

category bonus and right at the end of

the quarter you're trying to get it in

and let's say you spend it on June 29th

but then it doesn't post until July 1st

would this count towards the previous

quarter or the next quarter this matters

a lot and ultimately this could mean a

difference between about a hundred

dollars difference of cash back bonuses

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down in the video description below I

did this test on my Bank of America

customized Rewards Card recently I've

been trying to spend more money but at

the same time I don't want to lose out

on all the cash back honestly I'm going

through all my credit cards and I might

be almost maxing out all the available

cash back here this card allows you to

change the category and it will be

effective the same day you can choose

between online shopping gas dining

drugstores Home Improvement and

Furnishings travel which covers a lot of

categories now it says three percent but

you can tack on additional bonus on top

of this this is largely through the Bank

of America preferred Rewards program and

if you're in the Platinum honors tier

you get 75 percent on top of that three

percent so this really means you get

5.25 this is something you can use

year-round as long as you keep on

choosing that particular category for

their Platinum Awards tiers they have

gold tier Platinum tier Platinum honors

tier and I think recently they added

this diamond here where you need to have

a million dollars of investable assets a

lot of people are mistaken that when it

says oh you need a hundred thousand

dollars sitting in cash it's not cash

that you're putting in here that you

would have earned high yield savings

account of you know like four percent or

something this is invested money so this

means that if you have in another

brokerage account it's that are after

tax so if you have you know a hundred

thousand dollars worth of let's say vo

stock market index funds you can

transfer it in and right there you can

get the Platinum honors tier out of all

these tiers the best thing is to look at

the credit card bonus here and you get

75 percent bonus on top of whatever

percentage that you get for those credit

cards and as long as you get in this

Platinum honors tier it works for all

your credit cards so if you have an

unlimited rewards that has 1.5 percent

well you get another 75 on top of that I

have that card right here it's the

unlimited cash rewards is this gray

color and 75 percent on top of 1.5

percent is

2.625 for non-category purchases like I

just filed this in as everything else

normally I would use the Citibank double

rewards that gets two percent this card

you can basically buy anything and get

2.63 including stuff for credit cards

that's not typically in a category I

like to get into the Nitty Gritty of

these cashback rewards because

understanding it allows you to take the

most Advantage out of it I remember I

had a credit card that gets five percent

on something and I decided to buy a

laptop on it and it turns out that

there's a limit to the cashback that you

can get so I bought a laptop I hit the

limit at like fifteen hundred dollars or

something and then the rest of it I did

not get a bonus so if you're not careful

and go way over you would miss out on

hundreds of dollars of cash back bonuses

so I actually accidentally did a trial

experiment on my Bank of America

customized rewards the category Glory

bonus is twenty five hundred dollars

every single quarter so then I Max it

out I purchased two thousand dollars at

first this is the limit that you can buy

so then I have to add on another 500 on

top of that so that's why you see on the

transaction day June 30th I had a two

thousand dollar purchase of Amazon gift

cards and then the same day I had a five

hundred dollar purchase now this is

quite good if you're about to buy like a

TV or something right a couple thousand

dollars five point two five percent on

two thousand dollars is a hundred and

five dollars cash back right there if

you get five point two five percent on

everything you buy and you keep on

consistently doing this it it adds up

very very quickly so the interesting

thing here is the post date is on July

1st which is one quarter after I try to

use all available cashback in Q2 for

that particular card that's why I rushed

to go okay I'm gonna spend 2500 on it

real quick but then unfortunately the

first purchase of two thousand dollars

did not post until the next quarter

interestingly the 500 did post and it

did count for Q2 so then I sit here and

I'm like I spent twenty five hundred

dollars did all this count towards Q2 or

Q3 do I have to call up customer service

and ask them spend like half an hour on

the phone after mulling over a little

bit I'm like okay let me just do a

little test let me just spend another

500 because if the two thousand dollars

were accounted for Q3 I have 500 left

right so I just need to buy 500 more of

Amazon gift cards and then add a little

bit on top of that so that's why you see

this 501 and if I get 5.25 for that one

extra dollar I would know that I did not

go over the limit for Q3 it says partial

bonus purchase exceed twenty five

hundred dollars quarterly Max for 500 I

get 2625 in cashback which is 5.25 for

501 I get

26.27 so I only get two cents for that

one extra dollar this represents two

percent now they don't give partial

sense in bonuses right so it looks like

they round up if I exceeded the

quarterly limits I should have gotten

1.75 for that one dollar which means

1.75 cents so they actually rounded up

and gave me two cents so this is kind of

like a Nuance type of thing it's

interesting to know that they round up

in these instances and that when you're

trying to spend on these category

bonuses for Bank of America cards it

counts on the post date not the

transaction date so if you're rushing to

fill up your category bonuses I think a

safe bet would be to leave around three

days for it to post sometimes I've seen

purchases at grocery stores it can take

as long as three days or so so two

thousand dollars of shifted category

bonus is quite significant if I were to

made this two thousand dollars in Q2

well this quarter I would have added

another two thousand dollars I would

have more to spend on Amazon I hope this

video helps you guys out it's an

interesting mental exercise I think

spending on category bonuses and all

this churning of cash back rewards it

does take some mental power I hope you

guys enjoyed this video and know a

little bit more about how to use your

cash back bonuses thanks for watching

this video don't forget to give me a

like And subscribe for more

thank you

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