Stop wasting money on PPC advertising
If you’re a high-end arbitrageur or any other kind of PPC mastermind, you’re probably making over $1,000 a month in pay-per-click advertising and floating charges on one or more credit cards. Which means that if you’re not using some type of rewards card, you’re simply allowing credit card companies to pocket thousands of dollars each year that should be going into your pocket.

The real problem is that trying to sift through the myriad of rewards cards out there to find the best one for PPC can be a nightmare, mainly due to the two secrets credit card companies do their best to keep hidden.

The Dirty Little Secrets of Rewards Cards

Search hard enough and you’ll find almost as many different rewards programs and combinations as there are rewards cards, from cash back credit cards that pay up to 5%, to the GM credit card and Subaru credit card that let you earn money for the purchase of a new car. Read the fine print carefully enough, though, and you’ll discover the secrets they don’t want you to know.

Dirty Little Secret #1

The vast majority of rewards cards only give you the equivalent of 1% cash back. It can be in the form of Starbucks coffee, Amazon.com merchandise, or any number of other retail rewards, but it’s basically just a 1% rebate, or even less. Not only would cash be better (because you can spend it in more places), but you’ll definitely use it, unlike some of the merchandise rewards you might rack up.

Dirty Little Secret #2

Virtually all rewards cards that offer more than 1% back have a small cap on rewards that makes them worthless to someone making $1,000 or more each month. Look at the fine print on any of them and you’ll see what we mean. The GM Card, for example, limits the amount you can apply for a new vehicle to just $1,000 in most cases. It’s not like you can earn enough to get a new car for free, although that’s definitely the impression they want you to have.

The few rewards cards that stand out

Despite the plethora of cards offering paltry rewards, there are a handful of rewards cards that stand above the rest for people who spend a lot on PPC. We highly recommend any of these, based on the types of rewards you prefer, and we think you’ll find them superior to the cards you’re using now when you compare the terms side by side.

Get the biggest cash back

The most obvious reward is pure cash back, and for that we recommend Blue Cash from American Express. Most cash back cards offer a flat 1% up to a low maximum, but this card gives you cash back on a tiered level.

For the first $6,500 you spend with the card each year, you earn 0.5% cash back, less than most other rebate cards, but after that, you start earning 1.5% cash back. Obviously, that’s a much better setup for people like you who spend significant amounts on online advertising every year.

Here are some examples of how that would play out:

Monthly Expenses Annual Earnings – Other Cards 1% Annual Earnings – Blue Cash

$1,000 $120 $115

$10,000 $1,200 $1,735

$100,000 $12,000 $17,935

Earn airline miles

Credit cards that offer airline miles have become very popular over the years, but because Capital One has communicated so effectively with its merchants, the limitations and restrictions can be significant. When taking a trip, most people want to be able to take the most affordable flight that fits their schedule, but with the blackout dates and single airline restrictions that come with most airline rewards cards, that is not possible.

The Capital One No Hassle Miles Visa Signature Card eliminates that problem, with points that can be applied to any airline on any date. And not only are the restrictions no longer an issue, but the No Hassle Miles card pays double what most other airline miles cards pay: 2 points for every dollar spent, or about 2% back . (The only downside is a $39 annual fee, but the rewards on the first $2,000 you spend will cover that.)

Here are some examples of how much you could earn with the No Hassle Miles card:

Monthly Expenses Annual Earnings – Other Cards Annual Earnings – Capital One

$1,000 12,000 miles ($120) 24,000 miles ($240 – $39 = $201)

$10,000 120,000 Mi ($1,200) 240,000 Mi ($2,400 – $39 = $2,361)

$100,000 1,200,000 million ($12,000) 2,400,000 million ($24,000 – $39 = $23,961)

Get the best travel rewards

Airline cards offer great rewards for those who travel a lot, but for those who only take occasional trips, a hotel rewards card may be a better option.

For this we recommend the Hilton HHonors Platinum card. Provides 3 points for every dollar spent, equivalent to approximately 3% cash back on all purchases you make. On top of that, they also offer 10,000 bonus points after your first purchase and an additional 15,000 bonus points if you spend $5,000 in the first five months, which shouldn’t be a problem for you.

Monthly Expenses First Year Earnings Annual Earnings

$1,000 61,000 points (about $610) 36,000 points (about $360)

$10,000 385,000 points (about $3,850) 360,000 points (about $3,600)

$100,000 3,625,000 points (about $36,250) 3,600,000 points (about $36,000)

Strategies to circumvent credit limits

If none of these cards appeal to you, or if you just prefer to stick with the one you’re currently using, there are strategies that can help you get a higher cap on your rewards:

1. Call your credit card company and ask them to increase your limit. If you’re spending thousands of dollars a month and have been keeping up with your payments, you’ll probably be successful here.

2. Spread your charges across multiple credit cards to maximize the benefits of each.

3. Pay your credit card in the middle of the month, either by mail, by phone or online.

Are you losing money on PPC?

So now that you know what the credit card companies don’t want you to know, are you maximizing your rewards or throwing money away that you could be putting in your own pocket? Take some time to look at the terms of the cards you’re using to see how they compare to these, and feel free to let us know if you have any questions!