How I Made Over $4,500 In Side Money In 2014 – And How I’ll Do Better This Year

At the start of 2014, I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of all the side money I made in the year. Whether it was from checking bonuses, credit card bonuses or a host of small deals I added it all up on the page “How I’ve Made Money In 2014“.

I thought it would be a good idea to look back on where I made the most money and what I can do better in the future. You can see how I’ve made money in 2015 by going here, I plan to keep this updated daily this year (touch wood).

The Breakdowns

• Total in Cash: $4,328.4
• Total in Giftcards:
  • $120 in various
  • $50 hotel credit
  • $500 amazon credit
• Total in miles/points:
  • 1,000 Delta SkyMiles
  • 5,250 United miles
  • 3,500 Airberlin TopBonus Miles
  • 8,550 AAdvantage Miles
  • 1,000 business extra miles
  • 12,000 Melia Rewards (redeemed for $100 hotel)
  • 1,500 IHG points
  • 600 La Quinta Points
  • 1,200 Lufthansa Miles
  • 500 Southwest miles
  • 1,000 Virgin Elevate miles
  • 8,000 spirit miles
  • 1,000 Aeroplan miles
  • 50,000 US Airways Miles
  • 500 SPG points
  • 1,000 FlexPoints
• Total time spent: 20 hours and 44 minutes 30 seconds

How I Made Most Of The Money

The majority of what I earned came from two sources:

• Bank bonuses: $1,465. Bank bonuses were made easier this year. I compiled lists of what banks count as a direct deposit, which banks you can fund with a credit card and whether it’s a soft or hard pull to open the account. This took a lot of time on my behalf, but I think the results were worth it for everybody.
  • $400, Chase checking bonus, I should have waited and I could have gotten a $500 bonus but I am not complaining too much. These bonuses are churnable (once per calendar year) so I’ll definitely be doing another one early this year. You can always view the most up to date bonuses here.
  • $250 First Niagara checking bonus. First big deal I broke and a fantastic bonus, paid out quickly. They’ve since nerfed this bonus because so many people signed up.
  • $240, $20 per month with Santander Extra $20 bundle. It took awhile to set this up in the first month, but it was well worth it.
  • $200, BMO Harris bonus. It’s amazing how quickly these bonuses stack up.
  • $150 US Bank checking bonus. I didn’t win the Tesla, but such is life.
  • $125, Popular Community Bank. Not everybody lived in the target area for this one, but there are so many state specific bonuses that if you didn’t then chances are you lived in the area for something else.
  • $100 Wells Fargo checking bonus. Another one where I would have been better off waiting to get a $200 bonus. I’m not complaining, although Wells Fargo were a bit of a nausiance to deal with for some people.
• Credit card bonuses: $1,586 + 140,000 points + 50,000 mile
  • $1,050 Chase Sapphire Preferred + Chase Ink Bold applications
  • $480 Wells Fargo Propel Card
  • 140,000 Ritz Carlton / Marriott points + $145 (from two years of travel reimbursement, selling gift cards at 90% of face value)
  • 50,000 US Airways miles (annual fee of $89)

I also did OK out of test driving cars and reselling gift cards. I just wish I had Chuck’s awesome guide to reselling gift cards when I first started.

How I Could Do Better

I didn’t keep track of all my credit card applications, for most of 2014 I had affiliate links and I didn’t want it to seem like I was pushing my affiliate links down peoples throat. I’ve removed all credit card affiliate links from the site, so now I feel more comfortable sharing this information.

I also plan to be smarter with my applications, where possible I’ll apply for multiple cards from the same issuer when they combine hard pulls and I’ll be spreading my inquiries over multiple credit bureaus. I’m also armed with the knowledge of which credit cards I can and can’t churn (e.g get the sign up bonus more than once). I’ll be sharing my credit card application strategy and also letting you know when I apply for a card, why and if I was approved or denied this year.

I slowed down dramatically on bank bonuses towards the end of 2014 and that was mostly because I was too busy with work (and working overseas) to get on these. I’m planning on doing at least 12 of these bonuses in 2015, maybe more depending on what becomes available.

I could have also inflated my stats by including multiples of the same deal, for example all of the American Express sync deals I could have done multiple times because I have lots of American Express cards. Do you think I should include these once or should I include multiples for every card I’m able to do it with? I’d like to hear your opinions.

Final Thoughts

2014 was a pretty good year, I think in 2015 I’ll pass the $10,000 barrier (if you value points at 1¢). Last year I earned a hourly rate of above $200 and that’s before even given points any value, that number jumps closer to $300 when those and gift cards are taken into consideration.

It’ll be interesting to see if I can dramatically increase how much I make in side money, whilst keeping the hourly rate high.  Where else do you think I could improve on in 2015? Where was I lacking in 2014? As always, if you know of any deals you think should be covered, let me know in the comments below or contact me directly (via e-mail or on twitter)