> Some people (very cleverly) did the math, and ordered ridiculous numbers of dollar coins on their airline-affiliated credit cards. When the dollar coins would arrive, the buyers would take them back to their bank, depositing the money in their account.
Effectively, this works around the usual restrictions on using credit cards for cash advances. Even if you just had a standard cash-back credit card (1-2% on purchases), you could make a huge reward without actually spending any money, and on top of that you'd be able to get a month's worth of cash advance up to your credit limit; you could make a significant amount on the float that way.
However, most credit cards have fine print that explicitly excludes the direct purchase of negotiable financial instruments, so they'd have every right to cancel the rewards and charge a cash-advance fee if they found out.
Effectively, this works around the usual restrictions on using credit cards for cash advances. Even if you just had a standard cash-back credit card (1-2% on purchases), you could make a huge reward without actually spending any money, and on top of that you'd be able to get a month's worth of cash advance up to your credit limit; you could make a significant amount on the float that way.
However, most credit cards have fine print that explicitly excludes the direct purchase of negotiable financial instruments, so they'd have every right to cancel the rewards and charge a cash-advance fee if they found out.