Accrue points through hotel loyalty: Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Choice, Wyndham, and Best Western. Contact Customer Service for hotel chains you are planning to stay at and ask if they have any Status Challenges (i.e. stay 8 times in 90 days for Gold status).

Nearly all major chain fast food restaurants have loyalty programs. Sign up and enter phone number or scan barcode when paying.

Ibotta and Fetch are the two main apps for making money off collecting data from your receipts. Both work similarly to coupons. The apps incentivize purchase of certain items by giving points. The points can be cashed out to bank accounts or gift cards. My referral code for Ibotta: EYVIGPI Referral code for Fetch: GUMR3

Restaurant chains and other businesses pay secret shoppers to order food/services and report on the experience. Have lunch and fill out the secret shopper report to be reimbursed and paid. Some secret shopper apps include:

Eyes:On Marketforce (5 Guys, Canes)

Gigspot (Hawaiian Bros Island Grill)

iSecretShop (Barro’s, Angry Crab Shack)

Rakuten and Capital One Shopping are two of the better shopping portals for booking hotels. These are different than travel portals like Expedia. You will still earn points and receive status benefits during hotel stays.

Capital One Shopping (COS) sends out targeted emails based on what you click on. If you are planning to stay at a Hilton hotel, go through the COS portal and click through the Hilton page. Within a few days you should receive an email with increased offers (up to 33.5% back). COS pays out in points which can be exchanged for gift cards.

Rakuten does not work with Hilton, but they do support other hotel brands and online shopping. Rewards can be cashed out via check. Referral link: rakuten.com/r/lukewi188

Shopping portals generally do not pay on government rate stays. Try AAA or join Arizona Inspector LLC to gain access to Business rates.

Paying out of pocket and being reimbursed for expenses makes collecting credit card sign-up bonuses easy. Chase, Amex, Capital One, Barclays, Citi, and US Bank are the main credit card issuing banks. Contact me or Mabel for referral links and recommendations if interested.

Best credit card for inspectors: Amex Hilton Surpass. Increased multipliers on Hilton stays, dining, supermarkets, and gas. $50 statement credit each quarter on any Hilton hotel stay. $150 annual fee. Potential $50 annual money maker. Referral link: https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/hilton-honors?ref=LUKEMkJqM&xl=cp15

The current payroll system allows for very easy manipulations of the direct deposit system. Many banks and credit unions offer a sign-up bonus (SUB) of $300-500 with a certain amount of direct deposit. You can adjust the % or flat rate in the payroll system to meet the SUB, then remove the bank to meet the next SUB.