A lot of people claim that credit cards are bad, but I want to share with you what I make in cash back rewards from using credit cards.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. For the past five years, I’ve logged into my American Express account in March to pay my bill and I noticed I owe several hundred dollars less than I spent. That’s because it’s my anniversary date for when I opened an AMEX Blue Cash credit card. That means it’s time for them to pay me for all of the money I earned from using my credit card.

How much do I earn? This year I earned about $450 in cash back rewards, about a hundred dollars more than last year.

How Do I Make so Much Money with AMEX Blue Cash Back Rewards?

I literally use my American Express whenever and wherever possible to take advantage of the cash back rewards program. In Can You Break This Debit Card for a Dollar Please?, I mentioned that I try to avoid carrying cash on me as much as possible. As a result, I use my AMEX Blue Cash card for all of my purchases: gas, groceries, clothes, eating out, everything.

Once my credit card charges reach $6,500, I start earning up to 5% on everything I purchase. That’s not $6,500 in a single month, that’s the total of all months combined. This also does not mean you have to carry a $6,500 balance. In fact, I have paid off my credit card bills in full for the past 6+ years.

I also have automatic bill-pay set up for every bill I receive, so I earn cash back for paying my cable, phone, internet access and electric bill. And at the end of the month I pay off my credit card bill in full in order to take full advantage of my cash back rewards. That way this is truly free money since I do not pay any fees or credit card interest.

If you want to start taking advantage of AMEX Blue Cash Back Rewards, click the link to get your card now. But steer clear if you know you don’t have the discipline to pay off your card in full every month, or it will end up costing you more money in the end in interest payments.

Millionaire Money Habits: Millionaires harness the power of other people’s money. If you have the discipline to pay your credit card bills in full, take advantage of cash rewards programs to pay yourself for spending money.

The only way to truly take advantage of of cash back credit cards is to be absolutely sure that you pay off your balance in full every month. If you end up paying interest on your credit cards from carrying a balance, those finance charges will easily outweigh any benefits that you get from the card. Knowing how to use a credit card properly is the key to success.