How to get FREE (brand new) baby stuff
Free stuff is the best. Free stuff that is also brand new is even better. Free stuff that is new and expensive and can blow out the baby budget is even more betterer (yes I know that’s not a word, but you get the idea). Below I share the exact method I use to get this free stuff.
The first time I knew I was going to be a daddy, I tried to calculate the total initial cost of having a baby (see my spreadsheet of initial costs here). As a first time dad, I didnt know anything about babies and what they need to survive…I learnt a lot of new words and discovered many new gadgets. Once I added up the total cost of what I needed I realised it wasnt so cheap. So I started to look for ways to save, without compromising on my unborn child’s health, safety and comfort.
This is when I remembered that I can get lots of free baby stuff using my Qantas frequent flyer points. By that point I had accumulated almost 500,000 points - and spent around 200,000 previously - so I had around 300,000 remaining. With that, I had saved thousands of dollars by using around 150,000 on baby stuff including a $400 baby monitor, $380 bassinet, $100 thermometer (yes, it’s that expensive) and much more.
Now I know some of you are saying that it’s not worth using your points on these things but I had no plans on flying anywhere anytime soon and I would easily be able to get 150,000 back in no time….all thanks to the credit card points hack I have been using for more than 5 years…which has allowed me to enjoy almost $10,000 worth of free stuff (including $50 return flights to Melbourne with Qantas, $2000 worth of baby stuff and $300 return flights to Europe).
Let me explain how I have done this and saved on thousands of $$.
I have been signing up to credit cards that provide you with bonus “sign up” frequent flyer points when signing up. Some cards offer you as much as 150,000 points when signing up (this is how I can get my points back up in no time). Now there’s obviously a catch and conditions you must tick off, but if you do it right, you can get the points without losing out. The usual* (not all credit cards are the same) conditions of these cards is that (1) you must qualify for the card; (2) you must spend a certain amount to get the points; (3) and you must spend a certain amount, within a certain time period, to get the points.
The way I truly hack this Qantas credit card flyer point scheme is to sign up to these credit cards and only spend the money on things that I need. Another crucial way to make sure I do this right is to sign up to these cards at the right time.
Let’s get into the details. First thing is that I only sign up to credit cards that have these “sign up” bonus points incentives (see list of credit cards here). Secondly, I sign up to them just before I am about to make a “big” purchase (a couple of thousand bucks). This could be things like a new laptop, fridge, an aircon, a TV, couch, washing machine etc. These will usually set you back at least $1,000. Thirdly, I pay the cards off immediately, and in full (to avoid interest charges). And lastly, I cancel them before the 1-year anniversary (to avoid the yearly card fee).
Here’s the EXACT process I went through when signing up to my first Qantas points credit card.
My first ever Qantas frequent flyer credit card was the Qantas American Express (AMEX) Ultimate Card. When I signed up (which was back in 2019) these were the benefits that the card offered:
150,000 Qantas frequent flyer point (when you spend $3,000 within 3 months)
$450 Annual Qantas Travel Credit (within 1 year)
Free signup to Qantas Frequent flyer
2 Complimentary Qantas Club Lounge Invitations
2 Complimentary Amex Lounge passes in Australia
The yearly card fee was high, $450. But all the above benefits (plus the $450 Qantas travel credit) offset that fee. This was also because I was planning to fly down to Melbourne within the year so would be paying that $450 anyway…so, winning already.
In 2019, my laptop was around 7 years old and was running out of juice so I was in the market for a new laptop. Laptops range from as cheap as $1000 to as high as $10,000. My budget was around $2,000. So because I wasn’t in a huge hurry, before I went ahead to purchase the laptop, I signed up to this AMEX frequent flyer credit card.
The process was quite easy and took about 15 minutes (I had to fill in the usual stuff about my income, expenses and attach some paperwork). Two weeks after I was approved, I received the card in my mail. As soon as I received the card and activated it, I went to JB Hi-Fi to buy the laptop I was going to buy anyway. I have to repeat this because this is the most crucial part to getting this hack right…I was going to buy the laptop anyway, but instead of using cash or debit, I used this credit card so I can get all those free points (and additional benefits).
Now if you are maths savvy, and I know you are. You are probably saying, “but Dan, you need to spend 3K and you have only spent 2K, you probably spent the remaining 1K on things you didnt need just so you can get the points”. No, I didnt. And I’m disappointed you think so little of me ;)
This is where the getting the timing right is so important. I had spent $2,000 out of the required $3,000 in week 1 of having the card, meaning I need to spend another $1,000 dollars in the next two months and three weeks, plenty of time. And because I had so much time left, I didnt need to spend on things I didnt need. So instead, all I did was pay for every grocery shopping bill from that point on (which is approximately $200 per week) using only this credit card. So doing the maths, it took me the next five weeks to spend the remaining thousand dollars that I needed to get the points. And to re-iterate again, most importantly, I spent the $3K on things that I was gonna spend my money on anyway. This is such an most important point I am going to repeat it one more time, I spent the money on things I was going to spend money on anyway.
So, within three months of getting the card, the 150K Qantas points were deposited straight into my Qantas frequent flyer account. I had actually liked the American Express card so much I kept it for a bit longer and made use of getting more points, using it on the usual payments such as groceries and when eating out, always making sure that I pay off the credit card, in full and on time to not let any interest get charged. I am going to repeat this one again too…Pay the full balance before the end of the month to avoid any unnecessary costs (DO NOT pay the minimum requirement). If you don’t get this part right, it will eventually offset the points that you got and the whole process will be completely worthless.
After about six months with the card, I called AMEX and canceled the card so I don’t get charged next years’ yearly card fee. Canceling was so easy, no questions asked. All I had to do was ensure the card was fully paid off (which of course it was, as this is the #1 rule with any credit card) and made sure I dont have any recurring memberships using this card (which I dont recommend doing on a credit card anyway).
Now I had 150,000 points, technically paid no yearly fee (offset by the Qantas credit) and was able to use the AMEX lounge before traveling overseas. WIN-WIN-WIN. Since then I had signed up to similar cards and followed the exact same process to be able to accumulate 500,000 points, which, as I shared earlier, was able to use to get FREE baby stuff including baby bassinet (worth $350); Baby monitor (worth $400); massage pillow ($300) baby carrier ($150); baby swing ($150) thermometer ($100); playmat ($89) and more. Apart from the baby stuff I was also able to use the points for $50 return domestic flights, $300 return international flights, massage chair (worth $400); gym weights ($100) and more.
As I write this I still have 260,000 points in my Qantas account and have been using them here and there to make purchases (there are also often deals on Qantas marketplace where the cost of points is significantly reduced, sometimes 50% off). So, all-in-all, I reckon things have worked out pretty well. The best thing is anyone can do this (providing you are not in too much debt) and I will definitely keep doing this until there are no more cards to sign up to. So, get going and make the most out of this dad hack!
A couple of notes before you go ahead with this. I am not a financial adviser so please make sure you are in a position to do this. Before you sign up, you want to be sure to look at exactly what the terms and conditions are for each card.
Additional notes: Credit score - the thing that had always put me off from signing up to these cards and cancelling them, was that I thought they would affect my credit score. This is not the case. My credit score has been consistently high throughout doing this for all these years (add credit card graph).
The only way for your credit score to be impacted negatively is by either getting rejected when applying for the card, keeping too many cards open at one time or not paying off your cards on time and in full. So if you can keep these things under control, there is nothing to worry about. Additional notes: I usually go for cards that have a yearly fee of less than $200 and bonus points of more than 80,000 points.