US Government Begins to Scold (and Praise!) Presidential Coin Churners
Buying coins with credit cards and depositng those coins to pay of the credit card is a technique which many have used to earn hundreds of thousands of miles.
The US government pays the credit card merchant fees on the charge, and covers the cost of shipping, and the consumer gets the rewards.
It appears that some heavy coin churners are receiving a letter as follows:
Dear Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Customer:
The Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Program was developed to make $1 coins readily available to the American public at no additional cost. Indeed, the United States Mint is the only place to obtain Native American $1 Coins at this time. The intent of the program is to encourage use of the $1 coins in oridnary day-to-day cash transactions. Increased usage of $1 coins in commerce saves the nation money due to the coin’s 100% recyclability and durability - it lasts for decades.
However, it has come to our attention that some customers are not using the program as intended. For example, a small number of customers are repeatedly ordering large quantities of $1 coins to accure points on credit card plans, then turning the coins in to their banks. This type of activity is not in the spirit of the Circulaing $1 Coin Direct Ship Program and is costing the government money in processing, handling, and postage for these orders.
Please note that the United States Mint is monitoring Direct Ship transactions. If an abusive ordering pattern exists, we will no longer fulfill future orders.
We are pleased that the Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Program has been a great success, with over 100 million $1 coins issued to date. We hope that all future purchases will honor the intent of the program to encourage robust circulation of $1 coins.
If you have questions about the program, please contact the UNited States Mint’s Office of $1 Coin Programs at (202) 354-7603.
Sincerely,
The United States Mint
So they’re saying they may stop shipping to people playing this game. Of course they may not. And in the same breath that they are complaining about large volume purchasers, they tout the large volume of coins shipped as a success! (”We are pleased that the Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Program has been a great success, with over 100 million $1 coins issued to date”)
We’ll see how long the merry-go-round ride lasts.