Credit Card sign-up bonuses are the best way to earn maximum points with minimum spending. However, these sign-up bonuses always come with a minimum spend requirement before you receive them. Varying from as little as spending $500 in three months to $8k in 6 months, the requirements sometimes may not be as easy to meet if you don’t have a careful spending strategy. Here are the best ways to make sure that you always meet the sign-up bonus spending requirement without breaking a sweat.
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Research Reward Credit Cards in Advance
Before you sign up for a reward credit card, research credit card sign-up bonus offers well in advance and over the course of the year to familiarize yourself with sign-up bonus amounts and requirements which can vary drastically.
It’s a good idea to have a few target cards in mind that you can quickly check on to see if the offer appeals to you. You might want a particular card, but the current sign-up bonus is less than usual or the spending requirement doesn’t work for your budget at the moment. Since offers change every month or so, keep checking!
For example, if you wanted the Southwest Priority Card right now they are offering 50k miles after spending $1k in three months. Several times a year they will boost the sign-up bonus to 75k miles after spending $3k in three months. Although the spending requirement is much higher, so is the sign-up bonus amount.
I always recommend holding off for the highest sign-up bonus since the 25k mile difference would require you to spend $8,300-$25,000 to earn that many points, whereas if you are able to do so, spending another $2,000 in the first three months is the most affordable way to attain that amount of miles. Some people are not able to spend $3,000 in three months, so in that case taking advantage of the 50k miles for only $1k in spending is the best offer for your situation.
Being aware and monitoring current offers, as well as your financial situation, will always allow you to be prepared for the next step in meeting spending requirements.
Timing
Timing is the most important part when applying for reward credit cards; especially if you are travel hacking, aka credit card churning. The best time to apply for a new reward credit card is when an enticing sign-up bonus aligns with a planned large purchase. Knowing when credit cards have the most lucrative sign-up bonuses by monitoring offers through the year, as mentioned earlier, will allow you to get a rough idea of when to plan large purchases. That’s also why I usually have my eye on a few reward cards at once, so that the likelihood of at least one having a better than average offer when I need it is greater.
Large purchases can easily knock out all of a credit card’s spending bonus requirement or a good chunk of it. Purchases like annual car or home insurance bills are great ways to meet spending requirements, even if they might charge a little more than paying with a checking account. The rewards outweighs the cost difference by far, in most cases. For example, I pay $46 more by paying my auto insurance with a credit card, but in turn, I am able to contribute $2,000 towards a $3,000 sign-up bonus requirement that will get me two international, roundtrip plane tickets worth of points.
Other great ways to meeting spending requirements easily are new appliance purchases, furniture, special occasion clothing like a tuxedo or formal dress, a vacation, car repairs, car registration, electronics, college textbooks, and beauty treatments (especially if they are sold as a package).
Believe it or not, most car dealerships will allow you to pay between $3,000 and $5,000 on a credit card towards a car. There once was a time where you could put an entire car on a credit card and pay it off right away for an INSANE amount of points, but after a handful of people doing so, the car dealerships got sick and tired of paying 1-4% in credit card processing fees and put an end to it. There are rumors that some dealerships may still allow you to put an entire car purchase on a credit card even now, but it is extremely rare.
Timing these large purchases within a month or two of opening a reward credit card is the easiest and best way to rack up points quickly so that you won’t have to worry meeting spending requirements. If you are new to the game of travel hacking, you should never put a large purchase of $3k or more on an existing credit card. Though you will earn some points, you shouldn’t pass up the easy opportunity to earn a TON of points by opening a new reward card with a sign-up bonus.
Increased Spending
Another way to guarantee you’ll meet the spending requirement for a sign-up bonus, is to open a new reward credit card right before times of the year where spending increases. Opening a new reward card in the middle of October right before holiday spending starts is a great strategy to hit those spending requirements. The average American spends $997 in December alone on holiday shopping!
That doesn’t even cover Halloween spending, Black Friday shopping, holiday food and restaurant spending, holiday décor, holiday activities and events, etc. The last three months of the year are notoriously expensive, so why not take advantage of all the increased spending? Make all that spending hurt less by thinking of the amazing free trip you’ll take with all the points you’ll earn.
The other time of year with increased spending is summer. People are going out and about with friends and family enjoying the good weather, attending events and eating out more. Children are out of school, so it becomes more expensive to keep them entertained and fed. People are going on little weekend road trips and dining out and spending the night in a hotel. All these little costs add up more quickly than you’d think!
Double Down for Massive Sign-Up Bonuses
This requires saving and planning, but if you time a large purchase around the holidays where spending is already increased, you may be in position to easily meet the spending requirements of one of the more enticing business reward credit cards. Business credit cards are not just for small businesses anymore. Anyone who is a freelancer can easily qualify for one, which opens up so many more possibilities for earning points and miles.
However, because they are business credit cards, the spending requirements are usually higher, between $6k- $8k, whereas most personal credit cards rarely require more than $5k in spending for their sign-up bonuses. On the flip side, business credit cards often have the best sign up bonuses with many starting at 90k points and going up to 150k points.
If you know you will be making several large purchases, it may be a great time to try a business credit card, like the Delta Gold Business Card. There are other reasons why you may want a business credit card like meeting elite status with airlines (by opening up both a personal and business credit card with sign-up bonuses in the same year) or not being eligible for the sign-up bonus on a personal credit card since many cards only let you get the sign-up bonus once-per-lifetime or once every two to four years.
Last Ditch Attempts
If you are so close to reaching the spending requirement for a new reward card, but are struggling to spend enough, there are ways you can do so without frivolous, irresponsible spending.
Store Gift Cards
Buying store gift cards is one of the easiest ways to meet the spending requirement for sign-up bonuses when you are short a few hundred and the deadline is approaching. It’s not wasteful since you are just paying upfront for a gift card that will be used at a later date at a store you already shop at frequently. It can even be a great deal if the store has a promotion where you can get $25 off of purchasing $200 in gift cards, for example.
Non-Perishables
The other way that I love to meet sign-up bonus requirements in a pinch is to stock up on non-perishables. It’s the perfect time to load up on paper products, freezer goods, cleaning supplies, detergent, bottles of wine or liquor, dry goods, etc. If I know I’m going to open a new credit card in the near future, I purposely let all my non-perishables get low and delay replenishing them so that I can do a big re-stock with a new credit card to help me reach the spending requirement.
Dining With Friends
This might not work for everyone, but if you have a group of friends or family which you frequently dine out with and split the bill, you can always explain the situation and ask them if you can put the entire bill amount on your card and have them Venmo you their share. This usually works out best if you are willing to do the same for them in the future, especially if your friends are also into credit card points.
Careful planning and research can help you maximize your points with reward credit card sign-up bonuses. It takes strategy and timing, but if you are dedicated enough, you’ll soon being swimming in points and all your hard work will pay off in free flights, free hotel stays, cash back, and other amazing perks.
