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Are you interested in travel credit cards, but worried about meeting minimum spending requirements? You’re not alone!
Most travel credit cards require a certain amount of spending in the first three to six months of card membership in order to receive the sign-up bonus. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred requires $4,000 in spending during the first three months.
Many people see that number and feel hesitant to start. They decide to wait until a large expense arises.
Waiting for a large expense can be a good strategy, but there are so many ways to meet minimum spending requirements. You don’t want to miss out on bonuses you could earn from your everyday spending.
Step #1 – Everything (EVERYTHING) goes on the credit card.
As a long term debit card user, I had a hard time putting everything on the credit card at first. It felt irresponsible. I worried we might start spending more than normal, since our bank account balance wouldn’t gradually get lower each month.
It made me uncomfortable to build up a balance on our credit card each month.
But then I did it a few times. I saw that we could trust ourselves to spend normally and pay it off in full each month.
This approach is not for everyone – some people just can’t get comfortable with it and that’s ok.
If you’re feeling hesitant, you can always try it for a month. If it doesn’t work out for you, you can go back to the debit card.
Put groceries and household expenses on the card
Do you keep a budget? Multiply your typical grocery budget by three months and see how close that gets you to the spending requirement.
According to USA Today, the average American family spends $270/week at the grocery store. This obviously varies depending on your family size and which part of the country you live in. No matter where you live though, groceries can take care of a big chunk of a spending requirement.
Put your Amazon expenses on the card
Do you shop on Amazon? 80% of Americans do. Change your default payment on Amazon immediately when you receive your points credit card.
Put gas on the card
I’m lucky to live five minutes from the school where I teach, so I don’t spend much on gas. In the past, I’ve had as long as a thirty minute commute and spent much more.
Household gas spending can vary greatly, but no matter what you spend on gas it’s a great place to work toward your minimum spend.
Put PayPal expenses on the card
Do you use PayPal to pay for internet purchases? Change your default payment to your new credit card.
Put insurance on the card
Many insurance companies allow you to pay ahead for insurance, or to pay in one six month lump sum payment. You may even get a discount when you pay this way! This can be an easy way to meet your minimum spending requirement.
Put streaming services on the card
It takes some time to log into Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services to change your payment method. Just add up your streaming expenses and see if it makes sense to spend the time changing the payment methods.
Step #2 – Add an authorized user
If you have a spouse, partner, child, or someone else you trust to spend your money – this is a great way to meet the minimum spending requirement.
We made both of our teenagers authorized users on our credit cards, with the understanding that they will ask before purchasing something with it. This works out great for meals on school field trips, gym fees, and other expenses we would pay anyway.
Adding your spouse as an authorized user does not prevent you from referring them for their own card.
Step #3 Watch out for these potential problem areas
Cash advances and balance transfers
Cash advances are expensive and do not count toward the minimum spending requirement. Balance transfers do not count toward the minimum spending requirement.
Annual fees
Most credit cards that earn points charge an annual fee. This fee does not count toward the minimum spending requirement.
Time frame
Your minimum spending time frame begins the day you get approved for the card, not the day you receive it. If you keep a calendar, it’s a great idea to mark your calendar the day you are approved and to add a reminder for the day you must be finished with the minimum spending requirement.
Bill payment and organization
Make sure you have a system to keep track of when you opened and closed cards, when minimum spends are due, and when your bills are due.
- I keep a spreadsheet of our credit card account open and close dates.
- We pay all credit card balances in full once a month.
- I add calendar reminders for minimum spending deadlines.
Final thoughts
I’ve heard people say this is just too much effort and it’s not worth it. That probably depends on how much you value travel and how much money you have.
If we had endless supplies of money, I wouldn’t have calendar alerts for minimum spending requirements or spreadsheets of credit cards!
It definitely takes additional work.
For me though, this extra work has given my family the chance to have so many incredible experiences together that we never would have had. It’s been worth every single second.
Get started with points and miles here.
Learn about a card with a low minimum spending requirement here.