Your Card Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Card Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
So you signed up for a new credit card with a sweet sign-up bonus that you’ll receive as soon as you hit your minimum spend in a certain time period. Some common minimum spend requirements include something like “spend at least $1,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account” or maybe more like “spend at least $5,000 in the first 3 months” for some of the bigger sign-up bonuses or business credit cards. Please note that Balance Transfers do NOT count toward the minimum spend as it needs to be new purchases.
But now you’re approaching the end of the time period and you haven’t spent enough. What do you do? You really don’t want to spend money just to spend money, especially on things you don’t need. Missing out on the sign-up bonus would be a huge fail, so here are a couple options to help you reach your minimum spend:
This can be a touchy subject for some. There are some people who view “charging everything” as dangerous since you might spend more than if you were paying in cash. My motto is “If I’m going to pay for something no matter what, than I want to put it on a credit card.” Even the trips to Starbucks will add up over time. Use cash for an emergency or the street taco vendor who refuses to join the tech world.
As soon as you open a new card, be sure to think of all your normal spending you can put on there such as utility bills (water, electric, gas, cable, internet, cell phones), car insurance, tithing or donations, restaurants, groceries, pet food, etc.). Some companies will charge you an extra fee to use your credit card and that is where you get to make the tough decision if the extra fee is worth the sign-up bonus. Good luck. 🙂
If you have a bill that is due just after your credit card statement closes, pre-pay the bill ahead of time. Most companies will let you pay over the amount due as well, so you could pay $150 on a water bill that normally costs $50 per month and have the next two months paid for.
Maybe you could put some extra against your mortgage or your car payment. Just think, you can save on interest and also hit your minimum spend at the same time.
Buy gifts cards at places you normally shop or where you plan to spend money in the next few weeks. Places like grocery stores, Costco, Sam’s Club, or Amazon are great ideas as most people are spending money there every month.
Maybe you normally wait until the end of the year to support your favorite charity, but now you can simply do that earlier. That’s what I call a win/win.
What uncommon spending items are ahead for you? Maybe a birthday party or a wedding is in your future and you could buy the gift now. Not only will it help you hit your minimum spend in time, but you might find a better price because you have some time to shop around. How about some travel in your future that you could book now? Reminder: Don’t forget to use Ebates.com to get your cash back if you’re shopping online.
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Your Card Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Card Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.