- Earning credit card intro bonuses is the fastest way to earn rewards for travel.
- Typically, cards have a minimum spending requirement you need to meet in order to get the bonus.
- If you don't think you can meet the spending requirement, there are tricks to help you get there.
Opening a credit card and earning the intro bonus is one of the easiest and quickest ways to amass a ton of rewards points, cash back, airline miles, or hotel points. To earn these valuable bonuses, you'll usually need to meet a spending requirement, meaning you must spend a specific amount within a certain initial timeframe.
One of the best times to open a new rewards credit card is when you know you're going to have significantly more expenses than usual, such as before the holiday or back-to-school season.
We'll show you the do's and don'ts of credit card bonus earning, along with credit card bonus tricks for beginners, to help you make the most of a new credit card intro bonus.
Understanding credit card bonuses
What is a credit card bonus?
A credit card bonus, sometimes referred to as a welcome or intro bonus, is a one-time incentive to open and use a new credit card. It's often awarded as a lump sum of points, miles, or cash back, and usually requires you to spend a certain amount of money on the card within the first few months of opening the account.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That's worth around 108000 in travel, based on Business Insider's points and miles valuations.
Types of credit card bonuses
Credit card bonuses can be structured in several ways. The most common, as mentioned above, is earning a set amount of rewards after meeting a spending threshold within a specific timeframe (sometimes referred to as a minimum spending requirement).
Occasionally, you'll find cards that take a different approach toward qualifying for an intro bonus:
- You might receive the bonus immediately after your account is opened. For instance, if you're an Amazon Prime member and open the Prime Visa, you'll get a $100 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval exclusively for Prime members
- A bonus could take the form of additional rewards for spending over a period of time. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a good example — as a new cardholder, you can earn additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
- Other qualifying account activity could trigger the bonus. For example, with the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®, you can earn 50,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase within the first 90 days.
- A card might offer travel perks or discounts instead of, or in addition to points or miles. Some hotel credit cards have offered intro bonuses of free night certificates instead of points, and we've seen limited-time offers on Southwest credit cards that include a promotional Southwest Companion Pass or statement credits in addition to points.
Once you open a credit card, you only have one shot to get the welcome bonus. If you don't meet the requirement, you'll miss out on the bonus — and in some cases, you won't ever be eligible to earn the bonus again (even if you close and reopen the card). You should avoid going after a bonus if you're not certain you can achieve the spending requirement.
That said, there are a handful of practical strategies you can use to meet higher spending requirements. Let's look at how to meet spending thresholds quickly.
How to meet the spending requirements
Using your card for everyday purchases and bills
This might seem like an obvious one, but all the same: It's often possible to use a credit card for purchases that you usually pay for with cash, check, or bank transfer. Concentrating all of your daily, weekly, and monthly spending on your new credit card — even small purchases like a cup of coffee — can help you hit the minimum spend by adding up, or push you over the edge if you're getting close.
Funnel all your spending through your new card — even if it means ignoring bonus categories from other cards. The most important card to spend on is the one with which you're trying to earn a welcome bonus.
Many utility companies let you pay just about any amount, even if you're paying more than your current bill. While you may not be able to get any overpayments refunded, those funds contribute to your next statement.
If you can comfortably float the money, you can pay for a few months' worth of utilities early to meet your spending requirement if you're getting close to the deadline.
Pre-paying recurring expenses
A few services that let you pay your rent or mortgage by credit card. The way they work is by charging your card, and then printing and mailing a check to the recipient (your landlord, management company, or the bank that holds your mortgage). Plastiq is the most popular option.
While these services charge fees are usually between 2% and 3%, paying that can be worthwhile if it helps you meet the minimum spending requirement. For example, if your rent is $2,000 a month, and you use your card for one month, the fee of 2% would only be $40. That's a small price to pay for a 50,000-point intro bonus if it makes the difference between meeting the spending requirement or missing out.
Making large purchases or planned expenditures
When you're out to dinner with a group, instead of splitting the bill, see if your friends would mind letting you put the whole check on your new card, and paying you for their share.
You can take advantage of times that you're planning to spend more than normal to open a credit card and put your big purchases toward the minimum spending requirement. For instance, consider opening a new card before you book a vacation, do your holiday shopping, or make a down payment for a new car.
Paying taxes
If you're a small business owner — even someone with a modest side gig like DoorDash delivery or dog sitting — you can bang out a significant chunk of minimum spending by using your new credit card to pay your quarterly taxes. Just note that, similar to paying rent with a card, you'll encounter some service fees (usually at least 1.82%). Because of this, it's not a good option to use unless you don't think you can meet your spending any other way.
Smart spending strategies
Among the best practices for earning credit card bonuses is to never spend more than you can afford in the pursuit of earning points and miles. But if you come up just a bit short of hitting the minimum spending requirement for an intro bonus, these tips can help you get the rest of the way there.
Tracking your progress toward the bonus
A few credit card issuers, including Chase, provide a welcome bonus tracker for certain cards in your online account. These usually show how much you've spent toward the bonus, how much you have left to spend, and a deadline for meeting the spending requirement.
In the absence of an online tracker, you'll have to keep a close eye on your spending and timing. You might consider starting a spreadsheet, setting calendar reminders, or using a budgeting app to keep tabs on your progress.
Maximizing your rewards potential
Using big expenses to unlock a credit card welcome bonus is just part of a strategy to maximize your rewards. You can also turbocharge your earnings by choosing a card that aligns with your upcoming spending plans.
Using bonus categories and promotions
Some credit cards offer extra rewards in certain spending categories, such as travel, dining, groceries, and gas stations. Opening a card with bonus categories that match your spending habits is a smart move in general, but if you have purchases coming up that line up with bonus categories, you could stand to earn even more rewards.
Let's say you're planning a pricey vacation and want to open a travel credit card to use for your trip expenses. A card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® could make a lot of sense because it offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. And it also earns:
- 10x total points on hotels (excluding The Edit℠) and car rentals booked through Chase Travel℠
- 5x total points on flights booked through Chase Travel℠
- 3x points on other travel (including car rentals, cruises, travel agencies, trains, and more)
These earning rates apply after you've earned the card's annual travel credit of up to $300. You'll also earn 3x points on dining, which can be a significant cost when you're away on a trip. And, even better, the Sapphire Reserve is one of the top credit cards with travel insurance.
You might also consider other promotions, such as an introductory 0% APR, that can help you save on credit card interest if you have large purchases to make that you can't pay off all at once. Say, for instance, you need to pay off your holiday shopping expenses over several months. Opening and using a card like the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express would allow you to:
- Earn a welcome bonus of a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first six months of card membership
- Boost your rewards by earning 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, at U.S. gas stations, and on U.S. online retail purchases (on up to $6,000 in spending per year, then 1%). Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
- Take advantage of the card's 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months from account opening , followed by 18.24% - 29.24% Variable APR
Avoiding common pitfalls in bonus earning
It would be awfully disappointing to research and open a credit card and then fail to earn the welcome bonus. Before you apply, make sure you can comfortably meet the minimum spending requirement in the time allotted — if you miss the mark, even by a day or two, you'll lose out on the bonus.
You'll also want to pay close attention to other rules that could prevent you from earning a bonus:
- The clock doesn't start when you receive the card. If you have three months to meet the spending requirement, you'll have to count from the day you're approved — not the day the card is delivered. Sometimes it can take a couple of weeks for a new card to arrive, so factor this into your timing.
- Know your application restrictions. Some issuers prevent you from earning a bonus more than once on the same card or impose a timeframe before you can qualify for a bonus again.
- Fees and interest don't count. Annual or other fees, and any interest charged to your card, won't count toward your minimum spending.
- Balance transfers and cash advances won't count, either. These aren't considered purchases so don't rely on them to meet the spending requirement.
- Spending exclusions may apply. Your purchases must be eligible for the spending requirement, and some issuers have restrictions. For example, American Express defines eligible spending as purchases for goods and services, and specifically excludes traveler's checks, prepaid cards, gift cards, person-to-person payments, and other "cash equivalents."
- Keep an eye on refunds. If you buy something during the minimum spending period and later return it, the purchase amount will be deducted from your total spend. Try to spend a little more than the minimum required so you have a buffer in case you later need to return an item.
- Authorized user spending doesn't always qualify. Most major banks count spending made by authorized users toward the minimum requirement, but there are a few exceptions — most notably, U.S. Bank business credit cards specify that spending must be made on the account owner's card to trigger the bonus. When in doubt, check the card's terms and conditions.
- Don't leave spending until the last minute. It can take a few days for transactions to post to your credit card account. Avoid cutting it close.
Choosing the best credit card for bonuses
All of these factors to juggle might have you wondering — are credit card bonuses worth it? The short answer is yes, absolutely, provided you don't spend more than you can afford.
There's no easier way to earn a hefty chunk of points, miles, or cash back quickly; earning a similar amount of rewards purely through regular credit card use can take a long time and require much more spending.
Consider the Capital One VentureRewards Credit Card. It offers a welcome bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, and earns 2 miles per dollar on most purchases (except hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, which earn 5 miles per dollar).
After meeting the minimum spending requirement, you'll actually earn at least 83,000 miles — 75,000 from the bonus, and at least 8,000 from meeting the minimum spending requirement ($4,000 x at least 2 miles per dollar).
Without a welcome bonus, earning 83,000 miles would require spending $41,500 (at 2 miles per dollar). That's a massive difference, and a good illustration of why a credit card bonus is such a lucrative fast-track to earning substantial rewards.
Evaluating intro bonuses and terms
A five- or six-figure intro bonus might look impressive, but remember points, miles, and cash back don't have the same value. When evaluating welcome offers, consider the average value you can expect to get from your rewards so that you're comparing apples to apples.
Here's an example: The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card currently offers 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the card in your first six months of card membership. On the surface, the welcome bonus looks positively dazzling. But when you consider that Hilton points are worth an average of 0.5 cents apiece, according to our valuations, the offer loses a bit of its shine, since it will get you about 65000 in stays.
Now, let's compare to the American Express® Gold Card, which offers 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of Card Membership. That's significantly fewer points, but our valuations peg Amex Membership Rewards points as worth 1.8 cents each, on average, making the bonus potentially worth 118000 in travel.
So which is the better offer for you? It mostly boils down to your reward preferences.
Comparing travel, cash back, and points-based cards
The types of rewards you like to earn are a major factor in choosing any new credit card. But if you're on the hunt for a valuable welcome bonus, you may want to keep an open mind — particularly if a card is offering an elevated limited-time offer.
Cash back is the most flexible and straightforward, since you can redeem it for just about anything, and the value you'll get is fixed — $1 in cash back is worth $1 in real life. However, even the best cash-back credit cards typically only offer bonuses in the $200 to $300 range.
You'll generally find (sometimes much) higher welcome offers on cards that earn airline miles, hotel points, or transferable travel rewards. Depending on the rewards currency, these bonuses can reach a value of $1,000 or more, and you'll often get more benefits from the card to boot. Just be aware these cards usually also have much higher spending requirements.
Of course, rewards are only good if you can use them, so don't apply for a credit card with an airline you rarely fly or a hotel chain you don't frequent.
FAQs about earning credit card bonuses
How long do I have to earn a credit card bonus?
The length of time you have to earn an intro bonus varies by credit card. Typically, you'll have at least three months to meet the minimum spending requirement, and some cards give an even longer timeline. Check the card's terms and conditions for specifics.
Can I earn bonuses on multiple cards at the same time?
Yes, you can earn bonuses on multiple cards at the same time, but it doesn't mean you should. While it might be tempting to apply for several cards at once, if you aren't able to meet all of the spending requirements within the allowed time, it's not worth it.
What happens if I don't meet the spending threshold?
If you don't meet the spending requirement within the specified timeframe, you typically won't receive the intro bonus or rewards associated with that spending threshold.