Best Times To Get A New Credit Card

Signing up for credit cards can have many advantages such as increased credit lines, improved debt to income ratio, and points and miles that can be redeemed for travel. However, the timing of your credit card application is key to making sure you get the best deals available and to avoid missing out on points by putting large purchases on low earning cards. Let’s look at three situations that would be the most optimal in terms of timing credit card applications. 

Limited-Time or High Sign-Up Bonus

Credit card companies will often temporarily increase sign-up bonuses on certain credit card products for a limited time as a promotion. They may also release a new product with a high initial sign-up bonus offer that will decrease after a certain time period. An example of this can be seen with the most recent Chase Sapphire Preferred card that had a sign-up offer of 100K points that dropped down to 60K points. That's a difference of about a $500 difference in value, based on Chase Ultimate Rewards points value of 1.25 cents per point. So to make sure you don’t miss out on the increased or limited-time offers, it is best to sign up as soon as you see them or to keep tabs on when the offer ends so you can get your application in. 

Large Purchases 

Many credit cards have sign-up offers that come with varying spend requirements that need to be met within a certain time frame. Large purchases such as home renovations, medical bills, insurance payments, etc. do not usually have a bonus category that will earn you more than 1-2x points. These large purchases can help make meeting these minimum spend requirements significantly easier. Just make sure the merchant that you’re planning to use takes credit cards. 

When You Are Not Working Towards A Minimum Spend

As someone who is always focused on acquiring credit card points and miles, I always feel guilty when I am making large purchases that don’t fall into a high earning category. To make sure I am maximizing my points earning potential, I always have a minimum spend I’m working on in addition to the other credit cards I carry daily. 

Everyone’s situation is different so not every card is going to be the best option for you. Planning and learning will help you avoid common traps and problems. Tips to avoid issues:

Always Have A Plan

Do your research for every card that you’re interested in so you know whether or not you can meet the minimum spend requirements in the allotted time frame. To stay up-to-date, make sure you have a plan on how much you can spend and in what time frame. Also have a plan on how to use your points because they’re not worth anything until they are redeemed. Collecting points just gives you potential travel value. Using the points lock in that value.

Plan Ahead

Having a plan is a good start but timing is also important. Many credit cards can take up to two weeks for your card to arrive after being approved. The approval process may take even longer if you need to provide the bank with paperwork for any verification. If you need immediate payment, a card from American Express may be the best option for you since you can usually get temporary credit card numbers right after approval. Some credit card companies such as Chase may allow you to add your recently approved card to your mobile device for mobile pay or may even offer an expedited shipping service if you call and ask.

More Is Not Always Better

Not all credit card points and miles are valued equally. Some credit cards will give you a very high amount of bonus points but when you go to redeem them, they don’t end up getting you very far. Learning how much points are worth will really save you time and headache down the road. That’s a perk of having us, guide you through the sea of points.

Maximizing Your Benefits

Make sure you get every single penny offered on each of your credit cards. Many credit cards offer food/restaurant credits, airline credits, Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credits, hotel credits, etc. Make sure that you go through all the available benefits for your cards, enroll in benefits when required, and keep track of then your credits reset. Some of these individual benefits can vary in value from $100 to $300 per year. Why let money go to waste especially when you can be paying upwards of $600 for some credit cards.