Tips On Meeting Minimum Spend
Some credit cards offer very high welcome bonuses that can be very lucrative, especially when used for travel. However, the better the welcome bonus, the higher the minimum spend requirement usually is. A minimum spend requirement is a specific amount of purchases you must make with your new credit card within a specified amount of time in order to be awarded the welcome bonus. Not everyone will be able to comfortably meet the higher end minimum spends and you should never spend over your comfort level for points. Going into debt or paying interest kills any value you may get from points.
When meeting your minimum spend requirements, it is not important to focus on which purchases earn the best point multiplier for that card. The goal is to make a certain amount of charges within a certain time frame. You can focus on specific bonus categories after you meet the minimum spend threshold. Credit card companies will generally not extend this timeframe so plan accordingly. An important thing to note is your minimum spend time window starts at the time your application is approved and not when you get/activate your card. This could take anywhere up to two or more weeks for your card to arrive. Plan accordingly.
Here are some tips that you may find useful or helpful towards meeting your minimum spend requirements. This is not a complete list and not all methods are going to apply to everyone reading this. Take this list as more of a guide while paying attention to your budget and what you can afford.
Daily and Weekly Spending
On a daily and weekly spending basis, using your new card on these categories can add up quickly especially over a span of a few weeks or a few months.
Groceries
Gas
Online Shopping
Dining Out
Coffee
Parking
Monthly and Annual Spending
These categories can really make or break it for you as most of them have the ability to be paid ahead of time (per your budget). If you can afford to pay any of these ahead, your minimum spend requirements would be pretty easy to meet.
Cell Phone
Auto Insurance
Health Insurance
Home Insurance
Utilities
Business Expenses
Gym Memberships
Subscriptions (Streaming, Meals, Magazines, etc)
Property Taxes
Other Taxes
Medical Appointments
Other Spending
These are more of unique methods or circumstances you may find yourself in.
School Tuition
Books/School Supplies
Offer To Pick Up A Tab
Donate to Charity
Car Down Payment
Gift Cards
Home Improvement
Meeting the minimum spending requirement for credit cards is not difficult if you know your budget and can get creative when you need to. Never sign-up for a credit card without doing the math to ensure that you can meet the spending requirement within the specified timeframe. Many credit cards will not allow you to “try again” later and once you have that card, you only have one opportunity to get that welcome bonus.