Ten Ways to Meet the Minimum Spend Requirement to Earn a Sign-Up Bonus

One of the fastest ways to earn credit card points is by signing up for a credit card with a large welcome bonus, meeting the minimum spend requirement and paying the annual fee. With one credit card sign up bonus I can earn enough points to travel to Europe for almost free. Hands down this is the best and fastest way to earn points for travel. 

What is the Minimum Spend Requirement?

This is the amount that you must spend on your new credit card in order to receive the sign-up bonus. This amount is different for every card that you apply for so make sure you are reading the offer details and terms carefully every time you apply for a new card. Please do not apply for a credit card unless you know you can meet the minimum spend requirement.

For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offer is: Earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards® Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. This breaks down to about $1330 a month in spend requirement. Add up all your monthly expenses before you apply for a card so that you know you will be able to earn the bonus and comfortably pay off the card balance every month.

The more you know

• The annual fee is billed on your first statement and does not count towards your minimum spend requirement

• Never spend more than you know you can pay off each month

• The three-month window begins on your approval date, not from the date you receive the card

• Cash advances (which you should never do) and balance transfers don’t count as minimum spend. For American Express cards, buying gift cards isn’t allowed when meeting the minimum spend either.

• If you buy a $300 purse at Nordies and return it - that won’t count towards your minimum spend

• Put away that debit card. When you are meeting a minimum spend you will be paying for everything with your new card

I can’t say it enough, the key is to only spend what you would normally spend to meet the minimum spend requirement. For example, I have close to $2,000 a month in expenses if you combine all my monthly bills. When I get a new credit card, I’m going to pay for ALL my monthly expenses with that new credit card. If I have online bill pay, I’m going to switch it over to my new card. You will do this with every new credit card you get. Yes, it’s a little time consuming, but the nearly free travel is worth it.

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Ways to Meet the Minimum Spend Requirement

1. Regular Spending. This includes paying for all of your groceries, gas, dry cleaning and eating out.

2. Pay your Bills. You will pay for your electricity, gas, cable, internet, trash, wireless, HOA fees, Toll Tag, lawn service, etc

3. Monthly Subscriptions/Memberships. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Audible

4. Have kids? Pay for daycare, sports, school lunches, tuition and books with your new card

5. Self Care. Pay for gym memberships, hair salon, nail salon, botox, lashes, etc.

6. Insurance. Pay your car insurance online. Ours is about $4400 twice a year for 5 cars

7. Healthcare Expenses. Have an FSA/HSA credit card? Put it away. I pay for every doctor's appointment, prescriptions and all medical expenses like contacts and glasses with my new credit card and then I submit a receipt to my FSA/HSA for reimbursement, I earned a signup bonus just by paying for braces for my daughter with my new card and getting reimbursed from my Health Savings Account

8. Donate/Tithes. Almost all charities/religious orgs accept credit cards for donations.

9. Pre-Pay Bills. Oftentimes you may get a discount for paying in full (my daughter’s cheer gym offers substantial savings if we pay our annual dues in full rather than monthly). Another option is to buy Visa gift cards that you can use for purchases later. Only do this if you can pay off the credit card every month.

10. Taxes. Offset the pain of paying your property and/or income taxes by paying with your credit card and earning a sign-up bonus

There is another way to meet the minimum spend requirement using your credit card to pay bills that normally don’t accept credit cards for payment, but it isn’t free. Plastiq is a service that allows you to pay bills, like your car payment for a fee. The fee is 2.85% per transaction. I have only done this one time when I applied for two credit cards within three months for a limited high sign up bonus. Please calculate the fees before using this service. I don’t recommend using this method often. We don’t want to spend money we wouldn’t normally spend.

Remember, only apply for cards that you know you can meet the minimum spend requirement on. Don’t overspend and pay off your balance every month. Travel isn’t free if you’re paying interest. 

Find out which card is my favorite card for Beginner’s here.

Happy Travels!

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