How to Meet Credit Card Spending Requirements for Sign-Up Bonuses (And What Those SUB Points Can Get You!)

Updated November 14, 2024

In the last post, you learned that sign up bonuses are the quickest and easiest way to earn loads of points/miles!

^{Reminder: credit cards are ONLY worth it if you can pay off the balance each month! Need to brush up on credit including basics, cards and myths?}

To earn a sign up bonus (SUB), meeting the minimum spend requirement (MSR) is key. If you do not hit that $ amount by XX date, you will have given up a lot of points (and we are all about maximizing spend and getting full value of things around here)

Here’s how to maximize your spending to hit that target (simply put EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING on your cards and this is what I mean by that)

1. Use Your Card for All Purchases:

• Everyday expenses: groceries, gas, dining out
• Utilities and recurring bills (phone, electric, gym memberships)
  • If the MSR will be difficult for you to reach, simply switch the $ for these (it’s fairly easy to do and you are not going miss out on that SUB!)

2. Surprising Payments You May Not Have Thought to Use Credit Cards For:

• Medical/dental bills, insurance premiums
  • You often have the option to pay providers (doctors, specialists, PT) for co-pays, bills with a card!
• Vehicle insurance (car, boat, motorcycle)
• Home expenses
  • _{Beautiful tips: if you currently have an escrow account, see if the rise in property taxes allows you to take this off. You are giving an interest free loan to the bank to pay this + your property taxes! Set up a saving account and transfer over monthly what would have been put in escrow to ensure that you will have the cash to pay off your credit card.}
  • Insurance (I make a payment for the full annual premium and have never been charged a fee in the 15+ years I have done this)
  • Property taxes (some places like Denver allow you to pay this WITHOUT fees!)
• Gift cards (*specifically when you would have gifted cash! AKA how I got over my disappointment in not getting to wrap gifts as my cousins, nieces, nephew have gotten older and said they want GC or $)
  • Almost every week, either Office Depot or Staples will offer $ back on X purchase or fee free Visa or Mastercard gift cards! And even if you are not working towards a SUB on the Chase Business Ink Cash, you would earn 5 points/$1!
  • _{Beautiful Tip: DO NOT purchase gift cards while meeting the MSR on AMEX cards. It is expressly written in the T&Cs that you cannot and they are known to enforce this!}
• Covering the bill and being reimbursed (only consider these if you KNOW you’ll be paid back)
  • WORK (if this is an option at all, DO IT! This could range from travel, coffee runs, picking up lunch, to grabbing supplies: check with your finance team)
  • Dinners (with payment apps, this is super easy now to be instantly paid back)
  • Trips (family/friends trips)
    • If you are the one planning a vacay, use this to your advantage and you could see really big dividends! Don’t think so? Check out how I earned over a MILLION points/miles when I planned a big family cruise (and here are the FAQs to that post).
    • Caveat: only do this if you are CERTAIN that you will be paid back and set up a game plan + payment schedule. Seriously – if you feel uncomfortable discussing money and logistics like this, you should not be taking on this financial risk. I have never had this go south but I have heard too many horror stories to not stress this.

3. When Paying a Fee Makes Sense:

•  If it’s your only way to meet the MSR, a small fee can be worth it!
  • Paying 2% on your federal taxes owed
  • Paying 3% tuition/day care expenses
  • _{Beautiful Tip: if you are paying a fee as your only way to hit MSR and the bill is greater than the MSR, pay only the MSR amount and the rest in cash to avoid unnecessary fees}
•  Why/how? Let’s say you open a new Chase Business Ink Unlimited , you would be paying $180 for the elevated 90K SUB. Check out the what you can use those points for and tell me if those would be worth that fee?

4. Beautiful Tips/Hot Take:

• There are times that you will not use your credit card and that’s perfectly okay (this is life and just max out all other times you have the opp!)
  • Some small businesses may not accept credit cards due to fees. I have heard many others in the points/miles sphere tell people to take your business elsewhere then. But I think that supporting trusted and/or small businesses is often more valuable than earning points!
  • Trying to pay individuals (e.g., babysitters, daycare providers) with gift cards instead of cash/sending $ through payment apps. There is an inherent power differential here and someone may agree to this only because they don’t know how/or have a hard time saying no and really need the cash (the gift cards are easy to use but don’t allow everyone to substitute for $ ie to pay bills, fill gas, cover rent)
• Take note of the date that the SUB must be completed by (organization is key when travel hacking so set calendar reminders if needed!)
  • Do NOT wait until the last minute/day to hit the MSR! A charge may not post on that day due to a variety of factors and you do not want to miss out on your SUB!
  • And don’t cut it too close with the MSR, better to be over by a few hundred dollars than miss out because your math was incorrect. While I am all about maximizing spend here, I also want to ensure that you are set up for success =)

BONUS: What those SUB points can actually get you:

If you got a new Chase Sapphire Preferred card, with a MSR of $4K in 3 months, you could earn 64,000 points (SUB + regular points). How about a lie-flat business class seat on Singapore Airlines which cost me 56,700 Miles + $5.60!

The Chase Business Ink Unlimited has an elevated 90K SUB right now with a MSR of $6K in 3 months which would take care of a two night stay at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome!

Interested? Support me by using my referral links for these cards (click on the links above!).

NEED HELP?

• I offer free mini consult sessions if you want to learn more! 
• I also have coaching packages to help you learn how to or maximize your points and miles earning INCLUDING some additional ways to meet MSR!

PS I’ll continue to sweeten the deal if you’re approved using one of my referral links, I’ll throw in some baked goodies (beautiful tip: I won’t know unless you tell me if you have been approved for a card!)

^{Want to learn the basics of travel hacking: primer on travel hacking}

How have you been able to maximize your spending with new cards and sign up bonuses?