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A typical hesitation to applying for travel rewards credit cards is related to how to meet minimum spending requirements. Some may feel the spending requirements are too high for their income levels. Others think that much spending sounds rash, as if it's a surefire way to get into credit card debt.
Typical welcome bonuses can require spending $4,000 on your new card within three months of opening the account. That can feel like a lot of spending — especially if you aren't used to spending that much on a credit card.
However, there are a few tricks to tackling this spending requirement without increasing your overall spending. The goal is to shift all (or as much as you can) of your spending onto the card during the welcome period. After all, it's money you'd be spending anyway.
Here's how you can meet minimum spending requirements to earn a new credit card welcome bonus.
Ways to Meet Credit Card Minimum Spend (Without Paying Fees)
In the simplest terms, you should use your new credit card to pay all of your existing bills. Swipe it at the grocery store, pharmacy, and gas pump. Use it to pay your phone bill. Here are our best tips for putting your existing expenses onto your new card:
- Put the card in the front of your wallet. This way, it's the first card you'll see when making purchases.
- Log into your online accounts / recurring bills and set this as the default payment method. This applies to Amazon, utilities, your streaming subscriptions, dog walking service, meal kit subscriptions, house cleaning, car insurance, medical insurance, and any other recurring bills.
- Use this card for any one-time payments during the bonus period. If you need to reload your toll pass, pay an annual gym membership up front for a discount, or prepay other large expenses like HSA/FSA, now is the time to make those payments so they count toward your minimum spending.
- Use this card for any work expenses for which you'll be reimbursed. Depending on your workplace and its expense system, you may get reimbursed for various expenses that you put on your credit card. If that's the case, these expenses are part of your eligible purchases.
- Buy gift cards in advance for your upcoming expenses. Your supermarket, pharmacy, and other stores sell gift cards. You can purchase these now to use in the future, assuming you can afford to spend the money several months in advance.
- Donate to charities or religious organizations. Many charities accept donations online by credit card. See if your church, mosque, or synagog takes contributions this way. If you regularly donate to these groups, contributions can help you meet minimum spending requirements by shifting your payment method.
Other Large Expenses That Could Help Meet Credit Card Minimum Spending Requirements
Do you have a contractor working on your home? See if you can pay with your credit card. If not, can you pay for the supplies with your credit card? Leaving your credit card on file at Lowe's or adding the contractor as an authorized user on your account (then they buy the supplies with that card) can go a long way toward earning your new card's bonus.
You also may be surprised to learn that numerous car dealerships accept credit cards for down payments when purchasing a car. Depending on the dealership, you can typically pay anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 on any credit card — including Amex. That completes a minimum spend requirement in one swipe! Just ensure that you talk to the finance department to ask about this transaction; ensure that it isn't coded as a cash advance (which has a lot of fees).
Related: The Best Rewards Credit Card Offers This Month
Additional Ways To Meet Spend Requirements (With a Fee)
If the above methods won't help you meet the minimum spending requirements, there are additional methods you can use — though these come with fees. These fees range depending on the payment processor but are typically around 2%–3.5%.
Calculate whether these fees are worth it to unlock the bonus on your new credit card. It's also good to know about these options if you need to meet multiple minimum spending requirements simultaneously or you’re pressed for time. Some examples include:
- Pay your mortgage, rent, and car payments. You can use a service like Plastiq to pay these sizeable bills and more via credit card. You'll provide the recipient's information and your account number, then Plastiq can send a check in the mail or pay by money transfer. You'll pay a 2.9% fee using your card here.
- Pay your taxes with a credit card. You can pay the IRS using a credit card through one of the approved payment processors for a fee of less than 2%. Depending on the location, it’s also possible to pay state and local taxes with a credit card directly or through a third-party provider for a fee. You can use this to make estimated payments for the future or to pay outstanding taxes from prior filings.
- Pay college tuition or student loans. See if your institution accepts credit card payments and whether there are fees. For your student loans, you may need to pay through a service like Plastiq.
Bottom Line
The requirement to meet spending amounts to earn a credit card's sign-up bonus can feel daunting. However, if you break the spending requirements into monthly pieces during the earning period and then shift all of your recurring expenses onto the credit card during that time, you may find that it's not as difficult as you originally thought.
If you have additional expenses that can't be paid by credit card without a fee — and the fee-free options won't be enough to earn the welcome bonus — consider which is worth more: the card's bonus or the fee you'll pay to complete the spending. If the bonus is worth more than the fee(s) you pay along the way, it can make sense.
The most important element is to ensure you aren't spending additional money just to earn a welcome bonus. It isn't advantageous to go into debt for some airline miles. The goal here is to earn a credit card's sign-up bonus by using your existing expenses to meet the card's minimum spending requirements.
Are there any other tips for meeting the minimum spending requirements that we missed?
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I’m curious if plastiq is a good move considering their recent bankruptcy! Would AwardWallet have additional information on this post a little while ago? https://awardwallet.com/blog/plastiq-bankruptcy/?awid=aw_app&cid=share-blog-post
Hi Riffe, last we’ve heard there aren’t any interruptions in Plastiq’s services. However, it’s not a bad idea to be cautious. Some people are using Zil Money now, which has a 2.9% fee (higher than Plastiq). There was an agenda item for a 10:30 a.m. hearing in court today about Plastiq’s bankruptcy, but there’s no news on what happened there yet.
The car purchase can help add to the spend total. Recently we used the credit card for the down payment. They asked for $500 but I might have been able to pay more on the card. Then when we decided to get the extended warranty there was another $1800 on the card.
I got a random error when posting so sorry if this is a double post. I have two cruises to pay off an I hope to continue that trend. That way if a new card should pop up, I have debts that are ready to be paid already.
I had never thought about a lot of these. Good information to have.
This makes a lot of sense – who knew that everyday expenses could hit that minimum spend so easily? Thanks for the update!
The Cardpool option sounds fantastic!
Discounted gift cards available for many retailers and restaurants from Cardpool. Great way to put some advanced spending to meet minimum spend and save a few bucks as well. WIN-WIN
Buying costco and grocery store GC sounds good idea?
Plastiq and TransferWise are our favorites!
I usually ramp up my health insurance payments in advance which gets me across the line.
I love the gift cards tip!
With some stratigic thinking it is never a problem for me to reach the minimum spend requirement as I always try to open a new card beforehand (like before visiting my dentist when I know it is going to cost a lot, etc.)
Gift Cards as Budgeting Tools! Brilliant!
I was told Plastiq had certain restrictions when it comes to paying rent, mortgage, etc with a credit card.
Is this true?
if you know of any car dealers that let you pay for the entire vehicle on a CC please point us in the right direction
never knew about car down payments. thanks.
Do the Amazon gift card purchases meet the minimum spend requirements?
Works fine in all of my cases. It might depend on how/where you get them. Specifically, make sure it isn’t an issue with American Express.
You forgot buyers clubs
I’m not sure we “forgot” them. I’d say too small of a potential audience.
I actually mean that my card credit balance is not even large enough to pay for the final purchase price of a starter car after coming to a understanding with the car dealer.
A gift card from Amazon is often a good solution.
I’ve use the down payment at car dealers in the past and noticed that compared to few years back, they’ve reduced the amount that they’ll allow you to put down using the card.
pretty much everything can be charged now – I’m wondering what common items cannot be?
As you mention, nearly every entity will accept credit card payments. The real issue arises when there are additional fees involved in using the credit card.
I have heard of reliability issues with Plastiq. And pre-paying taxes usually come with extra fees. I like paying annual or semi-annual insurance premiums and AAA.
So many times I heard that gift cards didn’t work for this and that. I never even thought about it for the bonus!
I never thought that a car dealer would accept a credit card for a down payment until we asked for my husbands car we just got.
$5k down payment!!! They took it and then we just paid it off, since we had the money. I am just hoping I get the same luck when I go for my card and then figure out which card I should be going for!
I wonder if kudos to certain bloggers count as spend?
I thought gift cards aren’t counted?
In certain circumstances, with certain card issuers, if you’re trying to play games, you may run into such an issue. In general, no, it isn’t a problem.
Like another poster said, every time I have a new large expense coming up, I try to open a new card. The expense may take care of the entire minimum spend. I have put down payments on cars with my credit card, but the dealer would limit me to 2500. I’ll definitely keep Enterprise in mind next time I’m buying a used car. That’s a great tip. (I always have saved the cash to buy the entire car so I pay it off right away).
im always surprised at how easy it is for me to meet the minimums. i prob need to budget better!
Do you know if Western Union money transfers also go through as a purchase and not a cash advance?
Cash advance.
Thank you,. On those rare occasions I used Western Union, I never used a credit card, to be safe.
I like the gift card idea. its basically buying cash for later use 🙂
Me too, it’s a method I often sly it requires that one “float” the funds until the GCs can be consumed, but it can definitely be a useful tool to complete spend by a given deadline.
Wow, my card credit balance is not even large enough to buy a starter card.
A big one for me missing here is daycare / schools: huge expense, many accept cards.
OTOH, there should be a caveat around Plastiq, since different cards & issuers have category limitations.
Day care is listed under Family Expenses. College tuition/student loans is included as a completely separate category.
I would remind anyone thinking of playing the credit card game to make sure they can meet their monthly spend each month so that they don’t incur any late fees or interest charges that would diminish the value of the miles/points they earn.
Good list for reminding us of the options out there to meet spend. We always seem to not have a big problem meeting spend as we try to time our new apps to when the big ticket items come due, namely insurances.
I always think I’ll have trouble but usually manage easily.
Assess your situation instead of asses. All good for me but it is an awkward typo.
Editor of the year here folks! 😉
LOL! Oh, Howie. This made my day.
Hahah!! Winner winner!
We’ve been very fortunate with meeting spend easily. The last three cars we’ve bought have been totally paid for with credit cards and no fees attached. No questions asked.
Here’s a little FYI. Enterprise Car Resales is great about using credit cards with no fees in our experience!
Interesting. Did they let you pay for the entire car with a credit card or just a flat rate?
The highest a car dealer accepted for me was $2500