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There's a hesitation I see regularly about applying for travel rewards credit cards, stemming from the minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome bonus. Some people 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.
Many of the best card offers require spending at least $4,000 within three months of opening the account. Premium cards, like the American Express Platinum Card®, might require $12,000 or more in spending to earn a welcome bonus. That can feel like a lot of money — especially if you aren't used to spending that much on a credit card.
However, there are a few tricks to tackling this requirement without increasing your overall spending. The goal is to shift as much of your regular spending as possible onto the card during the welcome period. After all, it’s money you’d be spending anyway — not an excuse to spend more.
Here's how you can meet minimum spending requirements to earn a new credit card welcome bonus.
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Ways To Meet Credit Card Minimum Spend (Without Paying Fees)
In simple terms, use your new credit card to pay your existing bills. Swipe it at the supermarket, pharmacy, and gas pump. Use it to pay your phone bill. For these few months, don't worry about which card in your wallet offers the most points or miles per dollar on your purchase.
Even if your new card only offers 1 point per $1 on general purchases, use it as much as possible until you earn the welcome bonus. After that, you can be strategic about which card you use on each purchase.
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 it's time to pay.
- Add it to your digital wallet. Set your new card as your default method in your digital wallet, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, so it's the first card that pops up when you're ready to pay.
- Set this as the default payment method for recurring bills. This applies to Amazon purchases, utilities, streaming subscriptions, dog-walking services, meal kit plans, car insurance, medical insurance, and any other recurring bills.
- Use your new card for any one-time payments during the bonus period. If you need to reload your toll pass, pay an annual gym membership, or prepay other large expenses, now is the time to make those payments so they count toward your minimum spending.
- Use this card for any work expenses eligible for reimbursement. Depending on your workplace, you may be reimbursed for various expenses you charge to your credit card. If that's the case, this spending counts toward earning your welcome bonus and comes at no cost.
- Buy gift cards in advance for upcoming expenses. Your supermarket, pharmacy, and other stores sell gift cards. You can purchase these now to use later, assuming you can afford to pay several months in advance.
- Donate to charities or religious organizations. Many charities accept donations online by credit card. See if your church, mosque, or synagogue takes contributions in this way. If you regularly donate to these places, contributions can help you meet minimum spending requirements by simply switching your payment method.
- Volunteer to use your card for group expenses. If you're going out to dinner with friends and family, booking a group trip, or planning a large group outing, make things easy by using one card. Only use this method with loved ones you are confident will pay you back; otherwise, you're on the hook for the entire amount.
Always check your card’s terms and conditions before using these strategies. Some issuers exclude certain transactions — like tax payments or gift card purchases — from earning rewards or counting toward a welcome bonus.
$95
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
$325Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked on amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
$150Rates & Fees
- 2x on United® purchases*
- 2x on local transit and commuting — including train tickets, taxicabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services
- 2x at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores
- 1x on all other purchases
Other Large Expenses That Could Help Meet Credit Card Minimum Spending Requirements
Home improvements
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 Home Depot and allowing them to use it to buy supplies can go a long way toward earning your new card's welcome bonus.
You can also consider adding a child or partner as an authorized user on your account so multiple people are contributing toward the spending requirement. Only do this with people you trust to pay you back — otherwise, you’re on the hook for the full amount.
Car payments
You might also be surprised to learn that many car dealerships accept credit cards for down payments. Depending on the dealership, you can typically pay anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 on any credit card — including American Express. That completes a minimum spend requirement in one swipe! Before swiping your card, check with the dealership's finance department to ensure it won't be coded as a cash advance (which would trigger high fees).
Related: Best Credit Cards for Large Purchases ($5,000 or More)
Additional Ways To Meet Spend Requirements (With a Fee)
If the above methods won't be enough to meet your new card's minimum spending requirements, there are additional methods you can use — though these come with fees. Fees vary by payment processor but are typically 2%–3.5%.
Do the math to determine 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 if 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, and Plastiq can then send a check by mail or pay by money transfer. You'll pay a 2.99% fee when you use a credit card here.
- Pay your taxes with a credit card. You can pay the IRS by credit card through an approved payment processor for a fee of as low as 1.75%. Depending on the location, it’s also possible to pay state and local taxes with a credit card — either 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 school accepts credit card payments and whether there are fees. For existing student loans, you may need to pay through a service like Plastiq.
Related: The Best Rewards Credit Card Offers This Month
Bottom Line
Meeting a spending requirement 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, it might be less difficult than you originally imagined. $4,000 sounds like a lot — but broken down, that’s about $1,333 per month.
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 rule: Don’t spend extra just to earn a welcome bonus. It won't make sense to go into debt for some extra airline miles. The goal here is simple: Earn a credit card's sign-up bonus by using your existing expenses to meet the card's minimum spending requirements.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), and United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)
Pay $2000 on your utility bill and it just keeps taking from balance, also I have bought “VISA gift cards” at grocery store, $2000 treats it like a purchase. Of course if you lose the card you have an issue
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/news/plastiq-bankruptcy/
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