Ways To Meet Credit Card Minimum Spending Requirements

Have you ever been approved for 4-6 credit cards within a same months span and you are worried about how to accomplish the thousands of dollars minimum spend required to get the attractive bonus? You could be looking at around $9,000 to $16,000 needed spend within a a given few months. I wholeheartedly think this could be quite an intimidating task from time-in time-out even for points and miles enthusiast. Consider that earning large sign-on bonuses is the best option in receiving miles and points rewards more quickly.

Editor’s Note: Integrate your personal standards and ethics towards making a decision on whether or not to use a particular method or not.

Best Ways To Meet Card Bonus Minimum Spending

Pay Using Your Credit Card With No Fees

• Everyday, Regular Spending- Use your credit card instead of cash to make these types of expenses, such as gas for your transit needs, groceries, dining, haircuts and all of your other typical regular daily spends. Some credit cards will offer a pretty satisfying cash back in the form of bonus categories or flat for extra bang for your bucks. Alternative Regular Spending Includes:
  • Doctors appointments
  • Dry cleaning
  • Nail Salons
  • Subway passes
  • Home improvement
• Paying Your Insurance Ahead Of Time- Usually, insurance companies will offer you a discounted rate if you pay ahead of time within a 6 months or yearly interval compared to paying month to month. This will give you more leverage when you pay off your credit card bill when it comes time.
• Pre-Pay Your Monthly Expenses- Prepaying your monthly expenses is quite a common practice in meeting spending requirements. Most companies will allow you to make early payments on Cellphone bills, electricity, cable, car loans, gym membership or even your Netflix membership. Rather than paying month by month, pay 2-6 months in advance to get ahead of your spending requirement faster. Alternative Monthly Expenses Spending Includes:
  • Homeowners insurance
• Make Big Purchases- If you’re in the market for a new TV, computer, gaming console, furniture set, stove or even a pet; Anything that you deem as a pretty high price tag could count towards your minimum spending. Of course, this is a quick way to achieving your spend, but I wouldn’t recommend this method if you have to go out of your way to make purchases that you don’t even value.
• Charitable Donations- Credit card donations have become quite accepted around nearly all charitable-based organizations. This is a great way to give back and support your community as well as helping yourself achieve the spending you need for that bonus. Consider making regular Religious contributions to your local church, or temple as well.
• Donate To Kiva.org- Look into donating to Kiva.org; a micro-financing organization that works with individuals in developing countries, making it possible to distribute loans to people who desperately needs it. Help a person in need and receive your money back on a later date; keep in mind that they do have a 99% track record of paying back the loan.

Pay Using Your Credit Card w/Convenience Fee

• Pay Your Mortgage-  Chargesmart allows you to pay your mortgage with a credit card, but keep in mind that it costs a fee of 2%.
• Car Payments.  Charge Smart will also allow you to pay your car payments with a credit card (currently NOT American Express) for a fee.
• Student Loan Payments- Certain colleges allows students to pay off their student loans with a credit card. Keep in mind that it usually resorts in a hefty fee. I would also recommend considering paying all or part of your tuition or housing cost with a credit card (usually resorts in a fee as well)
• Paying Rent- Pay your rent with a credit card through services like RadPad, RentMoola, and RentShare. Keep in mind that fees usually range around 3%.
• Paying Your Taxes- You may be able to pay your US, State&Local, as well as your property taxes utilizing your credit card for a fee that is either directly through your county or through a 3rd party. The lowest charge is 1.87%. Here is the IRS’s List Of Ways To Pay via credit card, debit card, etc. allowed.
• Transfering Money via Paypal- Paypal is a service that allows you to transfer money or pay out someone with a credit card. Keep in mind that there is a 3% fee that could substantially affect you considering what your amount is. If you’re constantly transferring your money, they do reserve the right to shut down your account on the premise that they don’t deem you as a lawful consumer.
• Plastiq. Plastiq is a payment service that allows you to pay your loans, rent, mortgage, utilities, and other bills utilizing your credit card. Although there is a 2.5% flat fee. Promotions are available quite commonly for a lower rate on this service.
• Venmo. This is a new transfer service that easily allows transfers of small amounts from person to person via mobile.

Editor’s Note: Keep in mind that paying a convenience fee of 2% or higher to make a credit card payment is not valuable in terms of worth with miles or points earned on a regular day-to-day basis.

Meet Your Spending Requirements via Gift Card Purchases

• Buy Merchant Branded Gift Cards for Restaurants, Gas Stations, Stores, Online Shops, etc–  Look into purchasing a gift card for major merchant brands such as Quiktrip, Walmart, Target, Shells, McDonald’s, Victoria Secret, etc.
  • “branded” gift cards usually do not carry any fees and they don’t hold to a point expiration which is great when meeting a spending requirement while also having something that holds value.If you’re consistently spending on local groceries, gas stations, retail store, etc., you should look into this method. Just look at it as you’ll eventually make that spend on your card anyways also it’s a great way to trigger the cash back rewards on your card.
  • You can currently purchase a $300 PIN-Enabled VISA gift card online at Staples.com and load them into a AMEX Bluebird or Serve account prepaid. Use the account to pay bills you can’t normally pay with a credit card.
• Purchase Visa Gifts Cards- Keep in mind that VISA gift cards will have a activation fee that ranges from $3 to $7, but you can use it at the convenience of anywhere VISA is accepted (which is mostly everywhere)
• Amazon Gift Cards- If you enjoy online shopping and your go-to portal is Amazon, then you can purchase an Amazon Gift Card. Amazon usually has promotions where if you purchase a $100 gift card, you can receive $10 credit or so on so forth.
• Buy Paypal Gifts Cards- Select merchant locations do allow you to buy PayPal gift cards with your credit card and if you happen to come across a retailer that does, I recommend that you take advantage of it to make pays on all items at the convenience of all online or person-to-person payments.
• Money Orders- Select grocery stores (commonly smaller, local groceries) will allow you to purchase money orders with a credit card at no extra charge. You can purchase the money order with your credit card and have it deposited into your bank.

Other Ways To Pay Using Your Credit Card

• Add An Authorized User- The added authorized user will receive a credit card of their own in which you could take advantage of their spend as well. Usually adding an authorized user could also yield you extra benefits as well. The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card offered a 2,500 SPG Point Bonus when you add an authorized user in early July.
  • If you need help making a minimum spend, consider adding a friend or family member you trust as an authorized user, allowing them to spend money that counts toward your minimum spend, and have them pay you back in cash or a check.
  • Disclaimer: You will still be responsible for their spending especially if they’re in default.
• Pick Up The Tab- Whether your out on a date, with the family, friends, colleagues, pay the tab on your credit card and you can get them to reimburse you for their part with cash. Of course, if you’re feeling generous, you could always just pay the tab in whole.
• Medical Expenses. This includes Vision, dental insurance, etc. If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), in most cases, you can pay for your FSA-approved expenses with a regular credit card and submit a request for reimbursement. This is a slightly unwieldy way of making your minimum but nonetheless, it’s still worth taking into consideration.
• Car Repairs– From time-in time-out, you’ll stumble upon the inevitable and that being, if your car is in need of repairs in any way, you can use your credit card as a payment method and capitalize on your spend.
• House Remodeling- Ask your contractor if you can purchase supplies needed for your project from a shop or if they can give you a discount if you pay them with a American Express gift card. Another thought that is outside of house remodeling is paying your baby sitters, maids, pet sitters, yad work providers, etc., with an acceptable gift card instead of cash.
• Fund a New Bank Account. Essentially meet your spend faster when you fund a new account with a certain credit card. Keep in mind that some cards won’t work significantly due to the transaction posts as a cash advance. Set your card’s cash advance limit to zero before doing this method.
• Returns To Stores.  There are a few stores with remarkable customer service and will allow refunds for purchases on a different credit card than the one you used to makethe purchases; namely Costco and Nordstrom. Reports state individuals making a large purchase ($60,000 ring) from costco on a Miles earned credit card and returning the product within a given few days and requesting that the refund is processed on a different non-mles earning credit card with will essentially result in earning 60,000 bonus miles or points onto your credit card. Keep in mind that i’m not too familiar with this method so I suggest doing a little extra on your part and researching this method beforehand.

Conclusion:

Needing to make a minimum spend for that attractive bonus you’ve had your eye on? Applied for 6 completely different credit cards at a time and now your stuck trying to find a spending algorithm to achieve that bonus? Don’t let those minimum spending requirements get the best of you, instead use your hard-earned money wisely using a those credit cards to benefit you even further. You can now reap the full benefits of your cash back rewards while improving your credit utilization!

Keep in mind that this list is intended to give our readers ideas on how to make their spend. In no way does this article suggest individuals should go out of their way to accomplish something that they do not intend to do. Again, integrate your own personal standards and ethics towards making a decision on whether or not to use a particular method or not. If you’re looking for a way to save money while making your minimum spend, check out our best credit card promotions section!