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How sign-up bonuses can help boost your points

Published on November 20th, 2020
  Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
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Point chasers are always looking for ways to boost their points on their reward credit card to help them save on everyday expenses, flights, and a prized item in a points reward store. Sign-up bonuses could be one of the ways that can help you kick off your point journey on a strong foot, but there are a few things that you need to consider before relying on the sign-up bonuses.

What are sign-up bonuses

The sign-up bonus is a benefit that comes with a reward credit card when you sign-up for it. It is one of the many incentives that come with reward cards for new cardholders. Various reward credit cards have bonus points that can range from a minimum of 50,000 to 120,000 points and more. However, most of these cards come with certain eligibility criteria to access these points. The value of the points will also vary based on the type of card that you have.

Spending amount needed to unlock points

It is essential that new cardholders do not allow themselves to be lured in by the major sign-up bonuses that come with it as this could be a costly mistake. Most reward credit cards that come with a sign-up bonus have a requirement such as cardholders spending a certain amount in a certain time frame to unlock these bonus points. For example, the American Express Velocity Platinum card that comes with 90,000 bonus points when you apply online, get approved and spend $3,000 on your card within the first 3 months after approval. One obvious factor that will come with owning such a card means that you need to earn a certain amount and spend a certain amount of money on the card to benefit from its features and bonus points.

How to meet a credit card bonus’ minimum spend requirement

Sign-up bonuses may be a great way to kickstart your points journey, but knowing how to gain more points without overspending is essential. Targeting your spending on eligible purchases that gain you points is just some of the few ways in which you can boost your sign-up bonuses without going bust. Other ways that you can consider are:

  • Use your card to pay for utilities. You can use your card to pay off your utilities, but check to see if you will be able to gain points for doing this as some cards do not let you gain points for paying certain utilities.
  • Pay the bill for your next dinner date. Footing the bill on your next dining out with friends or a loved one can help boost your points instead of splitting the bill. You can pay the full bill and have your friends reimburse you.
  • Buy gift cards. If you are looking for ways to unlock the sig-up bonuses you could also purchase gift cards at stores that you know you frequently shop at. Once you have hit the spending requirements on your credit card you can use your gift card to make purchases.

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