It’s a new year and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably reviewing your 2025 credit card strategy, acquiring new cards and figuring out how to meet spending requirements. Things are different now than they were a decade ago, when I was furiously churning gift cards and meeting spending requirements on my lunch break.
To help you navigate what’s still possible, here’s everything you need to know about meeting credit card spend in 2025:
Related: Points and miles beginner’s guide
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What is a credit card spending requirement?
A credit card spending requirement is the minimum amount you have to spend on a new credit card to earn its welcome bonus. Most rewards credit cards have spending requirements ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 within three months of account opening. Some premium cards issued by Amex and Capital One have spending requirements 3-4 times this amount.
Usually, a higher credit card spending requirement correlates with a higher welcome bonus, though that’s not always the case.
Before applying for any credit card, you should note the spending requirement and make sure you’re able to meet it in time. By not meeting the minimum spend in time, you could lose out on a lucrative welcome bonus and other perks.
How to meet credit card spending requirements without going into debt
There are tons of creative ways to meet credit card spending requirements. Some are obvious and others less so. Before using any of these methods, be sure to scroll down to the tips section of this post to familiarize yourself with common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Here are 14 ways to meet credit card spending requirements without going into debt.
Leverage everyday espending
The easiest way to meet credit card spending requirements without going into debt is by using the card for everyday expenses. You’re going to pay for groceries, gas, meals and the odd shopping anyway. Why not earn valuable rewards and make progress on your spending requirement?
Add your new card to your digital wallet to ensure it’s always available, even if you forget your wallet at home.
Pay your bills
Charge all of your bills and household expenses to your credit card (utilities, bills, groceries, insurance, car payments, and everyday spending). If you can pay medical bills with a credit card and get reimbursed by your insurance company (in a timely manner), even better.
Prepay bills
Some bills can be prepaid, including insurance premiums, utilities and software subscriptions. Whenever I want to knock out a spending requirement fast, I start by paying my six-month car insurance premium. Prepaying bills is only worth doing if you’re able to pay the balance off without it causing hardship.
Pay other people’s bills
If your bills aren’t high enough to cover your minimum spend, consider paying other people’s bills. I’ve routinely turned to my sister and parents to help me knock out spending requirements faster. Of course, I trust them and there’s never been any issues with getting reimbursed.
I once made the mistake of lending my card to an extended family member who looked at me puzzled when I asked them to pay the balance: “Oh! I thought this was a loan? I don’t have the cash right now.” That’s no bueno. Only do this with people you trust 100%.
Add a trusted authorized user
Adding an authorized user allows you to leverage someone else’s purchases to meet credit card spending requirements faster. You can add anyone as an authorized user, but ideally,it should be a trusted family member or spouse. With few exceptions, most credit cards don’t impose a fee on authorized user cards, so it’s a great way to drum up extra spend.
Before adding an authorized user to your new credit card, you’ll want to go over repayment expectations.
Pay for work expenses
Reimbursable work expenses are also a great way to knock out credit card spending requirements. Back when I had a regular job, I did this routinely, whether it was paying for team lunches or office supplies.
A few years ago, I had to meet a large spending requirement on an Amex card, when an incredible opportunity came around: A $15,000 invoice from a work vendor. I asked my boss if I could pay it and get reimbursed and she said yes! So I charged that expense to my card and got a check about a week later.
Leverage big purchases
Large purchases are a great way to meet your card’s spending requirement without much effort. Have an upcoming home improvement project? Charge it to your card. An upcoming vacation? Use your card. If you were going to pay these expenses with a debit card or cash anyway, why not leverage it toward a lucrative credit card bonus instead?
Buy Gift Cards
Buying gift cards for future use can be a solid way to meet spending requirements. For example, I frequently use Instacart and Uber Eats for grocery and meal deliveries. If I have a credit card spending requirement to complete, I’ll use that card to purchase discounted gift cards.
Costco sells Instacart and Uber gift cards at a 20-25% discount. Buying them helps me save on expenses I was going to pay for anyway while also helping me cut back on costs.
Pay your taxes
Forget Pumpkin Spice Season – tax season is my favorite season and it’s not because I enjoy giving my hard-earned money to Uncle Sam. I’m an independent contractor, so I don’t pay my taxes until the end of the year. I love leveraging that tax payment toward meeting spending requirements. By paying taxes with a credit card, I earn valuable points and miles.
The credit card processing fee has actually declined over the years. It used to be 1.88% but now it’s dropped to 1.75% using Pay1040. Be sure to consult the official IRS page to pay your taxes with an approved, legitimate processor.
Pay tuition
Many colleges and universities accept credit cards for tuition payments. Some of them charge a fee, a few do not. Paying tuition with a credit card can be worth it for a large welcome bonus. However, it’s important to evaluate the fee and figure out if it’s worth paying.
For me, the absolute limit is 3%. Anything above that and I’ll figure out some other way to complete the spend. Be aware that some banks will process these transactions as cash advances, meaning you won’t earn points and will likely pay a fee. The way to avoid this is by asking the bank to lower your cash advance limit below the amount you’re going to pay. If the transaction declines, you’ll know the tuition payment won’t count toward the spending requirement.
Retail arbitrage
This is going to sound crazy, but during the Royal Wedding frenzy, I made a nice side hustle out of buying and selling items worn by Kate Middleton. Four bottles of the perfume she wore on her wedding day, which retailed for $140, got me $250 a piece on ebay.
Four $90 Zara dresses worn the day after the wedding sold for $250 each. Her $250 patent leather wedges were a nice $425 payday.
If I had been in the points game, I not only could have earned thousands of miles and met credit card spending requirements, but I would have turned a nice profit doing so. Sadly, Royal Wedding fever has since died down, but if you see a retail arbitrage opportunity involving popular products, I say go for it.
Join buying groups
If you want to meet spending requirements without leaving home, buying groups are the way to go. These groups are free to join and involve buying products (mostly electronics) for a company that then resells them for profit. Most buying group deals are at break-even or below. Occasionally, a U.S. Mint coin deal will come around that offers huge profits.
I’ve shared how I leveraged buying clubs to earn over 250,000 in welcome bonuses before. But while I’ve had a mostly positive experience so far, others have not. A few buying groups have left buyers high and dry. Be aware of this and maybe check Reddit for recent testimonials.
Charitable donations
At the end of the year, many folks will look for charities to support. I’ve written about how Kiva is running a lending scam, so I wouldn’t recommend them despite how popular they are among points and miles folks. I do recommend just paying your favorite charity directly.
You can also earn miles on charitable donations and hit minimum spend by supporting one of the charities American Airlines partners with. For example, you can earn 10 miles per $1 donated to Stand Up to Cancer.
Manufactured spending
You didn’t think I’d talk about gift cards and buying groups without mentioning manufactured spending, did you? One of the most popular ways to manufacture spend is by churning Visa gift cards: Buy them with a credit card, then use them to purchase money orders, deposit them into your bank account, and pay off your card balance.
Retail gift card churning can also be worthwhile if you’re selling them on a legitimate marketplace and at least breaking even.
Lastly, some folks like to use their credit card to fund new bank accounts. The amount you can fund is often limited to a few hundred dollars but can help you push to the finish line. Just be mindful that not all banks allow this and your credit card may decline the purchase or process it as a cash advance.
Benefits of meeting credit card spending requirements
The main benefit of meeting credit card spending requirements is that you’ll earn a welcome bonus consisting of points or cash back. You can then use the welcome bonus toward travel or everyday expenses, depending on the card.
By charging recurring expenses on your credit card, you can increase your overall earnings per dollar spent. For example, the Capital One Venture Card offers 75,000 bonus miles plus a $250 travel credit once you spend $4,000 within the first three months of account opening.
With $4,000 in credit card expenses, you’d normally earn between 4,000-20,000 points (depending on the card and spending category). By channeling these expenses toward earning the Venture Card welcome bonus, you’ll receive 25 points per $1 spent. That’s a fantastic return!
Related: 6 steps to get approved for a Capital One credit card
Tips for meeting credit card spending requirements
The main pitfall of meeting spending requirements is falling into debt. It can be tempting to go a little overboard and spend outside of your budget to complete the required spend for a welcome bonus. Not only is that a terrible way to get into debt, it can negate the value of the rewards earned.
Here are a few tips to help you avoid getting into debt while completing credit card spending requirements:
Know when the timer starts
It’s worth noting that the timer on meeting credit card spending requirements starts as soon as your card application is approved – not when your card arrives. So keep this in mind and plan accordingly to ensure you don’t miss out on your credit card welcome bonus because you missed the deadline by a few days.
Budget and plan ahead
It’s easy to overspend and indulge in a few extra purchases when you’re trying to meet the minimum spend. Don’t fall into the trap – stick to your budget and try your best to only use your card for household bills and expenses.
Time your credit card application with upcoming spending. For example, back-to-school, thanksgiving and the holiday shopping season are great times to get a new credit card. Most people have higher expenses around this time of year and can meet spending requirements more easily.
Also, if you’re about to undertake a home renovation project or pay your annual tax bill, a new card can be a great option.
Track your progress toward minimum spending
One of the most important ways to avoid overspending on credit cards (let alone while meeting minimum spend) is by tracking your expenses. There are plenty of financial apps that can help you do this.
I recently tried eight of them and my favorite by far was Origin. However, I ended up switching to the NerdWallet app because Origin lacked one feature that I found really important. I can’t even remember what the missing feature was because it’s been months, but I’m pretty happy with Nerdwallet and it’s free to use.
While I use NerdWallet for general budgeting, I keep track of all my credit cards in a document. It forces me to stay engaged and includes important information like my annual fee due dates, progress toward spending requirements and annual spending bonuses. It’s simple and works for me. I’m happy to share it with you all if you want to shoot me an email.
Pay your balance in full
If you don’t pay your credit card balance in full (or on time), you’ll incur fees and interest charges that can eat into the value of your rewards. The extra money you spend (and interest you’ll incur if you can’t pay it off) is not worth the debt. Set your account to autopay and avoid this pitfall.
Paying your credit card balance in full ensures that you won’t incur any interest fees. By paying on time, you avoid negative reports on your credit.
The last thing you want to do is incur added expenses (and hurt your credit) while meeting minimum spending requirements.
Avoid making ineligible purchases
If you use your new card for purchases that don’t count toward minimum spending requirements, you’ll not only lose out on the welcome bonus but you won’t earn points. Common ineligible purchases include gift cards (Amex is notorious for clawing back welcome bonuses for this), cash advances and annual fees.
Keep an eye on your statement as purchases post and ensure they’re earning points and not accruing fees – that’s how you’ll know you’re making eligible purchases.
What happens if you don’t meet minimum spend?
If you don’t meet the minimum spend on time, you will likely not earn the welcome bonus. However, it’s worth calling the bank to ask if they’ll offer you an extension. I once got a bank to give me an extra two weeks to complete a spending requirement because it took almost two weeks for the card to arrive in the mail.
Your outcome will vary and there’s no guarantee (or obligation) for banks to accommodate you. However, it’s still worth trying. Just don’t count on it.
Related: Capital One application rules
Bottom line
Meeting credit card spending can seem intimidating but it doesn’t have to be if you leverage your spending correctly. Start by channeling your living expenses to your new card and expand into manufactured spending if you have to. Most importantly, use your credit card responsibly and avoid spending more than you can pay off.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is minimum spend?
Minimum spend refers to the minimum spending required to earn a credit card’s welcome bonus.
Do annual fees count toward credit card spend requirement
Annual fees do not count toward credit card spending requirements. Neither do interest fees and other penalties.
Are credit card welcome bonuses taxable?
Most credit card welcome bonuses are generally not taxable. However, referral bonuses usually are. You’ll typically get a 1099-MISC form from your bank if you’ve earned taxable rewards. Be sure to consult with a tax professional.
Do refunds count against spending toward a welcome bonus?
Refunds do not count toward credit card spending requirements for earning a welcome bonus. Be sure to calculate refunds into your total to ensure you don’t miss out on the bonus.
This story was originally published in June 2012.
Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
