Wondering how to get more credit card points without spending more money? Is that even possible? Yes! You can absolutely earn more credit card points without spending more money if you know these travel hacking tricks.
Disclaimer: This post contains referral links. If an account is opened using one of the following links, I may earn a small referral bonus from the brand at no cost to you.
Credit Card Welcome Offers
The first way to get more credit card points without spending more is to take advantage of credit card welcome offers. Welcome offers, also known as welcome bonuses or opening bonuses, are incentives for new cardholders that credit card companies offer in hopes that you will open and use their credit cards.
For example, a standard credit card welcome offer for the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X cards is 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4000 on the card in the first three months of opening the card. In today’s economy, most of us spend $4000 on everyday living expenses, such as groceries and gas, anyway. So, the trick here is to never spend more than you usually do but to put all of your normal spend on the new card to earn the bonus points. Although specific welcome offers vary between cards, these bonus points can usually easily earn you a business class flight for free. That’s how to get a lot more credit card points without spending more. Then, you can repeat this process with new cards to earn different welcome offers roughly every 3-6 months.
Elevated Credit Card Welcome Offers
Moreover, better yet, the best way to get more credit card points is to take advantage of elevated welcome offers. Like standard welcome offers, credit card companies will occasionally promote elevated welcome offers, in which you can earn even more opening bonus points than the standard welcome offer for a limited-time. For instance, every once in a while, my favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred card has an elevated welcome offer of 100,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spend. Whereas, its standard offer is usually 60,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spend. Taking advantage of these limited-time offers when they pop up is a ridiculously easy way to get tens of thousands more credit card points without spending more money.
Business Card Welcome Offers
Similarly, if you’re worried that you’ll eventually run out of welcome offers to earn, don’t be. Not only can you close and reopen some personal cards to earn the same welcome offers again, but you can also take advantage of business card welcome offers to get more credit card points. Business credit card opening bonus points, such as the Chase Ink business cards’ points, can often be redeemed for travel if you have the right travel hacking strategy in place. Plus, you don’t have to own a million-dollar company to open business credit cards. A business as simple as selling items on Facebook Marketplace can be sufficient to get a business EIN number from the IRS, which is what you’ll need to apply for these business cards.
Partner Transfer Bonuses
In addition to welcome offers, adding partner transfer bonuses to your points and miles strategy is another fantastic way to get more credit card points without spending more money. Every so often, banks, hotels and airlines partner with each other to promote what they call transfer bonuses. During transfer bonuses, you get a percentage of bonus points for transferring your flexible credit card points to the airline or hotel loyalty programs to book those respective airlines or hotels. For example, Capital One may offer a temporary 20% transfer bonus to Air Canada Aeroplan. This means, if you transfer 100,000 Capital One miles to Air Canada Aeroplan during the transfer bonus, you’ll have 120,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points in your Aeroplan account. Note, once you transfer your points, you can’t un-transfer them. So, I would advise you to have a plan for how you’re using those transferred points before transferring.
Bonus Spending Categories
Additionally, most travel credit cards offer bonus spending categories. Spending categories include types of basic expenses like groceries, gas and travel. When a credit card has bonus spending categories, you earn extra points and miles for purchases you make on the card within those categories. For instance, unless I am working toward a welcome offer minimum spend, I always order my online groceries with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card because I get 3x points per dollar spent on online grocery orders. Therefore, if I spend $150 on online groceries via Instacart with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card, I’ll earn 450 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers 3x on dining purchases, so I always use my Chase Sapphire Preferred when eating out, too. Unless, of course, I’m working toward a minimum spend on another card.
Shopping Offers
Likewise, another easy way to get more credit card points without spending more is to leverage bank portal shopping offers. Most major bank credit cards have temporary shopping offers that act similar to bonus spending categories but for specific retailers. For example, if I click through the a 5x American Eagle shopping offer in my Capital One online bank portal to order a new pair of jeans, I’ll get 5x Capital One miles per dollar spent on those jeans. Obviously, this is way better than the standard 2x miles per dollar I would otherwise earn on the same jeans with my Capital One Venture card. Note, you have to click through the shopping offer link in order to earn those bonus points. But, it’s worth it to check your online bank portal for those shopping offer links before making online retail or travel purchases.
Cash Back Programs
Lastly, cash back offers through free cash back programs like Rakuten can also earn you valuable credit card points. In your Rakuten settings, you can convert your cash back into Amex Membership Rewards points. If you use Amex Membership Rewards in your points and miles strategy, this can be a super easy and extremely valuable way to get more credit card points without spending more. Plus, Rakuten has a free Google Chrome extension that automatically pops up when online shopping if there is a Rakuten cash back offer for that online store.
More On How To Get More Credit Card Points
How To Get Free Flights For Life (Travel Hacking For Beginners)
Best Travel Credit Cards For Beginners
How To Choose The Best Travel Credit Card (Quiz)
How To Earn 100K Points + Miles In The Next 3 Months
Save These Tips On How To Get More Credit Card Points
Save this guide on how to get more credit card points without spending more for later by sharing to your socials.
Leave a Reply