This isn’t click bait, I legitimately spent $20 on my plane ticket to PR for a weekend getaway! The key is to take advantage of credit card bonus offers! Here’s how I did it.
So my very first credit card was the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card. It was a good starter card for me because there is no annual fee and it offers up to 3% cashback on purchases in the category of my choice. Because this credit card is under my home bank, it’s also easier to keep up with as I did not have to create an another account through another website, I automatically see my balance every time I log in which makes it hard to forget to pay, and paying the balance requires just a quick transfer because my accounts are already connected. But the biggest benefit was the introductory offer of $200 when you spend $1000 in the first 90 days! Free money!
Now for these kinds of offers to have genuine benefits, it’s important to use the card responsibly. This means not maxing out your balance and not letting your purchases rack up insane amounts of interest. If you do either of these, these cash back offers will no longer make a difference and potentially just push you farther into debt. But as long as you spend only what you could afford on your own and pay your balance in full by the end of each cycle, credit card offers like this one are easy money!!!
Meeting that $1000 mark can be easy or difficult depending on your spending habits and what you have going on in life at the moment. Here are a few options that may help.
I would recommend applying for the credit card around the time that you have been intending to make a bigger purchase such as furniture, an expensive gift, electronics, etc. Instead of charging the purchase directly to your checking account, use the credit card and then pay it off immediately. This will help you meet the minimum quickly without having to do any extra work or monitoring.
Use your credit card to pay rent. I don't know about y'all but my rent would exceed this easily now that I no longer have a roommate. 😭 The only downside to this method is that sometimes paying with a credit card as opposed to direct transfer means that you will be charged a convenience fee. My apartment complex charges $20.99 extra.
Use your credit card for your everyday purchases (gas, food, groceries, clothing, etc.). Although this method will probably take the longest to meet the minimum, it's definitely doable depending on your current spending habits. Once again, do not spend any money that you don't already have because this can be a slippery slope!
If you feel you won't successfully meet the limit on your own, ask your TRUSTWORTHY family and friends if you can cover their expenses while they pay you back (purchase family groceries, cover the group dinner, pay for someone else's clothes, etc.). But be careful! Nothing's worse than dishing out your hard earned money on someone else and then watching them play dumb or go ghost to avoid paying you back.
I believe I got my $200 reward at the beginning of the following cycle after I met the $1000 mark. I could redeem the bonus by transferring the amount to your checking or savings accounts or use it to pay the statement balance. My flight to Puerto Rico was about $220 roundtrip and I used my $200 reward to cover most of the expense by transferring the money back. So all I had to pay out of pocket was $20! We love to see it!!!
Comments