At the time of writing this, I have almost 180,000 credit card points that can be used for travel, lodging and activities. Those points are from 2 credit cards – the Chase Sapphire Preferred & Chase Business Ink. The Sapphire had a 50,000 point bonus if I spent $4,000 in the first 3 months, while the Business Ink offered 80,000 bonus points if I spent $5,000 in the first month.

The biggest question I get asked is how I met the spending requirement. Well, when I signed up for my first card (the Sapphire), I kind of wondered the same thing. At the time, our monthly spending usually averaged to about $1,100 (not including things that have to come straight out of our bank account like rent, utilities, medical bills etc…) for our family of 3. That meant that there would be roughly a $700 gap between our expenses and the requirement. The point of earning credit card points is to SAVE money on travel, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t wasting money just to get points. So, I did a bit of research and came up with a few different ways to reach the minimums without a problem.

Use your credit card for everything

First, this credit card should now be used for EVERYTHING. That $3 coffee that you usually pay for with cash now goes on the credit card. The $1 parking meter now goes on the credit card. Any drinks and tips at a bar now go on your credit card. Groceries, on the card. Restaurants, on the card. Clothing, on the card. You get the idea.

Update subscriptions and automatic payments

Next, move any subscriptions or automatic payments to your card. That’s things like your internet, cellphone, Netflix, Spotify, car insurance, sports apps, swim lessons, cable etc… It all goes on this card.

Manufactured Spending – Gift Cards

Now, what if that still doesn’t add up to the spending requirement, like in my case. Well, that is where you get a little bit crafty. You can pre-pay some of your groceries or meals for following months by buying gift cards for the stores/restaurants you go to. This is called manufactured spending. You might spend a little more that month, but you will have a big dip in spending the following month to make up for it.

Buy Gifts

Another idea is to buy any gifts that you might need in the near future. Is Christmas coming up? Someone’s birthday? Mother’s or Father’s Day? Valentine’s Day? Or any other holiday or special occasion that you can think of.

Pick up the check at dinner

Still have more to spend? Next time your out to dinner with a big group, charge the whole thing to your credit card and have everyone else give you the money for their portion. I have found that Venmo is the easiest way to do this, but you can use whatever you want.

Add an authorized user

Another way is to add an authorized user to your account. This can be your spouse, sister or best friend – whoever you trust. Sometimes credit card companies will even give you additional bonus points for doing this (the Sapphire offered 5,000 extra points). The additional user then puts all of their spending on the account which helps reach your goal. In my case, the authorized user I added was my husband which helped with earning extra points, but not so much in spending because our spending would be being paid from the same joint account. But, if you’re not married (or have separate bills and accounts) or decide to add a friend/other family member then it will work for you.

Get some help

If all else fails, I have found that simply asking my dad to help me meet my minimum by paying for his groceries (or whatever) has worked. I pay with my credit card and then he Venmo’s me or writes a check.

By doing these things I have been able to meet the minimum for 3 different cards, and my 4th is in the mail on its way. I hope these tips alleviate any worry or hesitations you might have about being able to reach the spending limit. We used a lot of our points for a Round the World Trip. If you have other tips that you’ve found successful let me know in the comments below. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter!