During college, I signed up for a credit card and received a $25 prepaid phone card. That was the extent of the sign up bonuses back then. Oh, I forgot. I also received a free t-shirt.
I didn’t sign up for credit cards after getting the Chase Cash Plus Rewards credit card. I received 5% cash back for drugstores, supermarkets and gas stations. Those were the main stores I frequented so it worked for me. Also, if I wanted to buy something from let’s say Home Depot, Best Buy or the Gap, I could always buy a gift card at the drugstore or supermarket and receive 5% cash back. Unfortunately this card was discontinued about a year ago. I had a good run with it though. At around the same time the Chase Cash Plus Rewards card was discontinued, I started to notice the extravagant credit card sign up bonuses.
I wasn’t a big fan of credit card sign up bonuses because I was scared that it might hurt my credit score. But I figured that since I was not planning on purchasing a house within the next year or two or taking out any other loans, a small credit hit wouldn’t hurt. My credit score was 800 so I was in good shape. Before I go any further, I just wanted to say that if you do not pay your credit card payment in full each month then these sign up bonuses probably are not a good idea for you. Also, if you will spend more money than you would have to meet the spending requirements, then it is not worth it.
NFL Barclays Mastercard
I signed up for the NFL Barclays Mastercard back in October. The bonus was 40,000 points which was redeemable for $400 credit. At the time, I only had to spend $1,000 over 3 months to get the bonus. Of course, I only used the credit card to buy things that I would have bought anyway. My wife also got in on this deal and got the $400 credit. We got the New York Giants logo for the card…just in case you were wondering. I thought she was gonna go for the Buffalo Bills logo, but I guess she decided to go for a winner =)
Chase Sapphire Visa
I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Visa card last April which offered a 50,000 points bonus, but you have to spend $2,500 over 3 months. You can redeem the 50,000 points for $500, but the cool thing about this card is that the 50,000 points could be transferred to various airline or hotel loyalty programs which made it worth up to $646.00 according to their advertising. Well, I transferred 30,000 points to the Hyatt rewards program and my wife and I were able to stay at the Grand Hyatt in Macau (the Las Vegas of Asia) for two nights. It would have cost about $600 for two nights for the grand king suite if I didn’t have the points and had to pay cash. Needless to say, I would not have stayed there if I had to pay cash. The annual fee is waived the first year, so I downgraded to the non-fee version of that card last month when my year was up. I lose the perks of transferring the points to airlines and hotels, but with a baby on the way, I probably won’t be traveling too much in the near future anyway.
The Infinity Pool
Grand King Suite
Meeting the spending requirement
A few ways I met the spending requirement without spending more than I normally spent was by
-paying for dinner for a group of friends with the credit card and collecting the cash
-paying for my auto and renter’s insurance
-using Amazon payments to pay or give money to people
-cellphone and cable internet bill
-charitable donations
-buying gift cards to stores that I planned on going to in the future
Chase checking
I was getting Chase checking sign up offers for $150 in the mail, but just threw them out. I already had a checking account and had no need for another one. However, when I noticed that they raised it to $200, I started getting tempted to sign up just for the $200. My wife and I both signed up and got $200 each. However, you either have to maintain a daily balance of $1500, a monthly average balance of $5000 or have direct deposit. I actually kept the Chase checking account after the required period as it offers bonus points for those with the Chase Freedom card.
And the rest…
I signed up for the Sallie Mae World Mastercard which I’ve mentioned previously as it gives 5% on gas and supermarkets (up to $250) and at bookstores/Amazon (up to $750). They gave me a $25 bonus for my first purchase. That was not much of a bonus, but I was mainly signing up to get the 5% on those coveted categories. $25 was icing on the cake.
I registered for a reloadable American Express prepaid card. They were running a deal offering a $25 Amex gift card if I loaded the prepaid card with $200. There was no credit pull with this deal, but after signing up for the above credit cards and the checking account my credit score of 800 fell to 769. Not a big deal.
Do you guys think signing up for credit card and other bank-related bonuses are worth it? Have you done so yourselves?
I think it can totally be worth it as long as you have your spending under control. Both my wife and I have one of the Barclaycard’s and have earned the $400 each. We have two other cards between us that have us at about $2,000 in rewards points that we plan on using for a trip next year.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted…Frugal Gift Ideas For Dad
Absolutely agree, its great to the get those bonuses…just as long as you’re not carrying a balance or overspending to get them. I’ve seem some travel bloggers go on extravagant trips with their points. Some are a little too extreme, but bonuses in moderation are a good way to supplement your vacation budget.
I really haven’t chased credit card rewards at all. I should probably get serious about it. I just have one small card and never carry a balance or anything so I don’t even really think about them much. Thanks for the reminder to stop leaving money on the table!
Pretired Nick recently posted…Pop your own housing bubble
I didn’t look into the bonuses until last year…it really does feel like easy money. But of course I make sure not to carry a balance or to overspend.
It can be. I got a free flight to Chicago with one credit card! 🙂
Yep, I got 2 round trip tickets to Indianapolis for a wedding…otherwise, it would have been expensive to attend.
I like to stick with the cash back cards since I always feel like I can get better deals on other things elsewhere. Definitely have to pay off the card every month for it to be worth it. I don’t think I would bother with credit cards if it weren’t for the rewards and credit score.
Greg @ Thriftgenuity.com recently posted…Tips on How to Deal with Debt
Very true, it is only worth it if you pay off the card every month and don’t spend more than you would have. I like cash back cards for daily spending, but when there is a big bonus for a sign up…I would consider it.
Never really gotten a credit card for the bonuses or rewards. Other then in college and getting those free tees I haven’t looked into the rewards at all but maybe I will start. I guess it can be worth it if you are discipline and are using for things you would have gotten in the first place.
Thomas at Your Daily Finance recently posted…Personal Finances for Everyone – Even YOU!
Yes, if you are disciplined and are using it for things you’d normally buy…credit card bonuses and rewards can be great. Also, wouldn’t want to sign up for too many if you’re looking to get a loan in the near future.
Those sounds like some awesome deals. I’ve taken the lazier and less risky approach of just getting my Chase Freedom. I got a $100 signing bonus and I get 1% cashback on everything. It’s not sexy, but it gets the job done.
CashRebel recently posted…May 2013 Goals Update
I have the Chase Freedom card too, but I never signed up for it. I think it was an old Chase card from college which they converted to the Freedom. It’s a good card to have. They have pretty useful 5% cash back bonuses.
I love credit card rewards! I’m churning the AMEX Starwood Preferred card right now….I’m going to use the points to pay for an overseas trip next year.
Holy@ClubThrifty recently posted…Surviving a Bear Market Encounter in the Wild
Yea, I thought about the AMEX Starwood Preferred card too…maybe in the future. Sounds like an exciting trip you guys are going on!
If you’re someone who has no credit card debt, pays your bill 100% in full each month and wouldn’t spend differently with either the card or regular cash, then credit cards are an absolute bonanza of free stuff!
They basically give you thousands of dollars of free cash and/or travel rewards each year if you’re willing to play the game a bit and open up a few new cards each year.
In just the past 18 months I’ve earned:
230,000 British Airways points, which are extremely valuable to use on American Airlines (25 round-trip flights from JFK to Bermuda for instance)
40,000 Starwood points which we’re going to use to get 5 free nights at the Disney Swan next year
70,000 Delta points
65,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that I’ll probably use for 3 nights at a top-tier Hyatt (or just get $650 cash back)
And this cost me $0 out of pocket. Total expense was nothing. It’s unbelievable!
I wrote up a pretty comprehensive post on my Introduction to Travel Hacking and I think it’s pretty good for people looking to learn a bit more about the credit card game.
Brad recently posted…An Introduction to Travel Hacking
Wow Brad, you definitely got a lot of free points over the past 18 months! I didn’t know you could use Starwood points on a Disney property? The Hyatt redemption really does give great value for the property. I’ll make sure to check your post!
haha, yeah, I’ve really been working this credit card and travel hacking game pretty hard since I learned about it! We don’t go overboard though, as the minimum spend requirements do take us a few months for each card, so I try to stick to 4 new cards a year.
I threw in 2 extra Delta AMEX cards in 2013 because the minimum spend requirements were tiny and I thought I could use those points imminently, but I wound up being incorrect about that.
With the major signup bonuses, you should easily be able to pocket a free $2,000 a year, just going the cash back route. Of course you’ll get a lot more “value” redeeming for travel, but a lot of people can use the extra cash too!
Since you live in NYC (we’re from Long Island and our family is still there, so we expect to fly out of NY quite often when we drop the kids off) you have a lot more flexibility with the airline redemption options, so that’s a bonus. I really like the British Airways Avios, since they are distance based and there are some real sweet spots (to Bermuda, Toronto, Montreal, etc.) where you only need 9,000 points and like $15 in taxes to fly round-trip.
I was surprised about the Starwood points at Disney too, but the Swan and Dolphin hotels are actually not owned by Disney and are part of the SPG points system. Even though they are on-site and right next to Epcot, you can use your points there. They are Category 4, so 5 nights there costs 40,000 points with the 5th night free. See the redemption schedule here:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/redeem/free_nights.html
We’re taking our young daughters there next year and I expect the entire trip to be free. I’m actually writing a post about it as we speak, so be sure to check back in a day or two.
Shoot me an email at brad at richmondsavers dot com if you want to chat about these travel programs. I’m far from an expert, but I really do enjoy the fun of it and I’ve learned a lot about it recently!
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I will definitely check that post. My wife is expecting soon so we probably won’t be traveling much soon. Hopefully these deals will still be around when we’re ready to travel. Since your family is out on the Island, Southwest flies to McArthur in Islip and they have had pretty good sign up bonuses too. You should check that out.
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