A Quick Tip for Meeting Minimum Spending Requirements (I Did It and You Can, Too!)

March 25, 2019 By Joseph Hostetler

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Earning lucrative welcome offers from the best credit cards for travel is the quickest way to be on your way to a (nearly) free vacation. But meeting a card’s minimum spending requirements can be a daunting task for many, and it’s easy to understand why.

Depending on your spending habits, making $3,000 to $5,000 (or sometimes more!) in eligible purchases within a given timeframe can seem impossible. But here’s an idea!

My Sister Is Opening a Restaurant and I’m Using Some of Her Expenses to Help Me Meet the Requirements of a Spending Bonus I’m Working On

One Way to Meet Minimum Spending Requirements

Have you ever considered asking a friend or family member if they have any large purchases coming up? If they do, you could offer to charge the purchase to your card and have them pay you back.

I did this recently with my sister. She’s a restaurant manager and is in the process of opening a new restaurant. We were chatting and she mentioned she’d be buying a few thousand dollars worth of items for the space – things like linens, silverware, glassware, candle holders, etc. I thought wow, too bad I wasn’t working toward earning a new welcome offer.

She needed to buy the items quickly, so there wasn’t enough time for her to apply for her own card in order to earn an intro bonus. But I remembered that I’d been targeted for a spending bonus on one of my credit cards.

With the offer, I could earn 7,500 bonus points every month for 6 months, up to a total of 45,000 bonus points.

So I asked her if she’d be willing to charge the items to my card and reimburse me. She had to check with her boss but was eventually given the go ahead. I sent her my credit card information, she placed the order, and I’ll get reimbursed (and earn a ton of bonus points!) soon.

Now I understand these types of opportunities don’t come around too often, but it’s worth mentioning because it may help you think out of the box when it comes to meeting minimum spending requirements for bonus rewards.

Just remember, only do this with friends and family you trust 100% because you’re the one responsible for any charges on your card!

Have you ever gotten creative when it came to meeting a minimum spending requirement? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below! And be sure to check out our list of the best credit cards for travel to start earning the travel rewards you need to take an amazing getaway!

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

APPLY NOW

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
$300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year
3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. $0 foreign transaction fees.
Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select
Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®
One Year Complimentary Lyft Pink ($199 minimum value). Complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash after activating by 12/31/21.

Intro APR on purchases

N/A

Regular APR

16.99%-23.99% Variable

Annual Fee

$550

Balance Transfer Fee

Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater