How to Determine the Best Credit Card Bonus

Nov, 29   -   No Comments   -   Candice

Credit card bonus offers are very common nowadays. With a credit card bonus offer, you’ll get a specific dollar amount, typically when you spend a certain amount of money on the card within a certain period of time. However, it can be complicated to compare and contrast different credit card bonuses. If you want to make sure you’re getting the best credit card bonus offers, here are four things you can do.

1. Determine the Bonus Qualifications

First, you want to determine the bonus qualifications of the credit card. How much money do you have to spend to receive the bonus, and in how much time? This can be important for if you’re trying to see whether you could even qualify for the bonus in the first place. Take your general family budget for credit card purchases and make sure that the bonus requirement fits into it, more or less. Otherwise, you may spend extra to try and get the sign-on bonus.

2. See Whether You Can Increase the Bonus Value

Some credit cards give you your bonus as just a statement credit, which means that you’re getting a predefined dollar amount when you hit the bonus amount. However, some cards will give you the bonus as points or miles. If this is the case, look into how you might be able to maximize the usage of those points. You could end up making your sign-on bonus worth much more than you thought it would be.

3. Check for First-Year Bonuses

Depending on the credit card you end up choosing, there could be two different sign-on bonuses: a sign-on bonus for the first three or six months, and a sign-on bonus that you can qualify for after a year. That first-year bonus could be a great way to save even more money. Just see how much you need to spend on your credit card during the first year to achieve the bonus, and make sure you’re always thinking about staying on the path to getting that bonus.

4. Compare the Bonus Against the Annual Fee

Not all credit cards have annual fees, but some do. The annual fee doesn’t always correspond to the sign-on bonus you’ll get, but it’s not uncommon to see cards with annual fees that have slightly higher sign-on bonuses than cards without them. However, if you want to make sure that you’re getting the best deal, you’ll want to look for a card with a lower annual fee and a higher sin-on bonus.

Conclusion

Credit card bonuses are very different, and you may end up going with a credit card that has a worse sign-on bonus because you like a lot of the other features of the card. However, that means you’re choosing the sign-on bonus that’s specifically best for your family. Not all families are going to want the same sign-on bonus, and that’s just fine. Make sure you use these actions to find the best sign-on bonus for your needs.