With 2014 drawing to a close, it’s important to take a look at your finances and make sure that every box has been ticked. This includes reviewing your credit card spending for the year – have you done enough swiping to earn your annual spending bonus?
If you’re not sure what an annual spending bonus is or if your card offers one, take a look at the details below. The Nerds are happy to help you rack up a few extra rewards before the year is up!
What’s an annual credit card spending bonus?
An annual credit card spending bonus is a little “thank you” gift given by issuers to high-spending customers. For spending a certain amount of money in a year, the issuer will add a points or miles bonus to the customer’s rewards account. This bonus can also come in other forms, like an airfare discount or a companion ticket on a flight.
It’s important to pay attention to both how much you’ll need to spend to get the bonus and the type of bonus your credit card carries. Calendar year bonuses require you to complete the spending between January and December of a given year. Card member year bonuses require you to complete the spending within the 12 months of your account anniversary.
To illustrate this difference, here’s a quick example: Let’s say you opened a credit card in May, and it features a 10,000 annual points bonus if you spend $30,000 on it in a year. If this is a calendar year spending bonus, you’ll have until Dec. 31 of that same year to spend the $30,000. The following year, you’ll have January through December.
But if it’s a card member year spending bonus, you’ll have until the following May to complete your spending. Your card member year runs from May to May, so you’ll have to spend $30,000 between these months each year to keep getting your spending bonus.
Cards with a calendar year spending bonus
If you have a card with a calendar year spending bonus, the race is on to get in some swiping before the year is up. If you have one of the cards below, start reaching for it every time you need to make a purchase:
The United MileagePlus® Explorer Card
The United MileagePlus® Explorer Card is a popular travel card, and offers a generous calendar year spending bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus MileagePlus miles annually when you spend $25,000 on your card. Again, be sure you meet this spending requirement before the clock runs out on 2014.
In terms of other card features, the United MileagePlus® Explorer Card offers:
- A signup bonus: Start with 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.
- One free checked bag for you and a travel companion on every United flight.
- Two passes to the United Club lounge every year.
- Priority boarding on all United flights.
- Earn 1 MileagePlus mile on every dollar you spend, and 2 MileagePlus miles on United ticket purchases.
- No foreign transaction fee.
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
This is a good co-branded card to consider for traveling domestically, especially if you can meet the annual spending requirement to get the 10,000-mile bonus.
The British Airways Visa Signature® Card
If you fly to Europe frequently, the British Airways Visa Signature® Card is probably in your wallet. If so, try to spend at least $30,000 before the end of the calendar year. If you do, you’ll get a Travel Together ticket for a companion to accompany you on an award flight. Travel Together tickets are good for up to two years, and they can even be used in first class. Talk about a win-win!
Other features of the British Airways Visa Signature® Card include:
- A signup bonus: 50,000 bonus Avios after you make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 2.5 Avios (the currency of the British Airways frequent flyer program) for every dollar spent on British Airways purchases and 1.25 Avios for every dollar spent elsewhere.
- Card comes EMV chip-enabled.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- $0 Intro Annual Fee The First Year, Then $95.
Cards with a card member year spending bonus
If you have one of the credit cards below, the good news is that you won’t have to worry about meeting a spending requirement before the calendar year is up.
But while you’re doing other end-of-year financial tasks, go back to your records and figure out when your card member year closes. You wouldn’t want to miss out on a card member year spending bonus with any of the following:
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard®
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard® offers a generous card member year bonus: If you spend $30,000 on your plastic in a year, you’ll get a $100 American Airlines flight discount. That’s nothing to sneeze at, and the card also has a lot of other great features. For example:
- The signup bonus: Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles and 2 Admirals Club® Passes after making $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening*.
- One free checked bag for you and up to 4 travel companions on every American Airlines flight. This feature alone could save families a bundle.
- Earn one AAdvantage mile for every dollar you spend and two AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
- Group 1 boarding on American Airlines flights.
- 25% off of eligible in-fight purchases.
- Get 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage miles back each year, up to 10,000 miles.
- Annual fee is $95, waived for first 12 months*.
The The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard®
As US Airways and American Airlines take steps toward full integration, many of their frequent flyer program features and products are beginning to look alike. Beginning in the second quarter of 2015, the The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® will offer a $100 discount on US Airways flights to customers who spend at least $30,000 in a card member year.
In the meantime, you can enjoy the card’s other great benefits. These include:
- A signup bonus: Limited Time Offer: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee*.
- One free checked bag for you and up to 4 travel companions on every US Airways flight. Again, this could represent a huge savings for families.
- Receive a companion certificate for up to 2 guests to travel with you on US Airways for $99 each. Your ticket must cost at least $250 to take advantage of this benefit.
- Earn one Dividend Mile on every dollar you spend, and two Dividend Miles for every dollar spent on eligible US Airways or American Airlines purchases.
- Priority boarding on US Airways flights.
- 25% off of in-flight purchases made with US Airways or American Airlines.
- Annual fee is $89.
Happy swiping!
Spending money with credit card image via Shutterstock
The post Get Your Credit Card Spending Bonus Before Time Runs Out appeared first on NerdWallet Credit Card Blog.
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