It might be a good time to open a new credit card. Here’s why.
The fastest way to accrue points is by opening a new credit card and earning the associated sign-up bonus. Minimum spend typically starts at $3,000, and you usually have at least three months to hit that spend.
With the holidays coming up, many people find themselves spending more than usual due to holiday gifts, groceries, traveling to see friends & family, and / or shopping the Black Friday sales.
If you have planned Q4 spend, consider opening up a new credit card to take advantage of that spend and earn a sign-up bonus for future travel.
Here are a few of the cards we’d suggest looking into:
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The number one card for travel hacking. If you want to travel on points and miles, you need this card. Start here if you don’t have any travel hacking experience. The current offer on the Sapphire is to earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 dollars in the first three months of opening the card. So if you don’t spend on any elevated categories, you’ll earn a minimum of 64,000 points in three months. Chase points are the most valuable in travel hacking because of all the options for transferring points to travel partners.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 2x on travel purchases, 3x on dining, 3x on online grocery, and 2x on streaming services. It comes with a $95 annual fee that’s easily cancelled out by all the benefits.
The Chase Freedom Flex is one that earns 5x on quarterly categories and 1x on all other purchases. The Q4 categories are PayPal, select charities, and wholesale clubs. Shopping for groceries or gifts at Costco? You could earn up to 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points on $1,500 of spend. Please note you need a Chase Sapphire card to transfer your Freedom Flex points to Ultimate Rewards.
The sign-up bonus is $200 after you spend $500 in the first three months after opening the card, so this is a good option for lower spend. It also has no annual fee, and the points can be combined with your Sapphire for travel redemptions.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is our every day card because it earns 1.5x points on all purchases. Similar to the above, we transfer the points earned on the Unlimited to the Sapphire. The Freedom Unlimited earns 3x on drugstores (CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite Aid) and 3x on dining.
The Freedom Unlimited has a lower sign-up target. New cardholders earn $200 after you spend $500 in the first three months after opening. Again, not the highest value for travel hacking. It’s a good every day option, however, because it has no annual fee and the points earned can be transferred to the Sapphire for travel.
If you buy a lot of groceries in Q4, the AmEx Gold card may be a good fit for you. It earns 4x on groceries and 4x on dining if you prefer to eat out. The card also offers 3x on flights if you’re planning to book a trip soon. The card does come with a $250 annual fee, but the benefits are worth a look. Annual benefits include a $120 dining credit, $120 Uber or UberEats credit, and $100 Experience Credit when you book the Hotel Collection through AmEx.
Conclusion
There’s no right or wrong way to spend. You also don’t NEED to open new credit cards to travel hack. We want to hear from you – what cards are you using to capitalize in spending in Q4?
