When did spending thresholds become a thing?

[Anonymous]

It's all about knowing your budget and making choices. I have two Amex cards. I have not applied for a new Amex card since 1999. I never could get the 100K offer to come up even in incognito.While I would have been tempted, I would have had to make a choice between it and CSP. I would not try to do both within a 3 month period.

Find a card that you'll use and benefit from. Know what your budget accommodates. And don't manufacture spending artificially to meet the bonus. Then make a sound choice.

[Callandra]

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@Anonymous wrote:
why does minimum spend need to be a challenge? that's the point of it. you should be able to do it without challenge. 

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Agreed, you should never get a card with a bonus that doesn't fit within your normal spend (or if you have some bigger bills/expenses coming up like a vacation and you have the money saved up anyway): as I've said before, (1), you probably don't spend enough to make the card worthwhile/justifiable anyway and (2), you shouldn't overspend to carry a balance because the rewards will get eaten up by interest. (I'm such a broken record )

Even for a low spender like me, $1k in 3 months is easy enough but $4k in 3 months would not happen unless I roped fiance into using the card for all his expenses as well. Therefore, I wouldn't apply for the $4k in 3 months card since it would be a pain to get the bonus (but doable) but I don't think I could justify the card since my spend isn't that high. 

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:
why does minimum spend need to be a challenge? that's the point of it. you should be able to do it without challenge. some of you have the wrong idea of what a credit card is lol. it's not supposed to be a challenge to spend on it. that's how people overspend and you end up spending on average $1k a month when your regular budget accounts for $800 a month... but you know... GOTTA meet that minimum spend...

get what works for your budget. make your card work for you, don't work for your card. good tip to live by.

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Well, it really depends.   If a card has a bonus worth say $1000, it might be worth "overspending" (prepaying some bills for example) by $100 for three months to get that bonus (not going into debt, but reducing reserves).  Or you might decide not to.   But doing the former is perfectly sound.

[Anonymous]

and if yore overpaying on bills to save money for the coming months could be a decent idea but doubtful that most people do that lol.

[Open123]

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@Anonymous wrote:
and if yore overpaying on bills to save money for the coming months could be a decent idea but doubtful that most people do that lol.

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Prepaying bills are sound, assuming the bonus received yields a higher return than the alternatives.  With short term rates near 0, even a $200 bonus for $2,000 spend is infinitely superior to anything the Bank has to offer.

Until this dynamic changes, rewards will continue to be offered, and everyone will continue to reap them.

[Anonymous]

oh i agree yup. or just pay your 6 month premium on insurance and let your balance ride for the 6 months in interest free and make our normal payment toward your credit card. just don't go buy crap to meet spend is all i am saying

[icyhot]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@icyhot wrote:
More cards should do that. Make a purchase and pay AF = bonus. Way easier than spending $1000-$3000 in 3 months

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How is meeting a spend of $1,000 in 3 months a challenge?  People have utility bills (electric, gas, water), cable bills, cell phones, grocery shopping, going out to eat, gas in your car, clothes shopping, etc.

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Never said it was a challenge, I said it was easier. 

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:
oh i agree yup. or just pay your 6 month premium on insurance and let your balance ride for the 6 months in interest free and make our normal payment toward your credit card. just don't go buy crap to meet spend is all i am saying

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And sadly, people do it all the time -- spend more than normal to get a bonus, or spend more than normal to get rewards.

[UncleB]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
oh i agree yup. or just pay your 6 month premium on insurance and let your balance ride for the 6 months in interest free and make our normal payment toward your credit card. just don't go buy crap to meet spend is all i am saying

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And sadly, people do it all the time -- spend more than normal to get a bonus, or spend more than normal to get rewards.

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+1

Agree with you both.

My income and spending is 'modest' compared to most on here, and I know that there are cards that just aren't for me... even if I can get approved for them.  I just concentrate on getting/having cards that work for my specific spending pattern. 

I can reasonably accommodate a 'minimum spend' threshold, but if the card isn't useful to me going forward (after the bonus), it just clutters up my accounting and lowers my AAoA.