Most premium credit cards these days have quite high minimum spending amounts.
These can be up in the range of $6000, which must be spent within 3 months of activating the credit card you have decided to churn to receive your signup bonus.
So how do you spend $6000 in 3 months, or ideally 1 month? Especially if you are single and trying to be frugal as well.
For some, reaching the minimum spend whilst point hacking will be easy, as they may have a large family, as it is in my case, or have business expenses.
For others, this may be much more challenging. Even though the cost of living is rising, it might still require you to be creative and consider manufactured spending at times.
You must have a plan to reach your minimum spend when credit card churning, this is especially the case if you want to receive your signup bonus on your first statement period.
In this post, I will cover the different ways I go about reaching my minimum spend within a month when churning credit cards for Qantas points. I will show you some tips and tricks I use without overspending or changing my spending habits.
Remember to do your own research and consider if these methods are suitable for your situation and your financial goals. Be responsible with your spending and never spend more than you can afford to chase signup offers and reward points. If you are unsure, speak to a financial advisor to see what works best for you in your own personal circumstances.
Pay for all your purchases using your credit card
This one seems obvious, but many think that a credit card is only used for purchases not covered by a budget, such as restaurants, outings, or emergencies.
I covered how I use a credit card instead of a debit card in a previous article called "How does a credit card work as a source of finance?" Here I cover the mindset change you may need to have to start using your credit card as a budgeting and spending tool responsibly and carefully.
When I receive a new credit card that I will be churning, I will first connect it to all my online payment platforms, such as Paypal and Apple Pay. I then give the physical card to my wife.
This will allow us to easily pay all our day to day expenses, bills, online shopping, and all tap and go payments. Normal day to day spending covers the bulk of our spending toward the minimum spend requirements.
It also helps with not changing my spending habits as I try to treat my credit card as a debit card or cash in a sense and am very responsible with my spending so I do not go into debt and can pay off my credit card in full and on time every time to not incur any interest payments.
You can also pay bills and other payments that don't accept credit cards using Sniip. These payments include ATO payments and most BPAY or direct to account payments. Snipp is a portal that allows you to make payments to any bills or BPAY only payments using their service.
This allows you to use your credit card and still earn points from your purchases. This is perfect for those using an AMEX and trying to reach the minimum spend. I use their services to pay for bills using my AMEX so I can reach the higher minimum spend.
There is a small surcharge but to get you over the edge, especially with AMEX, it may be worth it. So please weigh up your own situation and spending requirements to see if this is an option that may work for you.
If you are signing up or already signed up, you can get $10 off your bill by using my referral code "434yM" to save even more.
I can't stress this enough, don't spend more than you need to, in the hopes of reaching your minimum spend. As these costs will eat into any rewards you receive and make this whole exercise futile. So please plan your spending responsibly and carefully to only spend what you can afford and have budgeted for.
Plan your payments in advance
Plan how you pay your large bills or recurring expenses such as gas, electricity, internet, water, mobile phone, rates, car services, doctor expenses, insurance premiums, car registration, Netflix subscription, and other entertainment subscriptions or any other ongoing financial commitments using your credit card.
All these payments are usually large and can be paid throughout the year in portions or at a time of your choosing.
Sometimes you can even pay ahead or prepay certain bills which adds credit to be used for the next billing cycle. If you know when these bills are due, you can plan ahead of time to align them with your minimum spending requirements for the credit cards you will be churning.
Some service providers may charge a very small fee or surcharge. This is where you will need to weigh up if the credit card signup bonus is worth the small credit card fee to reach the minimum spend.
If you know you can reach the minimum spend in other ways, you can decide not to pay using your credit card and pay using Bpay instead.
You may decide that sometimes having to pay the credit card fee, is worth the price. Some people view it as a cost of doing business to get their signup bonus paid out as fast as possible so they can move on to another credit card. These are all decisions you will have to weigh up carefully to do what's best for you and your own financial situation and goals.
Pay for your friends
Everyone has been out with a group of friends before and when it comes time to pay, you realise that the restaurant does not allow the bill to be spit.
Usually, someone offers to pay the whole bill and everyone else transfers the money. This is the person you want to be!
This is especially true if you have an AMEX due to their small shop promotions. This allows you to rack up big chunks of spending towards your minimum requirements, as long as you trust your friends to pay you back.
You can do this when eating out, going to the cinemas, or even when buying tickets to shows or travel.
Buy gift cards
This is one method I have personally used before to reach my minimum spend.
You can buy a gift card somewhere you know you will be shopping. For example, any of the large supermarket chains such as Woolworths or Coles.
Any gift card will work especially if you know you will be using it soon. Many gift cards can be purchased online with a discount through online portals such as the Woolworths Wish card which is usually very popular and discounted at up to 10%.
These gift cards can then be used just like cash at their respective stores both online and in-store.
Many times as well, Coles will offer large Flybuys bonuses when purchasing gift cards, so look out for promotions when thinking of purchasing gift cards to reach your minimum spend requirements.
Pay rent
Do you pay rent? This may help you out if your landlord or real estate agent accepts payments made with credit cards.
These payments always include a surcharge or extra fees, but as I mentioned earlier, it may be worth doing one payment just to cross the line, especially if you have exhausted all other options. So do your own research into these options to see if it works for your personal situation.
Some businesses providing this service include:
Give to charity
Finally, another option is to give to charity. Most charity foundations will accept credit card payments as a way of giving.
This is a great way to give back and support foundations you believe in and help out the community and those less fortunate.
An organisation I give to regularly is ADRA which works within a ‘Values-based Framework’ to achieve well-being and security for people on terms that are important to them domestically and abroad.
What to do if you are desperate?
So what happens if you have tried all the above options and still can't reach the minimum spend?
Below are a bit of left field options that may work for you but are considered a bit dodgy.
Book a hotel a year in advance which offers full refunds. Then after you have received your signup bonus and have closed your credit card, cancel your hotel reservation for a full refund and get the money transferred to a nominated bank account. This can be tricky as you will have to confirm with the hotel that you will receive a full refund upon cancellation and that the refund can be refunded in some other form than to the credit card the payment was made.
Pay a friend using Pay Pal, using your credit card. When your friend receives the money, they can just send it back to you through bank transfer or cash. You will be charged a fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents but will be able to meet your minimum spend requirements. You will have to weigh up if this is worth the effort, as with large amounts the fees could negate any rewards you receive. Also, make sure your friend is a trusted person and is willing to pay your money back to you. This method is also known to some as manufactured spending.
If you are a frequent member of a local pub or eatery you can run a tab with them for future purchases if they will allow it.
There are many ways to reach your minimum spend when credit card churning in Australia. So you should not have any problem accomplishing this task. If you have any other ways please let me know. Above all, remember to only spend money that you can afford to spend and always be responsible when using credit cards as they can lead some people into debt if not used correctly. So keep in mind the risks you may face.
Like always, if you have any questions, please comment below or contact me. If you don't want to miss out on any new content, then follow me on Instagram or Reddit for more information about everything to do with credit card churning and point collecting.