{"id":40291,"date":"2023-09-21T17:00:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T17:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/21\/maximizing-credit-cards-to-become-points-rich-without-spending-a-ton-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2023-09-21T17:00:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T17:00:20","slug":"maximizing-credit-cards-to-become-points-rich-without-spending-a-ton-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/21\/maximizing-credit-cards-to-become-points-rich-without-spending-a-ton-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Maximizing credit cards to become points-rich without spending a ton &#8211; The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>There&#8217;s no question that it&#8217;s easy to amass a wealth of points and miles by using credit cards for all your spending. But what if you have low monthly expenses and don&#8217;t have the opportunity to earn travel rewards through work? Is it still possible to earn enough points for free travel?<\/p>\n<p>This question has crossed every <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/beginners\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">beginner&#8217;s<\/a> mind, and the answer is yes, and fortunately, it&#8217;s quite easy to do so.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"credit-card-welcome-bonuses\" class=\"jsx-3480274316 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-3480274316\">Credit card welcome bonuses<\/h2>\n<p>The easiest way to accumulate thousands of points and miles is by signing up for new credit cards and meeting the minimum spend requirements of their welcome bonuses.<\/p>\n<p>With increasing competition among card issuers, welcome bonuses are becoming more lucrative than ever before. For instance, more than ten cards currently offer <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/cards-with-100k-point-bonuses\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">100,000-point welcome bonuses<\/a>. Let that sink in for a moment \u2014 these cards alone can increase your balance by at least a million points.<\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s only the beginning; plenty more amazing bonuses are out there. We regularly update our roundup of the best current sign-up offers on our <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/credit-cards\/travel\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best travel rewards cards page<\/a>, so that&#8217;s a good starting point if you need help finding a good card to pick. And there are plenty of <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/2017\/08\/how-to-hit-prestige-minimum-spend\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ways to easily meet minimum spending requirements<\/a> even if you have low monthly expenses, such as pre-paying regular expenses like utilities.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-4252866712 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/08\/20230913_United-787-9-Polaris-side-seats-farther_ERosen_88.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-4252866712 figcaption\">ERIC ROSEN\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"retention-and-targeted-offers\" class=\"jsx-3480274316 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-3480274316\">Retention and targeted offers<\/h2>\n<p>You may even earn bonus points or miles by telling a bank that you&#8217;re thinking about <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/2015\/06\/5-steps-canceling-credit-card\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">canceling your credit card<\/a>. Issuers pay a lot to acquire customers, so they&#8217;re typically willing to offer generous <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/2017\/02\/tip-retention-offer-canceling-card\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">retention bonuses<\/a> to dissuade you from closing your account. Retention offers vary by issuer and card type, but they&#8217;re an excellent way to top off your point balances while keeping your account open for an additional year.<\/p>\n<p>Another form of bonuses that issuers provide is targeted offers. In some situations, issuers, <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/citi-spend-bonus\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">such as Citi<\/a>, send out targeted offers via mail and email to earn bonus points on select purchases.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"strategic-spending\" class=\"jsx-3480274316 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-3480274316\">Strategic spending<\/h2>\n<p>If you want to maximize your return on spending, it&#8217;s crucial that you put as much of your daily spending as possible on your rewards-earning credit cards.<\/p>\n<p>The key is to use cards that earn the most rewards for <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/credit-cards\/best\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">each spending category<\/a>. There are many ways for you to get creative with your spending.<\/p>\n<div class=\"&#10;        EmailSignUp_container__70lh2&#10;        undefined&#10;        EmailSignUp_isLoading__zGkU5&#10;      \"><picture class=\"EmailSignUp_graphic__AEA5s\"><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-mob.svg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-dt.svg\"\/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"EmailSignUp_form__cnneL\">\n<p>Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG\u2019s experts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For instance, you could <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/paying-rent-credit-card\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">pay rent with a credit card<\/a> and offer to pick up the tab when dining out with friends (and have them pay you back with cash or via a free online service like PayPal or Venmo). Plus, you can sometimes earn even more points by using programs like <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/using-amex-offers\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Amex Offers<\/a> and online shopping portals like <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/chase-shopping-portal\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shop Through Chase<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-4252866712 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.640625%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2018\/02\/Infrequent-Travelers-Earning-Points-and-Miles.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-4252866712 figcaption\">CHIBELEK\/TWENTY20<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"shopping-portals\" class=\"jsx-3480274316 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-3480274316\">Shopping portals<\/h2>\n<p>One of the best ways to earn bonus points is by leveraging shopping portals. These portals let you earn points on your everyday spending at hundreds of online retailers. Shopping portals are available through airline loyalty programs like <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/american-airlines-shopping-portal\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAdvantage<\/a> and issuers like <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/chase-shopping-portal\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chase<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-4252866712 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/06\/Laptop-Credit-Card-Woman_d3sign.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-4252866712 figcaption\">D3SIGN\/GETTY IMAGES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You log into your portal of choice, find the store you want to shop from, and upon clicking the link, you will be redirected to the store&#8217;s website to shop as you normally would. Not only do you earn bonus points through the portal, but you also earn points on the actual rewards credit card used, making this the easiest way to double dip.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/maximizing-online-shopping-portals\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Guide to Maximizing Shopping Portals<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"reimbursed-travel\" class=\"jsx-3480274316 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-3480274316\">Reimbursed travel<\/h2>\n<p>While it&#8217;s great to get everyone on board with opening a travel credit card, there may still be many of your family and friends who have yet to do so. If you know someone like this looking to book a trip, offer to put their airfare and prepaid hotel expenses on your travel credit card so you can rack up the points for free.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-4252866712 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2023\/09\/Friends-traveling-together-waiting-to-board-plane-at-airport_Frazao-Studio-Latino.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-4252866712 figcaption\">FRAZO STUDIO LATINO\/GETTY IMAGES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Additionally, if you ever travel for work, opt to put the travel expense on your credit card and get reimbursed rather than having your company pay from their end for everything. Even though the reimbursement may take some time to get back to you, the points you gain will be worth it.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"bottom-line\" class=\"jsx-3480274316 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-3480274316\">Bottom line<\/h2>\n<p>You don&#8217;t need to have high monthly expenses to become points-rich. All it takes is some homework and a few new credit cards. There are plenty of resources and methods to boost your point balances; it just requires research and being proactive to ensure opportunities aren&#8217;t missed. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/TPGLounge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TPG Lounge<\/a> is a great place to connect with other members and ask more advanced points and miles questions like this one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/maximizing-cards-earn-without-high-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s no question that it&#8217;s easy to amass a wealth of points and miles by using credit cards for all your spending. But what if you have low monthly expenses and don&#8217;t have the opportunity to earn travel rewards through work? Is it still possible to earn enough points for free travel? This question has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}