The Points Mom

Let Your Back To School Shopping Help You Snag An Annual Spend Bonus!

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As much as I hate to admit it, the summer is coming to a close and September is almost upon us.  I bet if you have kids, whether from pre-school age through college, there is a little (or a big) bump in your expenses during the late summer or early fall.  Most of these costs relate to heading back to school and resuming normally scheduled activities.

For our children, many of us will be shopping for items such as: school clothes, bigger sneakers, school supplies, and maybe some big ticket purchases like phones, lap tops or printers.  Let’s not forget that it may also be time to pay fees for lessons and/or classes for dance, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, art, music (insert your kid’s thing)….the list is endless.  Please don’t ever ask me how much I spend on tennis for my kids.  I will not tell you!

I wish I could offer advice on how to reduce these cyclical costs.  I can’t.  Also, I am not writing this to tell you to use a credit card for these purchases to earn rewards.  I hope you are already doing that!  However, my goal in this post, is to help you get something more than just your standard spending rewards.  If available to you, I want to help you earn an ANNUAL SPEND BONUS!

What do I mean by an annual spend bonus?  Many cards offer annual bonuses if you spend a certain amount of money in either a calendar year or fiscal year, personal to your account.  Personally, I am aiming for two 2016 annual spend bonuses on both mine and Rob’s respective Chase British Airways Visa Signature cards.  I am determined to get free airline tickets to London to attend Wimbledon for my 50th birthday in 2028 (I mean 2018).

These British Airways annual spend bonuses  are not “traditional” ones.  Instead of a rewards bonus, they come in the form of Travel Together tickets.  If you want to learn more about these tickets, you can access the information here on my site.

Alternatively, what follows is an assortment of cards, all of which have some type of “traditional” annual spend bonus.  If you don’t see a card below that you have, it may be wise to review some of the benefits of your current card to determine if an annual spend bonus is available.  On that same note, figure out how much you have spent towards the spend requirement.  Are you close to that amount that will yield an annual spend bonus?  Maybe you are within arm’s reach!  If so, formulate a plan to ensure that you hit the spend!

Here are some of the cards that have annual spend bonuses:

Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Visa

Apply for the United MileagePlus Explorer Card Here

If you can spend $25,000 in a calendar year on your Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Visa card, you will receive an additional 10,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles that year.

Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card

Apply For The Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card

If you can spend $25,000 in a calendar year on your Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card, you will receive an additional 10,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles that year.

American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Card

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Apply For The American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Here

In any calendar year, if you spend $25,000 or more on the American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Card, you will be awarded 10,000 bonus SkyMiles and 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs).  If in that same calendar year you spend $50,000 or more, you will be awarded an additional 10,000 bonus SkyMiles and 10,000 MQMs.

Bank Of America Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard

Apply for the Bank Of America Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard Here

Earn up to 15,000 additional Flying Club miles every anniversary after qualifying purchases on your Bank Of America Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard.  You receive 7,500 anniversary Flying Club miles if you spend a minimum of $15,000 in net purchases within the anniversary year.  An additional 7,500 anniversary Flying Club miles is rewarded if you spend $25,000 in net purchases within the anniversary year.

Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card

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A benefit to the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card is an offer for an Annual Loyalty Bonus.  Now as a card member, you can earn 10,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points at the end of each calendar year in which you spend $1,000 or more on stays within the Hilton Portfolio.

 

Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard

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Apply For The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard Here

Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard Earn 5,000 bonus HawaiianMiles when you spend at least $10,000 in purchases within each anniversary year.

Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Business MasterCard

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Apply For The Hawaiian Airlines Business MasterCard Here

Hawaiian Airlines Business MasterCard-Earn 20,000 bonus HawaiianMiles on your account anniversary with $50K-$99K in annual spend, or 40,000 bonus HawaiianMiles with $100K or more in annual spend.

I hope that you have an annual spend bonus available to you.  Even more so, I hope that you take advantage of it!  Have a great rest of the summer and an easy and lucrative back to school season. 🙂