See our Advertiser Disclosure and Editorial Note here.
Update: This offer is no longer available. See this page for the latest credit card offers.
Back in November, my husband and I were each approved for the new Capital One Venture X cards. The card’s sign-up bonus is high at 100,000 miles. But, the minimum spending required is $10,000 over six months. Since we have two cards, our required spending for both bonuses is $20,000.
That seems like a huge number, but we already met the threshold and received our miles. How?
We Don’t Escrow
For years, we have opted out of an escrow account for our mortgage. This means that instead of paying our property tax and insurance money through our mortgage, we pay it directly ourselves with a credit card. (We don’t have a mortgage anymore, but if we did we would continue this process).
Since we live in Texas, which has no state income tax, property taxes are higher. Our property taxes, HOA dues and home insurance are close to $9000 a year. We put aside money each month to pay these expenses via credit card when they are due. This year, those expenses made quite a dent in our minimum spending for our Venture X cards. Note: Make sure these payments don’t incur large fees for paying by credit card. Some insurance/property tax entities have a credit card convenience fee.
We Save For Other Large Expenses
Whenever I know we have a big expense coming up, we put money aside for it and plan to spend it when we have a new credit card minimum spending to hit. In this case, the big expense was Christmas gifts. But, we do the same with other big expenses like cruises and vacation rentals.
Combined with our regular bills (like groceries, car insurance, utilities, etc.), these large expenses helped us get our Venture X bonuses quickly.
What’s Next?
I’m on the lookout for our next new credit card with a big bonus. I’m mulling over a few options. Stay tuned.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VARIOUS CREDIT CARDS AND AVAILABLE SIGN-UP BONUSES
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Hi Nancy, could you expand on the insurance/property tax entity or entities you use without a credit card fee?
@Patty Every homeowner’s insurance I’ve used has let us pay by credit card with no fee (Allstate, Geico, Prudential, etc.) We can pay it in one lump sum. As for the property tax, we pay that through our county with a small convenience fee (I think 1.5%). When we have a big minimum spend to hit, it’s worth the fee. If the fee were higher, it might not be worth it.