We’ve entered October, which means different things for different people.
For Halloween fans, it’s their favorite time of the year. It’s prime time for sports fans, with football getting into gear, hockey pre-season and baseball playoffs. And for people who collect travel points and status, it’s when we adjust our wallets for Q4 bonus categories, look to see if we’re on track to meet status requirements for loyalty programs and make sure we’ll use all of our credit card travel credits. It’s also when we decide where to put our spending until the end of the year to make sure we meet the spending thresholds needed to earn an extra card benefit.
Here’s where I’m focusing my spending until the end of the year:
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
After spending $15,000 in a calendar year, Hilton Honors Surpass cardholders receive a free night at almost any Hilton Hotel property worldwide. While this can be worth hundreds or even over $1,000 if used at the right hotel, I ended up using it at Homewood Suites this year. It’s not the most aspirational location, but it did save us $300.
I have about $2,000 left to spend this year to hit the $15,000 threshold.
Bilt Rewards Mastercard
I know that the Bilt Mastercard doesn’t offer any spending benefits like a free night or a companion pass, but the Bilt card has a benefit for reaching certain spending thresholds. Since I own and don’t pay rent, the only way to achieve Bilt status is by using my card, and I’m close enough to Silver status that it’s worthwhile to make sure I hit the requirement. I’m about $2,500 away from the $10,000 requirement for Silver, which provides higher rent day transfer bonuses and pays interest on points in your account. It also provides discounts on BLADE flights.
Virgin Red Mastercard
While not a yearly spending requirement, I still have to spend $3,000 on my new Virgin Red card in 90 days to earn the 40,000 Virgin Points, which overlaps the other two spending thresholds.
Final Thought
To complete these three requirements before the end of the year, I’ll need to focus the majority of our spending on these three cards. That might mean losing out on some bonus categories for groceries or gas stations, but it will be worth it to earn the bonuses each of these cards provides.
Which card spending requirement are you working on before the end of the year?
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