Ask for More Time to Earn Credit Card Signup Bonus
Remember how you signed up for a new bonus credit card and were ready to earn your sign up bonus? Your plans to book multiple flights, pay for gas for your daily commute, or stock up on your weekly grocery trip to earn points have probably gone so far that you can’t even see them. You now have a new credit card, but there are few opportunities to earn rewards.
What should a cardholder do? It turns out you can ask to renew your sign up bonus. And in these stressful times, you just might get it.
American Express set a precedent by announcing that anyone in the United States who opens a new card between December 2019 and May 31, 2020 will receive an additional three months to cover their minimum welcome bonus costs. If you have upgraded your existing account to an American Express bonus card within this time frame, you too will have free rein. The extension is applied automatically – there is no need to call or write to AmEx.
Outside American Express, your mileage may vary. Reddit user myverysecureaccount requested an extension to earn a signup bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and was given an additional six months to meet the minimum spending requirement. They didn’t even have to call: the cardholder was able to get approval for their request through their secure messaging portal, which means they automatically have the documentation to back up the change should any questions arise in the future.
But another thread on Reddit indicates that some cardholders have been denied renewals.
If you’re finding it difficult to cover basic expenses right now and you’ve turned to your card issuer for help during the coronavirus, you probably won’t want to try this route.
But if your accounts have a good track record, your income is stable, and you expect your spending to return to normal once it’s safer to go outside, it might be worth asking for a little extra time before your bonus window closes. Who knows how far these points can bring you travel or other rewards in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Have you asked your credit card issuer to renew your registration or receive a welcome bonus? Let us know your results in the comments.