If you’re gearing up for holiday shopping, here’s an easy hack to make all those gift purchases work for you. By opening a new credit card, you can use your holiday spending to hit the minimum spend needed for a sign-up bonus—and earn points you can use for free flights or hotel stays in 2025.
It’s a simple way to get rewarded for the spending you’re already doing!
Here’s how it works:
- Open a new rewards credit card – Right now is a great time to apply since you’re about to spend on gifts anyway.
- Meet the minimum spending requirement – Use the card for holiday shopping, so you can quickly earn the sign-up bonus.
- Collect those points – Once you hit the bonus, you’ll have enough points for future travel!
For a refresher on how using cards for points work, sign up to receive our tips on using cards for travel!
To help you get started, here are three credit cards that offer great rewards and bonuses perfect for travel
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
If you are able to spend $4,000 in 3 months, you’ll earn 60,000 points PLUS $300 in travel credit. That is approximately worth $1,095 in travel! Yes, there is an annual fee of $95, but this card offers user friendly points portal, and the option to transfer points to many hotels and airlines. More on this special offer while it lasts here. Here are Chase travel partners where you can transfer your 60,000 points.
2. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
We used a lot of Marriotts on our big 2024 road trip, and acquired even more points since then. I love Marriott hotels. Their points are not ALWAYS the best bang for your buck (Hyatt tends to offer really great rooms at low points). However, if you are traveling somewhere with a Marriott in 2025, 125,000 points is huge! *Remember if you get a co-branded card like this one, your points only work for Marriott, so make sure you have a plan in place to use them.
3. Chase Ink Business Preferred
With a higher spend ($8,000 in 3 months), this will get you 90,000 points! That is more than the Chase Sapphire, and does involve opening a business card, but you can get back more points. Just an option if you know your spend is going to be higher!
Questions! Ask in the comments section and we’ll be happy to do our best to help!
*By using our referral link, we also may earn points. It’s a win-win! The bank does not share ANY information if you apply for a new card.