You’ve read about earning cash back from credit card sign-on bonuses. And, you’ve realized how great of an opportunity this was. So you opened your first credit card, met your minimum spend, and now you have earned your first credit card bonus.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
But now what? You may be feeling a little lost about what to do next. There are a few important routes to consider and a few details to keep in mind. Let’s look at them.
Do NOT Cancel Your Card
STOP! Do NOT Cancel That Card!
The first thing you should do is nothing. Many people think because they earned the bonus, they should cancel the card. Canceling your card is the worst move to make right after getting your first credit card bonus.
Banks don’t like when you cancel a card shortly after earning a sign on bonus. It hurts their bottom lines, and they are hoping you’ll run up a balance and pay interest on the card. While a smart CashFreely reader would never do that, the banks want you to have the option.
You want to make the banks happy so that they will keep giving you lucrative sign-on bonuses. I’ve seen too many people get completely shut down by some banks for closing a card they’ve only had for 2 months. Don’t be one of those people. You’ve already paid the annual fee (or it was waived for the first year). Keep it open for a year. Then, you can cancel the card or product change it to a card with no annual fee.
What’s next? Treat Yo-self!
The cash back is why we do this, after all. There’s no reason to keep cash back or points in your account if you’re just going to redeem them for cash back, so go ahead and turn those points into money.
Don’t be shy and buy something that wouldn’t have been possible without the big bonus. Celebrate the first win!
Then… Consider Another Card
If you’re getting the hang of this, start looking at opening a new credit card. Earning another credit card bonus can help you earn more cash back, faster. If you have a partner, you can double up on the same bonus.
If you don’t have very robust credit, a new application may cause a slight drop in your score. Use CashFreely’s application timer to apply at the optimum time to get a new card and earn your next credit card bonus.
If you’re not sure what credit card to open next, check out our top credit cards page, but if you’re a CashFreely user, make sure to log in and use your Best Offers tool to get personalized recommendations. With our Best Offers, we do the work for you. You don’t have to know all the different bank rules, such as your 5/24 status.
Keep Old Cards Active
You should be sure to keep old cards active. As you earn new bonuses, it can be easy to forget about some of the older cards you’ve had. Inactivity on cards can get your accounts closed.
Dust off the cobwebs of your old cards and keep them active.
You can easily avoid this by putting a small charge on your card every 6 months. This will keep older accounts in good status with the bank. I tend to put those cards on auto-pay and put a small monthly subscription charge on them. This will keep it active and keep you in good standing.
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