Getting a new credit card

  Credit Card Reference

Before You Get Started

Make sure to setup a free account at Credit Karma and perhaps some other credit-monitoring tools; create an account with AwardWallet; and download the AwardWallet app to your phone.

Once you've signed up for a few new credit cards, it is difficult or impossible to get approved for cards from a few of the credit card companies. If you don't prioritize getting cards from these banks first, you won't be able to get them later. Before you start signing up for cards and potentially blocking access to some valuable other options, makes sure you understand the rules. .

Jump to

• Before you apply for the card
• Applying for the card
• When you receive the card
• Spend enough to earn the signup bonus
• (optional) Enroll your new card in dining and shopping programs
• For cards that you are planning to keep

Before you apply for the card

• If you've recently signed up for a few cards, check your credit rating to make sure everything is still okay. If your credit rating is starting to drop, you might want to take a break for a while. The VantageScore you get from Credit Karma should be a good enough indicator of what is going on with your credit score, but you will want to occasionally check your actual FICO score using one of your credit card accounts (or the Discover website, if necessary).  Monitor Your Credit Score to Make Sure Everything is On Track.

• (Until you're an expert) only apply for one card at a time. Even if you are primarily getting the card for other reasons, you still want to make sure you earn the new card's signup bonus. If you stick to one card at a time, it is more straightforward to make sure that you meet the initial spending requirement.  When you are ready, there are some advanced techniques that can make it worthwhile to apply for multiple cards at the same time. But we strongly recommend starting off with a simpler approach.
• (optional) Check to see if there is a promotional offer. If you go directly to the card’s signup page, you might miss a better promotional offer. Sometimes, a more valuable signup offer is available through another application page or by using a special link.
• Our credit card guides provide information about the best available offers. However, it is always possible that we've missed something. If you want to be sure, take the time to check some other sites. Not every promotional offer winds up on every website, so your best bet is to check a couple of websites, and maybe do a general web search. The whole process should only take a few minutes and you'll sometimes uncover a better offer that lets you earn tens of thousands of extra points for the same new credit card.
• US Credit Card Guide. The best single resource we’ve found is the US Credit Card Guide site. They provide information on the current best signup offers for each card. They even include a handy chart that shows a recent history of the card’s signup bonuses and initial spending requirements. We've linked to the US Credit Card Guide graph from every one of our individual credit card guides.

• Frequent Miler. Another good resource is the signup offer page on Frequent Miler. Checking both sites can uncover an offer that one site knows about, but the other site does not.
• (optional) Take advantage of a referral link (if you can). Some cards will give you extra points for referring another customer (assuming they get approved). If you have a friend who already has the card you want, you can apply through their referral link and you'll both get a bonus. If you and your spouse or partner are both planning to get a card, you can earn extra points by having one person get it first and then refer the other. Taking Advantage of Referral Bonuses.

Be careful. Sometimes, the referral offer isn't as good as the best signup offer out there. In that case, you are often better off applying directly, getting the best possible offer, and forgoing the referral points.

• Try to always use a referral link to apply for American Express cards. American Express has the most flexible referral process. Anyone with an American Express card can generate a link that can be used to apply for any of their other cards. You can even apply for a business card using a referral link from a personal card and vice versa.

When you sign up for an Amex card with a referral link, you will almost always receive the best possible signup offer, and your friend will receive a large number of extra points as well. In a perfect world, you have a family member that can refer you or you and a friend can make a deal to refer each other.

Applying for the card

• (optional) If you are applying for airline or hotel card, try making a "fake reservation". Usually, when you are partway through the reservation process, the airline or hotel will pop up an offer to sign up for their card. These offers often include an extra $50 or $100 statement credit that you wouldn't get by applying for the card the regular way. Once you are done applying, you can cancel out of the reservation process—you don't need to book a room or flight. If you don't see an offer, or the offer isn't as good as the best promotional offer, you can switch over to applying elsewhere.
• Include all your sources of income. When you are asked for your income, you can include all your household income, not just the income from your job. That includes the income from a spouse or domestic partner.
• Don’t worry if you aren’t immediately approved.  If the credit card website indicates that your application is “pending” and doesn’t give you an immediate decision, don’t worry too much. Most of the time, you’ll be approved a few days later. With most credit card companies, it is possible to check your application status online. For more information see this article at Doctor of Credit.
• If you do get denied, call the reconsideration line. You can usually talk to a customer service representative, who can often reverse the initial decision and approve you for the card. Sometimes, you’ll need to make an adjustment first, such as decreasing your credit limit on (or closing) another card from that bank. Many people are reluctant to call in. But you’ve already taken the hit from the credit report inquiry and you still want to get the card you were aiming for. At the very least, you’ll learn a bit more information about why you were denied and can adjust your signup strategy moving forward. Reconsideration Line Advice.

• Don't add an authorized user as part of the initial signup process unless they are offering you a bonus. Some cards will provide an extra bonus when you add an authorized card holder to an account. If they don't offer you one at signup and you add an authorized cardholder then, you won't be able to take advantage of any bonus offer that is available after the fact. Also, if the potential authorized cardholder isn't already blocked by getting too many cards, adding them to your card will potentially limit their ability to get cards they may want later.

When you receive the card

• Activate the card and make sure you can manage it online. After you receive your card, you'll need to activate it. You should do this online, rather than over the phone, so you can make sure it is also added to your online account for that bank. If it is your first card from a new bank, make sure to setup a new account, as part of activating it. To complete the next step, you'll need to be online anyway.
• Set up automatic payments. After activating your card, the next thing you should do is set up automatic payments to pay the full-balance-due every month. When your credit card payment is due, the balance-due amount will be pulled directly from your bank account. That way, there is no risk that you will make a late payment, wind up needing to pay interest and penalties, and damage your credit rating. This is particularly important for a card that you are planning to keep for its benefits but won’t be using regularly—as future bills are more likely to slip through the cracks.

If you’ve already set up other cards from the same credit card company, your bank account information should already be on file and setting up automatic payments should only take a few clicks. Otherwise, you’ll need to enter the checking account information that you can find on your checks.



If you know that you are only going to use the credit card for a month or two (until you’ve met the initial spending requirement), turning on automatic payments isn't as critical. You could just pay the bill manually. However, we recommend to always set up automatic payments to eliminate the chance of any unpaid stray credit card charges.

If you aren't comfortable with having your bills paid automatically, you just need to spend a little extra effort to make sure you aren't late with any of your payments.

• Just be warned that with some credit cards, it can take up to two billing cycles before automatic payments kick-in. When you set up the account, pay attention to see if they provide you with a delayed start date. If they do, you will need to remember to pay manually for the first one or two months. A few credit card companies annoyingly won’t let you set up automatic payments until after you have received your first bill. If so, set up an appointment (on your phone’s calendar) to remind you to set up automatic payments later.
• Add an appointment (to your phone’s calendar) to help make sure you meet the initial spending requirement.  Set an appointment for about 3 weeks before the deadline for completing the spending requirement. The drop-dead date is based on the date your application was accepted, not the date you received your card.

It is helpful to add the terms of the signup offer to the appointment, so that it is easy to re-check how much you need to spend.

When the time comes, you’ll get a reminder on your phone to make sure that you’ve met the requirement. If it looks like you are coming up short, don’t panic, you can usually take some steps to shift some spending around and close the gap. For some ideas, see Tips to Easily Meet the Initial Spending Requirements of New Credit Cards.

• Add an additional appointment to remember to cancel, downgrade, or get a retention bonus for the card.  This appointment should be set a few weeks before the anniversary date of your new card (about a year from now). This will help you remember to cancel any cards that aren't worth their ongoing annual fees.


It is also helpful for cards that you are planning to hold onto. We like to re-evaluate each of our cards every year and make sure we are continuing to get enough value from the card to justify the annual fee. If we aren’t, we can cancel the card or “downgrade” it to a no-annual-fee card. Or possibly get a “retention” offer that makes it worthwhile to keep the card for another year.

• (optional) Add the card to your credit card spreadsheet. Particularly if you're planning on collecting signup bonuses, it is helpful to keep track of all your cards. Sometime in the future you are likely to want to check when you got a card or when you closed it.
• (Optional) Call the credit card company. If you are willing to take some extra time to optimize your cards, call the credit card company after you receive the card and reconfirm the details of your signup bonus, including the exact date when you need to meet the initial spending requirement (and the exact date when the annual fee will next be charged on the card).

While you have them on the phone, ask them to reduce the cash advance limit to $0. Not every credit card company will do this, but if they do, you eliminate any risk that you will unexpectedly be charged high fees and interest, if the credit card company decides to treat some purchases (such as a gift card) as a cash advance.

Typically, you should just call the customer service number on the back of your card. However, if you are having difficulty getting what you need, you might want to call the company using one of the backdoor telephone numbers compiled by the myFico forums.

• (optional) Add an authorized cardholder (when there is a bonus). Some credit card companies will give you extra points if you add an authorized cardholder to your account. Bonuses are often available on Chase cards. Offers on other cards come and go. You can do a quick web search with "bonus points authorized user" and the name of the credit card. If you don't already share finances with someone, you might want to add a friend (who you would completely trust not to user their version of your card). Note that you can usually add your kids as authorized cardholders, as well.

If you are interested in adding an authorized cardholder and there is no bonus available, you should wait (if you can). A promotional offer might become available later.

• You may need to take some steps to setup some card-specific benefits, such as activating your quarterly category bonuses on the Chase Freedom card, activating your elite status at rental companies for any World Elite Mastercards, or activating an included Priority Pass airport lounge membership.

Spend enough to earn the signup bonus

• Shift all your spending to your new card, until you’ve met the initial spending requirement. Once you get your card, you should use it for ALL your spending, until you’ve spent enough to qualify for the bonus. You may be tempted to occasionally use other cards that earn higher rewards for certain purchases. You can do that if you want, just make sure that you aren’t going to have any problem meeting your new card’s spending requirement before the deadline. Personally, we’d rather keep things simple, stick to the new card for all our spending and get the requirement out-of-the-way as quickly as possible.

If you are having any trouble spending enough, see our Tips to Easily Meet the Initial Spending Requirements of New Credit Cards.

• Switch automatic credit card payments to your new card. Switch your default payment on Amazon. In most cases you can pay your insurance, gym, utilities, and many other bills with your credit card, without any additional “convenience” fees. If you are already doing so, switch over to your new card. If not, start paying them this way to make it easier to meet the spending requirement for your current and future cards.
• Avoid using the card for purchases that may eventually get refunded. If you are planning to spend "just enough" to meet the spending requirement, any refund will drop your spending below the required amount. This is a pain to track and could occur after it is too late to make some additional purchases. Ideally you would use a different card for any purchases you might return or especially any travel arrangements you might wind up cancelling (since this can happen months later).
• (optional) If you automatically pay some bills with a credit card, switch them over to your new card. Many bills, such as insurance and utilities, can be setup to automatically charge a credit card. To increase the spending on your new cards, switch these accounts over to your new card.
• Use one of several approaches to track the sending on your new card, so you know when to stop. Shifting all your spending to your new card and setting up a notification to take emergency action (if necessary) is often enough to ensure you spend enough to receive the signup bonus.

However, you also want to make sure to stop using the card once you’ve already spent enough. This lets you shift your spending to another new card or to whichever of your existing cards earns the highest reward rate.

There are several different approaches that you can take. They differ in the amount of effort involved and how quickly you will know that you’ve met the spending requirement. Choose the one that works for you. Track Your Initial Spending on Your New Credit Card.

(optional) Enroll your new card in any credit-card-linked dining and shopping programs you are using

These programs give you bonus rewards whenever you use your credit card at a participating restaurant or merchant.

With some programs, if you've already set up the bank, any new credit cards you get from the bank are automatically added. If they don't, or this is your first card from a new credit card company, you'll need to add the card manually.

• If you will be using your card for restaurant programs, register it for Reward Network Dining Program (via your favorite frequent flyer program), and your favorite Empyr Dining Program (via Yelp, Dosh, or others). If it is a Visa card, add it to a Visa Local Offers program as well (via Uber or Trim).
• If you have a Visa Business card, register it for Visa Savings Edge. If you have a Mastercard Business card, register it for Mastercard’s Easy Savings.
• If your online account has already been linked to Pei, Drop, Spent, Bumped, or Acorn's Found Money, your new card should be linked automatically. You will need to your account if the card is from a new bank, or you haven't added that bank yet.
• Ebates In-Store Offers.
• Potentially link to other programs as well.
• Earn Extra Rewards by Enrolling in Credit Card Dining Programs.
• Earn Extra Rewards by Enrolling in Credit Card Shopping Programs.

For cards that you are planning to keep

Make sure to use each card at least a couple times per year.

If you never use your card, the credit card company might cancel it—sometimes without any warning. This isn’t an issue for many of your cards—you will be naturally use them throughout the year. However, there are a few cards that come with benefits that don’t require any actual spending. For example, there is really no reason to put any spending on one of the IHG cards, which give you a free hotel night certificate every year. If you don’t occasionally make some charges on the card, Chase may eventually cancel it.

You don’t have to spend very much, just make sure to make a few charges per year. An easy approach is to periodically add a small credit to your Amazon account with each of your cards that you want to keep and don't normally use for any spending. Visit the Reload Your Balance page and enter a small amount (like $1) into the "Enter the amount" box. This credit will be automatically applied to your next Amazon purchase.

Assuming you’ve set up automatic payments, you don’t have to worry about the hassles of remembering to pay the credit card bill. 

Credit Cards 101

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