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When people look for ways to save more money, they usually don’t think of getting a new credit card. But you can actually save quite a bit this way. Case in point: I recently opened three top credit cards in less than a month, and it’s going to save me thousands of dollars.

I’m doing this by earning credit card welcome offers. If you have good credit, keep reading to learn exactly how you can take advantage of these bonus opportunities.

Using welcome offers to earn over $2,500

A welcome offer is a bonus you earn by opening a credit card and meeting certain conditions. With most cards, you need to meet a spending requirement. For example, spend $500 with your new card in the first three months, and you earn a $200 bonus. Or spend $6,000 in the first six months and earn 60,000 bonus points.

The cards I opened have the following welcome offers:

• Earn 120,000 bonus points (worth $1,500 in travel) for spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months.
• Earn 50,000 bonus points (worth $750 in travel) for spending $4,500 on purchases in the first three months.
• Earn 40,000 bonus points (worth $400 in travel) for spending $3,000 on purchases in the first six months.

That’s a grand total of $2,650 in travel rewards. I’ve already earned one of them, and I know I’ll have more than enough time to earn the other two.

Now, there are lots of credit card welcome offers available, and some are much better than others. I realize it can feel hard to find a card with a good bonus. To make it easier, explore our curated list of the best credit card welcome offers.

How to make the most of credit card welcome offers

Welcome offers can be one of the most valuable credit card perks. But if you’re not careful, you could miss out on your card’s welcome offer entirely, or it could end up costing you money. Here are a few tips to ensure you come out ahead.

Pick a card with rewards you can use

As you saw above, I went with three travel cards. Travel rewards cards tend to have bigger welcome offers, but their rewards can be trickier to use. If you’re considering a travel card, see how points are redeemed to make sure you can use them. If you want to keep it simple, cash back cards are a safe choice.

Check that you can meet the spend requirement

If you won’t be able to meet this with your upcoming bills, you’re better off choosing a different card. So if you normally spend $1,000 on your credit card per month, don’t get a card with a welcome offer that requires spending $4,000 in the first three months.

The exception is if you have some big, one-time expenses coming up. That was the case for me; I had some large purchases to make, so I felt comfortable applying for multiple cards with separate spend requirements.

Keep track of your spending until you earn the bonus

Some card issuers provide bonus trackers in your online account. These make it easy to track your progress. Or you can track your spending manually using your credit card statements and online account balance. Note that only purchases count toward spend requirements — annual fees and balance transfers don’t.

You can check how much you still need to spend to earn the bonus by contacting the card issuer. If you don’t get a confirmation once you think you’ve spent enough, reach out to customer service to ask if you’ve met the requirement.

Don’t go into debt for a welcome offer

It’s not worth overspending to earn a welcome offer. You’ll have debt to pay off, and it will likely be expensive debt, since most credit cards have high interest rates. Even when you’re working toward a welcome offer, you should pay off your credit card in full every month to avoid debt and interest charges.

You don’t need to go on an application spree like I did, but applying for a new credit card on occasion could be a smart move. Take a little time to check out what credit card offers are available every six to 12 months. You might find a card you like with a lucrative welcome bonus.

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