Creative Ways to Earn Points through Everyday Spending

When you begin Travel Hacking, you're now making your money work for you! Which means that the money you already spend now earns you free travel, so that you don't have to spend money on travel anymore. One of the first skills you begin to develop is learning how to strategically channel your everyday expenses through the right cards to be able to meet welcome bonuses and use category bonuses that earn you 5-25% return on your everyday spending. 

On your own, you might not know or utilize the dozens of different opportunities that are available to you. If you're not maximizing these opportunities, you're missing out! Below, I'll break these down into five categories below and list out all of the different possibilities under each category.

Everyday Spending

Your everyday spending is the easiest way to use your card wherever you are and whatever you do. This is the purchasing that you do in the course of your everyday life.

• Gasoline - Use your card whenever your fill up your car. 
• Groceries - Use your card whether you're going to the store or having them delivered to your house.
• Dining/Take Out - Use your card the restaurant or through a service like Uber Eats.
• Online Shopping - Use your card on Amazon, Etsy, Wayfair, and more.
• Prescriptions & Medications - Use your card with all your drug store needs.
• Health & Beauty - Use your card for your haircut, getting your nails done, and your next spa trip.
• Gifts - Use your card for all those birthday, Christmas, weddings, and shower gifts. 
• Entertainment - Use your card for movies, concerts, and performances.
• Kid's Activities - Use your card to pay for all your children's activities and needs.
• Pet Supplies - Use your card to pay for all your pet-related needs.
• Laundry/Dry Cleaning - Use your card wherever you get your clothes clean.

Recurring Expenses

Autopay is a quick, convenient way to charge your recurring expenses to your card without even thinking about it. These are the types of expenses that happen either monthly or multiple times per year.

• Utilities - Use your card to pay your home utilities (Gas, Electric, Water, Sewer, Coal, Oil, etc.)
• Cell Phone - Use your card to pay your monthly cell phone bill.
• Internet/Cable - Use your card to pay for your home internet and/or cable TV bill.
• Insurance - Use your card to pay for your car, home, health, and life insurance.
• Subscriptions - Use your card to pay for all your monthly subscriptions (Netflix, Apple, Hello Fresh, Stitch Fix, Dollar Shave Club, MasterClass, etc.)
• Memberships - Use your card to pay for your gym membership or season passes to your favorite places.
• Charitable Giving - Use your card to contribute to a charity, church, non-profit, or cause.

Large Spending

Large purchases can quickly earn you a significant amount of points. Especially when you strategically time signing up for a new card when you know you have a large expenditure on the horizon that will help you easily earn your Welcome Bonus.

• Car Repair - Use your card to pay your mechanic for routine maintenance or extensive repairs.
• Furniture Purchase - Use your card to upgrade your home furnishings.
• Medical Bills - Use your card to pay your co-pays, deductibles, and bills.
• Tax Payments - Use your card to pay your income taxes or property taxes.
• Home Improvements - Use your card to repair or upgrade your home.
• College Tuition - Use your card to pay for your semester.
• Landscaping - Use your card to pay for a front-yard facelift.
• Veterinary Bills - Use your card to pay for your animal's care.
• Special Events - Use your card to pay for your wedding, parties, and celebrations.

Future Payments

You can actually pay ahead on many accounts or you could stock up on store credit for future use. This is often a specific strategy to meet a Welcome Bonus that is beyond your normal spending capacity. 

• Annual Payments - Use your card to make a full Annual Payment on something you usually pay monthly for.
• Early Pay Off - Use your card to pay the full remaining balance on something - Like your cell phone.
• Paying Ahead on Bills - Use your card to pay ahead on utilities, cell phone, insurance, and more.
• Purchase Gift Cards - Use your card to buy a few hundred dollars in gift cards to your favorite retailers and restaurants.

Reimbursable Payments

You can also leverage personal connections and professional expenses to earn a lot of points through transactions that you'll be fully paid back for. Personal reimbursements are expenses that you cover for trusted family & friends and have them Venmo you the money or give you cash in return. Professional reimbursement are things that your employer asks or allows you to run through your personal card and you just have to submit the receipt to be repaid.

• Large Group Dinner - Use your card to pay for dinner next time you go out with family or friends
• Group Tickets - Use your card to pay for everyone's movie, concert, or amusement park tickets.
• Group Gifts - Use your card to pay for the large group gift that everyone is chipping in on.
• Work Travel - Use your card to pay for the flights, hotels, and rentals for your next work trip.
• Product Orders - Use your card to pay for supplies for your company or products for your customers.
• Conference Tickets - Use your card to pay for the next conference your department is attending together.

When you begin strategically channeling everything through your credit cards to earn points, you're typically earning points on a daily basis through a variety of expenditures. Just make sure you pay your bill off in full and on time every single month, so that you're not taking on debt, paying unnecessary interest, or penalized by late fees. I pay every bill on time and in full with auto pay, and you should too. 

Start making your money work for you by channeling as many of the expenses above through your credit cards and watch the points begin to roll in! You might be left wondering, which cards are the best ones to use? After all, there are over 90 different travel credit cards on the market. Knowing which cards are worth it, which cards to get, and what order to get them in is the difference of thousands of dollars in rewards. I'll help you with all of that and more in my Launch Into Travel Hacking Course!