Match To A Higher Signup Bonus (Don’t Leave Points On The Table)

Match To A Higher Signup Bonus (Don’t Leave Points On The Table)

Everybody knows that you can’t consistently time the market. You can’t always perfectly time credit card applications either. Sure, a diligent person will know about the Chase 5/24 rule, Amex’s once in a life time rule, Citi’s 8/65 rule, and other nuanced “rules” and plan their card applications accordingly. But sometimes you may come across a situation in which you’ve applied for a credit card (and you’re approved) then learn that a few days or weeks later, an even better signup bonus becomes available for that card. Missing out on a better signup bonus really blows. The good news is that often times you can match to a higher signup bonus.

Here is my experience.

 

My Recent Example Of Matching To A Higher Signup Bonus

Last year, back in July 2019, I had just fell under Chase 5/24. I was thrilled because this meant that I could apply for a bunch of Chase credit cards again and earn tons of valuable points.

So I proceeded to apply for the Chase Ink Cash business card in July and the United Explorer business card in August. This was part of my credit card strategy for 2019. Basically, I opened a bunch of Chase business cards so that I can stay under Chase 5/24 since most business cards don’t count toward 5/24 status.

Then in October, I applied for the Chase Southwest Performance business card when the signup bonus was 80,000 points. It was the highest ever bonus for a Southwest card at the time, so I jumped on it.

And then in November, I applied for the Chase Southwest Plus personal card. Opening both Southwest cards in the last few months of 2019 was all a part of my plan for earning the Southwest companion pass in early 2020 so that I can fully maximize it for almost a full two years till the end of 2021. I followed my own Southwest companion pass strategy to a T.

There was a minor problem though. When I applied for the Chase Southwest Plus card in November, the signup bonus welcome offer was only 40,000 points.

Now and until February 18, the Chase Southwest Plus card signup bonus is 75,000 points!!! In fact, all Chase Southwest personal cards (Plus, Premier, and Priority) all have a 75,000 bonus points welcome offer.

The New Signup Bonus

The new offer for these Southwest personal cards is much better than the one I had signed up for.

With the new offer, one would earn 40,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months plus 35,000 additional points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.

Earning an additional 35,000 points after spending $4,000 more is a pretty good deal. This is especially true if you were going to spend the money anyway or if you have inexpensive ways to manufacture spending.

 

Here’s What I Did

Often times, you can call the number on the back of your credit card, talk to a customer service representative, and request to be matched to the current higher sign up bonus welcome offer. It’s as simple as that. You may not always be matched to the higher offer, but it never hurts to ask.

In my particular scenario, I had already known that everybody was getting matched to the higher signup bonus for Southwest personal cards. I knew this by reading all the data points on forums like FlyerTalk and credit card points blogs like Doctor of Credit and Frequent Miler.

Multiple sources stated that they were matched after sending Chase a secure message. So that’s exactly what I did.

The following is my correspondence with Chase

Once I learned about the higher signup bonus, I sent this message.

The following day, they responded with this message.

Perfect! I was successfully matched to the higher signup bonus welcome offer of 75,000 points.

Now, all I would have to do is spend another $4,000 and I’ll earn the additional 35,000 points.

 

Easy Manufactured Spending

Fortunately for me, I know of ways to manufacture spending that is quick, cheap, and easy.

I went to my local Simon Mall (just a few miles away from my work) and bought four Visa debit gift cards worth $1,000 each. The fee for each card is only $3.95. (It’s important to note that you will not earn bonus points when using an American Express card to purchase gift cards at Simon Mall. But Chase and Citi credit cards are fine; for now, at least.)

Next, I went to a Western Union near my house and purchased money orders (at 89 cents each) using the gift cards I had just bought. I then proceeded to deposit those money orders to my usual bank, which happens to be across the street from the Western Union.

All in all I spent $19.36 in fees (4 x $3.95 gift card fee plus 4 x $0.89 money order fee) and about 30 minutes of my time to earn an additional 35,000 of Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

Considering that each Southwest rapid reward point can be worth about 1.5 cents per point, it’s a pretty sweet deal. Therefore, the 35,000 additional points that I earned can be worth about $525 in travel. Even better, the value of these points doubles with the Southwest companion pass.

$1,050 worth in travel for only $19.36 and 30 minutes of my time. I’d take that any day!

 

Followup Message To Chase

After manufactured spending (as detailed above) to meet the required $4,000 in additional spending, I messaged Chase back.

 

And within 24 hours they sent me this message in response.

Score! I became eligible for the new offer and easily earned the additional 35,000 points.

 

Bottom Line

Never leave additional bonus points on the table.

If a new signup bonus welcome offer is higher than the one you received, you may be able to match to the better offer. I’m sure many people are not aware that they can match to a higher signup bonus.

It never hurts to call or message your credit card issuer to see if you can be matched. The worst thing that can happen is that the customer service representative will say “no”.

The cost of not trying can be high.

In my case, by matching to a better offer, I was able to earn $1,050 worth of travel for less than $20 and only a half an hour of my time.

I wish my day job paid that much :).