This is one of those really sad tales that frankly, is a little bit embarrassing to write. Â It actually happened a few months ago but I’ve been putting off writing about it. Â But I want to share it more as a cautionary tale to remind people how important it is to track your bonuses and if you’re not organized it can really cost you!
Backstory: The signup
I’ve often said that credit card signup bonuses can be one of the best way to get lots of miles and points. Â So periodically my wife and I will sign up for new credit cards, primarily (though not completely) for the signup bonuses
A few months ago, I signed up for the Barclay Arrival card, which had a signup bonus of 40,000 points after spending $3000 in the first 90 days. Â While Arrival points are not nearly as useful as they once were given the recent changes to the Arrival card, my general philosophy is that nearly all cards are worth getting for the signup bonus.
My system for making sure I get bonuses
The system I use to track my spending and credit card signup bonuses is a giant Excel spreadsheet. Â On most Saturdays, I will spend a bit of time, log in to each of my accounts
I also have a separate tab with each of my recently applied for cards, the date I applied for them, the signup bonus and requirement. Â Each month when I get my credit card statement, I enter the charges on the statement into my spreadsheet and make sure that I’m still on track
(SEE ALSO: Do annual fees count towards meeting minimum spend?)
What happened?
Clearly there is something wrong with my system however! In this case, I think it was a combination of being busy with real life on several Saturdays in a row coupled with not being good enough at keeping on top of things.  In any case, I woke up one day and found that my 90 day spending timeline had passed!
I tried to call / email in to Barclay to get a few extra days, but they denied me (as was expected).  I tried a couple of times but still got denied.  I had actually almost had this happen to me before, but I got 50,000 surprise American Express points a few months later.
Now I know that “technically” I didn’t actually lose $400, since I never really had it in the first place, but it sure still felt like it.
Have you ever missed out on a signup bonus by not meeting the spending target? Â Any suggestions for how to make sure you get them?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
The Schadenfreude is real.
Just cancel the card and reapply for it in a month. It’s an easy card to get again.
My system? The day I get a new card it’s the top card in my wallet and I focus on it until it’s done. In some cases I just go buy enough GC in the same day to meet threshold, and it’s demoted.
Its boring but first its my primary card for everything till I make those levels. Right now halfway through $3000 for my AmEX Plat. When in doubt I prepay some expenses utilities etc I know I will need to pay them sooner or later for instance I stopped by my insurance agent and inquired about my second half of the year auto insurance. I can prepay it for roughly $900 but will not know the amount till mid July 6 weeks early. That alone puts me a third of the way to the total.
Ouch. I’ve done this once. I misread the threshold on my wife’s Delta Gold Amex and we let the date pass by with the card sitting in the desk drawer. Hurt even worse cause it is Amex. I feel your pain.
Me too. Missed the citingold checking 50k by not doing minimum debit card transactions.
Sorry ’bout your loss. (and much understood) A useful reminder for all of us….
Hardest part for me is often remembering (er, documenting) just when the 90 days or 3 months window closes. More than a few times I’ve had to call in, as the day the clock starts will not be obvious from statements, nor will it be self-evident if you can find an indication in your in-box from when you were approved. The start date may not (and should not be) until you actually receive the new card and activate it. But one ought not assume either.
With each new card, and minimum spend, I try and get it within the first 30 days, then there’s no question I got the bonus. I prepay car insurance, home insurance, repairs, etc. Then the bonus posts on usually the first if not second statement.
Did you end up reapplying later? Did you have a travel in mind when you open the card? Just wondering what you ended doing with the card if you didn’t need to spend anymore.
I ended up canceling the card after a bit and then yes, applying again a few months later. This time I remembered to meet the spending requirements 🙂
Thanks for the update! I was able to utilize this card but not sure how long I should wait before cancelling it. It’s almost at the 6 month mark. Is that a good time frame?
Seems reasonable to me