Tips for unlocking welcome bonuses

Frequently, various questions came up in our facebook group:

Can you help me identify expenses to unlock subscription bonuses?

How can you carry $1,500 on an American Express card in 3 months?

Is it possible to pay Hydro Québec with a credit card?

How do I pay my municipal taxes with a credit card?

How can I pay my taxes with a credit card?

Members gave their tips and tricks on how to more easily reach the welcome bonus trigger levels, which can be as high as $7,000 in 3 months! Here are most of them here, but first, a common-sense reminder:

There are dozens of gift cards available for a variety of businesses, and members of the Facebook group are big fans of them! But you have to know how to use them wisely.

A good points & miles hunter is generally someone who keeps a close eye on his budget and is able to forecast his spending over the coming months. In this case, gift cards are a great way to unlock welcome bonuses quickly. What’s more, you can earn lots of points when you buy them!

Here, for example, is a typical budget for the coming month:

Most insurance companies allow you to pay for car and/or home insurance at once, using a credit card(Mastercard / Visa for the most part).

Of course, you’ll need to have the money available immediately to cover this expense, but if you do, it’s a subscription bonus that’s easy to come by!

And the big advantage: it’s an easily predictable expense based on the expiry date of your contracts! So you can take out a credit card in advance!(Tip from Burebista)

Do you have group/individual insurance? Does it allow you to pay only the deductible to the medical provider? Charge the entire expense to your credit card!

This way, it’s not the provider (like your dentist) who receives your insurance payment… it’s you! And that will have allowed you to charge the expense to your credit card!

If you have money in your account, prepay your monthly expenses for certain services:

• Instead of paying $100 a month for your Fido cell phone package, pay 3 months in advance with $300 on your account!
• buy a Netflix gift card to pay for the full year’s subscription
• etc.

The same principle applies to other subscriptions such as Netflix, Youtube Premium, Apple Music… by buying gift cards!

This tip is especially useful when you see that you’re running out of time (usually 3 months) and you’re “only” a few hundred dollars short of unlocking your bonus!(Mario’s tip)

We wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but unfortunately… it happens! Does your car need to be serviced after an accident? Is your windshield broken?

Instead of letting the insurance company pay the body shop or garage, pay the repairs in advance on your credit card!(Guy’s tip).

Owning a car is expensive: but usually, maintenance can be scheduled a few weeks in advance.

If you do it right, it’s a way to help you unlock a new sign-up bonus!

In the facebook group, we have a champion of this technique in Brigitte B.

Does your mother, your brother, your best friend pay his bills with his bank account or by check? Tell them to stop!

Invite him to read this article…. or offer to take care if their bill and have them reimburse you with an Interac payment! You can always thank her with an SAQ or grocery gift card (purchased with your American Express Cobaltᵐᶜ Card)!

The next time you invite your parents over for dinner, identify the expenses they regularly incur!(Brigitte’s tip).

Are you planning a group trip involving the purchase of numerous plane tickets and hotel nights?

Having a birthday party at a restaurant with a group of friends? Are you giving a joint gift to a colleague or friend?

Offer to pay in advance on your credit card and be reimbursed by Interac(Audrey’s tip).

For small condominiums, managed by the various co-owners, one or two people will often take care of certain expenses, such as the purchase of a barbecue or parasols for the communal terrace…

Charge this expense to your credit card! For example, a friend of mine managed to charge the complete renovation of his building’s communal terrace to various American Express cards, and easily collected several hundred thousand points! (Tip from a friend).

Are you a member of the Ordre des Pharmaciens? Each year, you must pay a membership fee of approximately $1,500. And since this Order uses Paypal, it’s easy to get the bonus from a card like the American ^Express® Gold Rewards Card, all at once. (Pascale’s tip).

Many professional organizations accept payment by credit card: instead of sending a check, pay by credit card!

The same applies to all subscriptions: theaters, soccer clubs…

And if your credit card isn’t accepted, you can fall back on a service like Plastiq to send a check for you!(Brigitte’s tip).

Do you work for a small business? It is often possible to have an expense account and charge your various purchases to your credit card: plane tickets, hotels, various subscriptions…

In some companies that advertise on Facebook and Twitter, it’s also possible to request that expenses be charged to your credit card(Emmanuelle’s tip).

Here is a list of some cards that are perfect for picking up different bonuses:

There are many other tips for unlocking bonuses… which are discussed in the milesopedia facebook group or at our events!

But with all the ones mentioned above, you should be able to unlock many bonuses! To find out when you’ll receive your bonus, click here!