How Do You Earn Points?

The earning you’ll lean on most is the everyday kind. When you buy something on a rewards card, that purchase earns points: groceries, gas, the streaming bill, the coffee run. You’re already spending on all of it, and now it’s quietly adding up.

Not every charge counts, though. An eligible purchase is really just something you buy from a merchant, and those are what earn.

Things like balance transfers, cash advances and fees usually don’t, and they usually don’t count toward a welcome bonus either. A return or a refund lowers the spending that qualifies, and what exactly counts depends on the card and the offer, so the offer terms are the final word.

Points and bonuses can take a little time to show up, and exactly when depends on your card, so don’t worry if a purchase doesn’t turn into points right away.

Some cards earn a bit more on certain kinds of spending, but you don’t need to think about that to begin. Which card fits your trip is Lesson 6, so leave it for now.

The other big source is the welcome bonus, sometimes called a sign up bonus. It’s a batch of points a card gives you for spending a set amount within the first few months of opening it, as long as you meet the offer’s terms. For a lot of people it’s the fastest way to pick up a real pile of points early on.

As Lesson 2 covers, this only makes sense if you can pay your full statement balance by the due date.

There’s more to it than the size of the number, though. Whether opening a card for one makes sense, that’s Lesson 2. The short version: only go after a bonus on spending you were going to do anyway.

You don’t need a credit card to earn at all. Airlines and hotels run their own loyalty programs, usually free to join, and they hand you miles or points just for being a customer.

Take Delta’s SkyMiles program. It’s the free frequent flyer program, not the Delta credit card. Once you add your member number to a flight you book, you earn miles just for taking that flight, no card involved.

Hotels work the same way. Sign up for a hotel’s program, put your number on the booking, and you earn points when you stay.

Take two minutes and look at where your money actually goes in a normal month: groceries, gas, streaming, the odd dinner out. Then notice which of those you already put on a card and which you pay some other way.

You’re not choosing a card or changing a thing yet. You’re just getting a clear picture of the everyday spending that could be earning for you.

Next up in this series, Are All Points the Same? You know how points arrive now. What matters next is which program those points belong to, because the rules for using them work differently.