4 Easy Ways to Earn More Credit Card Rewards

It's exciting when you start using rewards credit cards. Instead of getting nothing back on your bills, you can earn cash back, points, or miles. Over time, this can add up to hundreds of dollars in your savings account, or enough travel points to pay for your next flight.

People often want to know how they can earn rewards more quickly. Here are a few easy ways to do it.

1. Open a new credit card and earn a sign-up bonus

The fastest way to earn rewards is through sign-up bonuses. These are introductory offers available to new cardholders. Card issuers use them to attract new customers, so they're one of the most valuable credit card benefits.

Check out the best sign-up bonuses to see current offers and find one you like. Most of them have spending requirements you need to reach to earn the bonus. For example, a card may offer $200 in bonus cash back for spending $1,000 in the first three months. Or a travel card could offer 60,000 bonus points for spending $6,000 in the first six months.

Before you apply for a card with a sign-up bonus, make sure you spend enough on your regular bills to meet the spend requirement. That way, you won't need to spend more than usual or risk missing out on the bonus.

2. Get a card that earns bonus rewards on your biggest expenses

Many rewards cards earn bonuses in certain spending categories. You can find cards with all kinds of bonus opportunities, from groceries and restaurant spending to streaming services.

Go over your usual bills to see where you spend the most. Then, look for a card that earns bonus rewards in those areas. Here are some of the best credit card options for popular categories:

• Gas and grocery credit cards
• Dining and restaurant credit cards
• Travel credit cards
• Credit cards for streaming services
• Credit cards for Amazon

3. Use a 2% card for all your non-bonus spending

Most credit cards with bonus categories share one big drawback. They only earn 1% (or 1 point per $1) on purchases outside their bonus categories. If you spend $20,000 a year outside of your card's bonus categories, that's $200 back. It's better than nothing, but it's less than what you could be earning.

There are also cards that earn a higher flat rate, but don't offer any bonuses. The highest flat rate you can usually find is 2%. On $20,000 a year in non-bonus spending, that's an additional $200 back. If you don't mind having more than one credit card, your best bet is to have a bonus category card and a 2% card.

Use your bonus rewards card whenever a purchase is in any of its bonus categories. For everything else, use your 2% card.

4. Share your referral link with friends and family

Many credit card companies offer referral programs. Here's how it works:

• You get a referral link from your card issuer.
• You share that link with people you know who are interested in the card.
• If someone applies through your link and is approved, you'll receive a referral bonus from your card issuer.

Referral bonus amounts depend on the card. For no annual fee credit cards, referral bonuses of $50 to $100 are common. Bonuses can be much larger for travel credit cards and business credit cards. I've seen bonus amounts of 25,000 to 40,000 points (a value of $250 to $400) with some of my cards.

You can find information about your card issuer's referral program on its website. Or, call your card issuer at the number on the back of your card.

Earning more credit card rewards doesn't need to be complicated. All the methods above are easy to do and can help you max out your rewards.