HACK 144 Ask for a Better Sign-Up Bonus

The best way to earn credit card rewards quickly is to get a sign-up bonus when you first open your card. These bonuses usually require that you spend a certain amount of money in the first few months using the card in exchange for far more points than you could earn normally on the same purchases.

But what if you sign up for a card, get a decent bonus, and then find out the card is now offering an even better bonus for new customers? You may be able to ask for an adjustment. If it’s been ninety days or less since you opened your account, call your card issuer or bank and tell them you noticed that even-newer customers are being offered a better bonus than yours. Ask if they’ll adjust it to match—they just might do it. (You can also make this request via your bank’s messaging portal or live chat, if you don’t want to call.)

But before you make the ask, make sure that you can achieve the higher standards that might come with a better sign-up bonus. If you need to spend an extra $2,000 to get that extra bonus of several thousand points, you will want to ensure you plan to put $2,000 worth of charges on your card before time runs out.