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7 Smart Ways Couples Can Maximize Credit Card Rewards (and Travel More for Less)
December 12, 2024
Two heads (and wallets) are better than one when it comes to credit card rewards. If you’re in a relationship, you and your partner have a unique opportunity to team up and supercharge your credit card points and miles. Imagine covering two vacation flights with points when normally you’d only have enough for one, or earning double the usual cash back on groceries because both of you are strategically using the right cards. These are the kinds of wins an effective couples’ credit card strategy can deliver.
In this article, we’ll explore 7 smart ways for couples to maximize credit card rewards. From clever application timing to pooling points for big redemptions, each tip is geared towards helping you and your significant other get more value and maybe even enjoy a free trip (or three) together. Let’s dive in!
1. Sync Up Your Card Applications for Double Bonuses
One of the quickest ways to rack up rewards as a duo is to double up on sign-up bonuses. Coordinating with your partner to apply for the same credit card (or two different reward cards) around the same time can yield twice the bonus that one person would get.
How this works: Most reward cards offer a hefty bonus (points or cash back) if you spend a certain amount in the first few months. If a card looks attractive, discuss with your partner – could you both apply? By doing so, you each get the bonus. For example, a travel card offering 60,000 points for a $4,000 spend – collectively, you’d earn 120,000 points if both meet the requirement, potentially enough for a vacation for two.
Make sure both partners can comfortably meet the spending requirement (you might put shared expenses like rent, utilities, or an upcoming big purchase on these new cards to hit the minimum). Timing is key: get your applications approved within a similar period so you’re working on the bonuses concurrently, which is helpful if you share expenses and can divvy the spend.
Why it’s smart: You’re leveraging the fact that each of you is a unique customer to the bank. Banks won’t give one person two bonuses for the same card, but they’ll happily give one to each of you. It’s a bit like a “BOGO” for rewards bonuses. Just remember to account for any annual fees in your budget times two, and have a plan to use the bonus rewards (big balances of points are fun to earn, but make sure you redeem them for something meaningful!).
2. Designate Go-To Cards for Each Spending Category
As a couple, you likely have a variety of expenses: groceries, dining out, gas, travel, entertainment, etc. A savvy strategy is to maximize rewards on each category by assigning the best card you have for that category, and ensuring the partner doing that spending uses it.
For example:
- Use Card A (in either person’s name) for groceries, if it earns say 4% cash back at supermarkets.
- Use Card B for dining and takeout, if it earns 3x or 4x points on restaurants.
- Use Card C for all travel bookings, if it gives bonus points on flights/hotels or has travel protections.
- Everything else (miscellaneous purchases) goes on a good flat-rate card (like 2% cash back on all purchases) or whichever card you’re meeting a bonus on.
Sit together and map out which card in your combined arsenal is best for each major spending area. Then stick those cards in the right wallets: if one person usually does the grocery run, give them the grocery card (even if it has the other’s name on it – you can work that out, or have them as an authorized user on it). If you often dine out together, decide at the meal who will put the bill on their card based on which card is designated for dining.
This approach ensures no dollar is spent sub-optimally. Over a year, the extra rewards earned by always using a 4% card for $5,000 of groceries (that’s $200 rewards) versus a 1% card ($50) is significant. Multiply that by multiple categories.
Tool tip: Using a tool like Kudos can simplify this. Instead of memorizing which card to use where, Kudos will prompt you at checkout (for online shopping) with the best card. It’s like a cheat sheet for your plan. For in-person spending, you might keep a small note or use your phone’s notes as a quick reference until it becomes habit.
3. Pool Your Points and Miles for Bigger Rewards
Each of you earning points on your own is great, but combining forces can unlock even better rewards. Many loyalty programs allow you to pool points or transfer them to one account, which can be crucial when you need a large sum for a big redemption (like booking two flights or a week at a resort).
Ways to pool:
- Household accounts: Some programs (e.g., British Airways Avios, Hilton Honors) let you formally create a household pool or transfer points freely to a spouse. Always take advantage of this to consolidate into one pot.
- Transfer to one person’s account: If one of you has a card with transferable points (Chase, Amex, etc.), you might transfer all points to one partner’s airline/hotel account to have enough for a redemption. Example: You each have 40k points in Airline X program, but the award tickets you want are 75k points each. If Airline X lets you combine or book for each other, you could move points such that one account has 80k to book both tickets from there.
- Redeem from separate accounts together: If combining isn’t allowed, just coordinate redemption. One person books their flight with their miles, the other person books their flight with their own miles on the same flight – and you end up sitting together, essentially using your miles “together” to take the trip.
By viewing all points and miles as a collective asset, you can strategize to reach redemption thresholds faster. Perhaps you focus on earning hotel points while your partner earns airline miles, then you bring them together for a vacation (redeem hotel stay from one account, flights from the other, each covering both of you).
Tip: Keep track of whose points are where and any expiration dates. Also, when pooling into one account, factor in that account holder’s status/perks – e.g., if one person has elite status at a hotel chain, pooling points into that person’s account to book awards gets you the benefit of their status on the stay (room upgrades, late checkout, etc.).
4. Piggyback on Each Other’s Referrals and Offers
Your partner can be your best referral customer and vice versa. As mentioned earlier, refer each other to new cards when possible to earn bonus points. But also look at targeted offers each of you gets, which might benefit the other.
For example, sometimes one of you might get a mailed offer for a credit card with a special sign-up bonus (“Invitation to apply: 80,000 points!” which might be higher than the public 60k offer). If that card fits your strategy, perhaps the partner who received it isn’t interested or already has it, but the other partner could apply using that offer (if it’s allowed – some mailers are unique codes). Always share these opportunities.
Another angle: retention offers or upgrade offers. Suppose your partner is offered an upgrade on a card (e.g., from a no-annual-fee to a premium card with bonus points to upgrade). Discuss together if it’s worth doing and how it plays into your combined strategy.
Don’t overlook small referrals: If you use cash-back apps or bank accounts that give referral bonuses, refer your partner for those too. It’s not credit card points per se, but it’s part of maximizing finances as a team.
5. Optimize Annual Fees by Sharing Benefits
Premium credit cards come with hefty annual fees but also valuable perks (airport lounge access, travel credits, elite status, etc.). A couple can make the most of one premium card, rather than each paying for duplicate benefits.
For instance, you might decide only one of you will get a top-tier travel card like the Platinum Card or Sapphire Reserve, because one card’s benefits can cover both of you mostly:
- Airport lounge access typically allows guests – so one card could get both of you into lounges when traveling together.
- Hotel elite status earned via a card can be used to book stays for both.
- One $300 travel credit can be used on bookings for either of you.
Meanwhile, the other partner might choose a different card that provides other benefits (like a hotel card’s free night certificate). This way you’re not paying two annual fees for the same perk. Coordinate so you’re not redundantly paying for cards where one would suffice for the household.
If both of you want a premium card for the rewards, consider downgrading one to a lower-fee version once the bonus is earned, especially if the perks overlap. Or utilize authorized user cards: some premium cards allow adding your partner as an AU often at a lower cost than a full second annual fee, granting them many of the same benefits (e.g., additional Platinum cards for a spouse come at a fee but give lounge access and perks without paying a full second $695 fee, which is exactly what some couples do).
This strategy ensures you maximize perks per dollar of fee. You treat perks as shared – after all, as a couple you often travel together or can share benefits. It’s a waste for both to pay, say, $500 each if one fee could have covered much of both your needs.
6. Keep an Eye on Each Other’s Credit Health
While chasing rewards, don’t forget that both partners’ credit scores are an important foundation. You should work together to maintain or improve credit health:
- If one partner is new to credit or rebuilding, consider making them an authorized user on an old, well-managed card of the other partner to boost their score.
- Be mindful of the impact of multiple new accounts: if one of you plans to take out a major loan (car, mortgage), pause new card applications on that person to avoid any surprises. The other partner could take on the next card or two in the meantime.
- Regularly check credit reports (each can get free reports or use free score monitoring). It’s good to ensure no missed payments or fraud. Couples should be transparent here; since your financial futures are linked, knowing each other’s general credit status is helpful.
The goal is to ensure both of you have strong credit so you can continue to get approved for top reward cards. If one falls behind (maybe due to high utilization or an error on a report), strategize as a team to fix it – perhaps shift spending or balances around, or have the person with better credit take the lead on new applications while the other holds off and improves. It’s a long-term strategy to keep the rewards game sustainable and beneficial.
7. Plan Your Redemptions Together (Use Rewards for Shared Goals)
Maximizing isn’t just about earning – it’s also about using rewards wisely. As a couple, you likely have shared goals for your points or cashback. Discuss and plan how you’ll redeem to get the most value:
- If travel is a goal, pick a target trip (our honeymoon, next year’s anniversary in Hawaii, etc.) and strategize your card usage to accumulate the right points for that trip. This gives you a clear purpose and excitement to keep up the strategy.
- Compare notes on the best use of points. Maybe one of you is more into the points hobby and knows how to get outsized value (like transferring points to an airline for first class tickets). Educate your partner and agree on redemptions that make you both happy. It might be better to use 100k points for two $1,000 flights (high value) rather than, say, using the same for a $500 statement credit – ensure you both understand the options.
- If cash back is your game, decide how it factors into your budget. Will you pool it for a big purchase or experience? Reinvest or save it? Aligning it with something you both care about (e.g. all our cash back goes into the “home down payment fund” or “date night fund”) can be motivating.
By planning redemptions, you also avoid points expiring or devaluing without use. There’s nothing worse than diligently earning rewards as a couple and then not using them optimally. So celebrate your teamwork by enjoying the fruits of your strategy together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should couples have a joint credit card account?
Joint credit card accounts (where both people are co-owners) are not very common nowadays – most U.S. issuers don’t even offer new joint accounts. Instead, the typical approach is one person is the primary cardholder and the other is an authorized user. For practical purposes, that setup achieves the same goal (both can use the card), but the primary is ultimately responsible for payments.
Many couples find this works fine. If a true joint account is available and you prefer equal responsibility, you can consider it, but you won’t get two sign-up bonuses that way. From a rewards perspective, it’s often better each spouse gets their own card(s) and adds the other as user where needed, rather than sharing one joint card.
What if one person has a much better credit score than the other?
If one partner’s credit score is significantly higher, it makes sense for that person to apply for new credit cards first or for the more premium cards (to ensure approval and possibly better credit limits). The partner with the lower score can start by building credit – perhaps being an authorized user on the other’s cards, or getting a starter card – until their score improves enough to get their own rewards cards.
As a couple, you can work on this together: keep low utilization, pay on time, maybe even cosign a small loan or use other credit-building tools. Over time, you ideally want both partners to have good credit (700+ scores) so you can tag-team applications and each pull your weight in the rewards game.
Do we both need to get the same credit cards?
Not necessarily. In some cases, getting two of the same card (to double bonuses or benefits) is great. But often, it’s smarter to get different cards that complement each other. For example, one of you gets a travel card that has lounge access and hotel status, the other gets a cash-back card for everyday spending and a different airline card.
This way, you cover more ground and have a more versatile card portfolio as a household. It really depends on your goals: if you both fly a lot on Delta, maybe you each get a Delta card. But if one flies Delta and the other prefers United, you might split and get one of each. Customize your strategy to your habits.
How can we track multiple credit cards as a couple?
Organization is key. You can use a simple shared spreadsheet where you list each card, who’s the primary, the closing date, due date, and key perks/bonuses. Update it when you open or close accounts. There are also apps/websites (like Mint, Personal Capital, or specialty apps for credit card tracking) that allow multiple cards and can show transactions and balances in one place – just be cautious with login sharing.
The Kudos extension doesn’t track balances, but it does keep all your card reward info in one place which helps for usage. Also, set up calendar reminders for annual fee posts or when a bonus spend period ends, etc. As a couple, you might divide tasks – one monitors the accounts and payments, the other monitors the points and renewals. Find a system that you’ll actually keep up with, and review it together periodically.
Is the “two-player mode” strategy worth the hassle?
For most couples who enjoy travel or want to maximize finances, yes – the combined rewards can be hugely worth it. It does introduce a bit more complexity (more cards to manage than if only one person was doing it). But the payoff is things like free flights for both of you, hundreds of dollars in cash back, or VIP travel perks that would cost a lot out-of-pocket. If one partner is very uninterested in credit card logistics, the other can take the lead – just ensure boundaries so it doesn’t cause tension.
Some couples treat it as a shared hobby, which can actually be fun (earning rewards and planning trips together feels rewarding). If it ever feels overwhelming, you can scale back – maybe simplify by focusing on just a couple of strategies instead of all of them. Even doing one or two of the tips above (like doubling sign-up bonuses) can be worth thousands of dollars of value. So you can dial the intensity up or down based on your comfort. Overall, when done responsibly, two-player mode is one of the best ways for couples to get more out of their everyday spending.
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