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New Card Checklist

Each time you get a new card, please take a few minutes to do these few steps. It will make your life so much simpler as you start to get more cards to keep track of!

1. Record details about the card including the exact date of approval, the sign-up bonus, the minimum spend on the card, whether the card is “churnable”, the annual fee and whether or not it’s waived the first year, any membership numbers, and the customer service phone number in case you lose the card. I keep a spreadsheet that looks like this:

Card Name	Open Date	Close Date	Signup Bonus	Minimum Spend	Annual Fee	Fee Waived 1st Yr?	Membership Number	Customer Service Phone Number
Card 1	MM/DD/YYYY	Open	50,000	$3,000	$95	Y	XXXXXXX	1(800)555-5555
Card 2	MM/DD/YYYY	Open	50,000	$3,000	$89	Y	N/A	1(800)555-5555
Card 3	MM/DD/YYYY	Open	$100	$1,000	$0	N/A	N/A	1(800)555-5555

 

2. Call to have the payment date set to the same day of the month for each card. This isn’t as important if you only have a couple of cards, but once you start getting several, this will save you a bunch of headaches trying to remember the payment date for each new card.
3. Set up automatic payments. This helps you keep Rule #2 which is: ALWAYS pay off the credit cards every month. If you have accidentally missed a payment on a card (which I’ve done before because I didn’t set up automatic payments!), you can usually call and have the late payment fee removed from the card. Most issuers will give you one freebie on each card as long as you’ve been consistent in paying in the past.
4. Move all of your spending to the new card. This can sometimes be a pain, but it’s how you’re able to maximize the benefit and make sure you hit the minimum spend in the designated amount of time. Beyond your daily spending, think about things like your insurance payments, recurring gym membership payments, Amazon/Netflix/Spotify accounts. Additionally, some landlords will let you pay rent with a credit card without a fee. This is an awesome way to make a minimum spend on a new card.

If you have any questions about this checklist, let me know in the comments section below!