Updated 1/9/2019 – Build your vacation fund from $0 to Disney with these two great credit card bonus offers: Southwest Visa 40,000 points and American Express Blue Cash Preferred $250 bonus!
Can opening another credit card help you get out of debt? It may seem crazy to suggest opening two new credit cards to help you get out of debt, but if you’ve resolved to be more disciplined with your money (as in, you won’t rack up more debt using these new credit cards), here’s an easy way to make more than $600 in less than 3 months.
Updated 1/9/2019: The 40,000 Southwest points deal is back! Apply with my referral here. Now get 50,000 points worth $500 in gift cards or $900 in Southwest flights!
This post includes referral links to the very best credit card bonus offers that are only available with a referral. That means you get the best bonus available, and I get a bonus too. Thanks for supporting this U.S. small business!
Please note that these numbers change periodically when Southwest moves the points bonus up or down. The dollar amounts in this article are based on the Southwest 50,000 points offer. All referral links are updated to current offers as of 1/9/2019.
This is the essential breakdown of my plan (more details farther down):
- $215 net bonus for American Express Blue Cash Preferred after minimum spend is met.
- $421 or more net bonus for Southwest Premier Visa after minimum spend is met if you cash out in gift cards.
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- $636 net bonus for you!
OR
- $215 net bonus for American Express Blue Cash Preferred after minimum spend is met.
- $837 or more net bonus for Southwest Premier Visa after minimum spend is met if you cash out in Southwest flights.
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- $1052 net bonus for you!
Read on for the details!
Total minimum spend to earn the bonuses is just $3000 within 3 months of opening the credit cards.
- $1000 minimum spend on American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit card.
- $2000 minimum spend on Southwest Premier Visa.
Can You Seriously Get Out of Debt with Credit Card Bonus Offers? Let’s Find Out!
American Express Blue Cash Preferred $250 Bonus!
This is the very best bonus you’ll find on the AmEx Blue Cash Preferred credit card! (The regular offer is only $150!)
Get a $250 bonus as a statement credit when you spend $1000 on the card within 3 months when you use my link:
Get the American Express Blue Cash Preferred $250 Bonus Offer (I get rewarded too, thanks!)
If you prefer an email invitation directly from American Express, please email me here.
AmEx Blue Cash Preferred offers 6% cash back at grocery stores (Target and Walmart don’t count as grocery stores though), up to $6000 in spending a year. If you spend your first $1000 at your grocery store to trigger the $250 bonus, you’ll earn an extra $60 cash back!
Your statement credit for $250 will apply within the next cycle after you spend $1000 on the card.
Your cash back for $60 (if you spend the $1000 at a grocery store) will be available to cash in after your statement closes that has the $1000 in charges on it. You can claim $50 of it* immediately after it appears in your account, or let it accumulate. Since we’re going for debt free here, go ahead and claim it to offset your balance.
*Note that Amex cashes out in increments of $25. If you want to increase your cash back to $75 so you can cash all of it out at once, you could spend another $250 at the grocery store: $250 at 6% cash back = $15 cash back you need to claim a total of $75 cash back.
There is a $95 annual fee, but don’t let that scare you off! You’ll make $310 with the opening bonus and cash back on $1000 minimum spend combined. Take away the $95 annual fee, and you still net $215! Read on to see how you can make this card really work for your debt free goals.
You’ve earned $215 net cash back with American Express Blue Cash Preferred just for opening the credit card and spending $1000 within 3 months at the grocery store! Here’s how to make more than $300 more with the same card in one year!
- You’ve spent $1000 of your available $6000 grocery store cash back at 6% per year. Spend another $5000 at the grocery store and earn another $300! That works out to spending $500 a month (I max out the $360 grocery store cash back each year with a combination of gift card and grocery purchases.)
- Earn 3% cash back on gas with the AmEx Blue Cash Preferred credit card. Gas is cheap here in Arizona, plus I earn Fuel Points from Fry’s (Kroger) so we usually pay $1 and change per gallon for gas! Therefore, our gas spending isn’t high, but if you spend just $50 a month on gas, that’s another $18 per year cash back.
- Take advantage of targeted AmEx offers. I’ve used offers like:
- $20 cash back for a $50 Google Express purchase.
- $5 cash back on a $5 purchase at QT (gas station/convenience store) x3 = $15 in free gas!
- $5 cash back on a $5 purchase at Dunkin Donuts.
- Hotel offers, like $25 cash back on $125 purchase at La Quinta. Since we travel frequently I always check for AmEx offers before I book a hotel.
- $10 cash back on a $50 purchase at Basha’s grocery store.
- I received $662 cash back from my AmEx Blue Cash Preferred card this year just using the 6% grocery store cash back and a few AmEx offers! My net cash back after the $95 annual fee is $567! I used to be an annual fee hater, but as you can see, I made $567 this year just spending normally with the AmEx Blue Cash Preferred card! *I got my sign up bonus for this card years ago—I made $567 this year after the annual fee and without a bonus!
Get the American Express Blue Cash Preferred $250 Bonus Offer (I get rewarded too, thanks!)
OK, even if you never spend a dime after the $1000 minimum spend on the AmEx Blue Cash Preferred credit card, you will net $215 cash back. Two great thing about AmEx cash back:
- You can redeem your cash back the next month after you earn it!
- There’s just a $25 minimum to cash out!
Here’s the second credit card in my easy plan to go debt free in 2019 by earning more than $600 opening just two great credit cards:
New 1/9/2019! Southwest Visa 40,000 50,000 Points Bonus = $500 in Gift Cards or $900 in Southwest Flights!
This is the best current offer for the Southwest Premier Visa!
Get the 40,000 50,000 Points Offer for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
If you prefer an email invitation directly from Chase, please email me here.
50,000 Rapid Rewards points are worth $500 in gift cards, or $900 in flights.
When you meet your $2000 minimum spend for the Southwest Premier Visa, you’ll also earn a minimum of 2000 extra points! That’s $20 worth of gift cards, or $36 value in flights.
- Earn more points by using the Southwest Rapid Rewards portal when you shop online (it’s like Ebates).
Net bonus for the Southwest Premier Visa is $636! (or even more if you earn more than 1 point per dollar when you make your minimum spend purchases!)
Why would you choose the Southwest Premier with a $99 annual fee when you can get the same amount of bonus points with the Southwest Plus with a $69 fee? Two reasons:
1. Both the Premier and the Plus versions work out to the same annual fee each year because of the difference in anniversary points!
Premier:
- 6000 anniversary points worth $60 in gift cards/$108 in flights. If you fly, you’ll make up for the annual fee.
- $99 annual fee – $60 gift card value anniversary points = effective $39 annual fee.
Plus:
- 3000 anniversary points worth $30 in gift cards/$54 in flights.
- $69 annual fee – $30 gift card value anniversary points = effective $39 annual fee.
2. If you use your anniversary points for flights, you’ll save money choosing the $99 annual fee version:
Premier: $99 fee – $108 flights value for anniversary points = net $9 for you!
Plus: $69 fee – $54 flights value for anniversary points = effective $15 annual fee.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier:
- 50,000 points offer
- $99 annual fee
- $2000 minimum spend within 3 months.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus:
- 50,000 points offer.
- $69 annual fee.
- $1000 minimum spend within 3 months.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business:
- 60,000 points offer.
- $99 annual fee.
- $3000 minimum spend within 3 months.
Get the 50,000 Points Offer for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
Get the American Express Blue Cash Preferred $250 Bonus Offer (I get rewarded too, thanks!)
Can You Get Out of Debt with Credit Card Bonus Offers in 2019?
This is totally doable: You can get out of debt with credit card bonus offers this year! These two offers are just the tip of the iceberg, and require a low minimum spend to earn the bonuses.
If you can be disciplined enough to only do your regular spending with these two credit cards (groceries, gas, etc.) and pay them off in full every month, YES! You’ll earn a minimum of $636 net cash back after the annual fees are accounted for, and you could earn $300 more if you max out the $6000 at 6% cash back at grocery stores on the AmEx Blue Cash Preferred card!
For more great credit card offers, read my Disneyland on a Budget Resources page!
For more money saving tips and credit card offers, read this next:
Related: Best Frugal Practices: How We Use Gift Cards to Meet the Minimum Spend for Credit Card Bonus Offers
