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Credit Card Benefits That Reset Each Year: A Complete Guide
By Eric Rosen,
12 hours ago
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The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Chase Freedom Flex®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, JetBlue Plus Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.
Make sure you use up credit card statement credits and meet spending thresholds for bonuses by December 31.
Milos Dimic/Getty
Some credit card perks, such as statement credits and spending bonuses, reset each calendar year.
If you don't use your benefits by December 31, they don't carry over to next year.
Not using up calendar-year credit card perks leaves money (and rewards) on the table.
Introduction to yearly resetting credit card benefits
While some of these benefits are ongoing or are tied to your card's anniversary date, others reset at the end of each calendar year.
If you carry a credit card with calendar-year-based perks, now is the time to ensure you have either used them or maximized your annual spending to reap the benefits you deserve.
Credit cards often include several types of yearly awards, which can make it hard to keep track of your benefits each year. But we cover the main categories below, and offer a few examples of credit cards that offer each benefit.
Types of annual credit card perks
The most common annual credit card perks include travel credits, shopping credits, bonus points and category bonuses, and elite status or qualifications. We'll explore each option in more depth below.
Travel credits
Many premium travel rewards cards offer yearly statement credits that specifically offset travel-related purchases.
The Platinum Card® from American Express offers up to $200 per calendar year in airline incidental fee credits . Each January, cardholders can choose one eligible U.S. airline on which to use those credits. That $200 can offset "extra" costs such as seat assignments, checked bags, inflight purchases, and more.
In addition, The Platinum Card® from American Express cardholders receive up to a $200 statement credit when booking a hotel with The Hotel Collection (two-night minimum) or Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts (one-night minimum) through American Express Travel . Additionally, cardholders can get up to $189 per calendar year in credit toward CLEAR® Plus membership to bypass long security lines at participating airports and stadiums.
If you haven't yet maxed out these American Express travel credits this year, there are many ways to use Amex airline fee credits, such as buying lounge passes to use in the coming year or pre-paying for seat assignments and bags on flights you've booked for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, airfare and flight vouchers are not eligible for this travel credit.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® normally offers up to $300 in statement credits toward travel purchases each account year, based on the cardholder's annual card renewal month rather than from January to December. However, cardholders who opened this card before May 21, 2017, receive their travel credit based on the calendar year, meaning this benefit would expire on December 31.
Travel purchases on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® can include flights and hotel bookings, train tickets, rideshares, taxis, and even tolls and parking, among other eligible expenses, making this card's annual travel statement credit one of the most versatile in the industry.
Shopping credits
Amex Platinum Card holders are also eligible for up to $100 of Saks shopping credits each calendar year, divided into $50 for use between January and June and $50 for July to December. To qualify for this credit, you'll need to enroll and ensure that transactions are charged by June 30 and December 31 each year, respectively.
The Amex Platinum Card also comes with up to $200 a year in Uber credits (including Uber Eats), split into $15 monthly, when you enroll. Cardholders receive a bonus $20 credit each December for a total of $35 in Uber credit to wrap up the calendar year.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers up to $400 per year in Dell credits after enrollment: Up to $200 from January to June, and another $200 from July to December. You can purchase Bluetooth headphones through Dell to utilize this credit if you don't need a computer or monitor.
Other The Business Platinum Card® from American Express shopping credit benefits include up to $150 per calendar year in statement credits toward select Adobe purchases when you enroll, including Adobe Creative Cloud and Acrobat Pro DC. There's also a credit of up to $90 per quarter (up to $360 a year) for all Indeed hiring and recruiting products and services.
Bonus points and category bonuses
While many cards have bonus earning categories with no maximums, some extend higher earning potential up to a yearly cap. For instance, the American Express® Gold Card earns 4 points per dollar on up to $25,000 of purchases at U.S. supermarkets each calendar year; after that, it only earns 1x. By contrast, this card earns 4x points at restaurants with no ceiling, and 3x on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel.
Similarly, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns a whopping 6% back at U.S. supermarkets, but only on up to $6,000 spent per calendar year; after that, you'll earn 1%. However, the card does accrue 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back on transit, 3% back at U.S. gas stations, and 1% back on everything else (cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout).
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express earns 1.5x points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more, and on eligible purchases in the U.S. in the following categories: Electronics goods retailers, software, and cloud service providers, construction materials and hardware supplies, and shipping providers. The 1.5x categories are capped at up to $2 million in combined purchases per calendar year; you'll earn 1x after that. It also earns an uncapped 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase has an excellent earning structure, accumulating 3x points on up to a combined total of $150,000 in purchases of travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising with social media sites and search engines in a calendar year. After that, it's just 1x. So if you have any spending in these categories to do soon, try to make some of those purchases at the end of the year so as not to eat into your spending cap for the following year.
The Chase Freedom Flex® 's bonus categories rotate quarterly rather than yearly, earning 5% back (5x Ultimate Rewards points) on up to $1,500. But since Q4 also ends on December 31, you can kill two birds with one stone by ensuring you've earned as many bonus points as possible on this card at the end of each year.
The same applies to the Discover it® Cash Back and Discover it® Student Cash Back quarterly rotating categories . Both of these cards earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in combined bonus categories (then 1%) that change every three months, and 1% back on all other purchases (from July 1 to September 30, 2024, earn 5% cash back at Walmart and grocery stores on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%).
Elite status and qualifications
Many travel rewards cards also extend special bonuses, boosts toward elite status , and even free night rewards for meeting certain spending thresholds each calendar year.
Another thing to note about the Southwest family of co-branded credit cards: The Rapid Rewards points you earn with them count toward Companion Pass qualification (basically two-for-one paid and award travel). To score one, you've got to earn 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. So if you're near that level, you might want to put a little extra spending on your cards each holiday season to get you over the hump — just be sure your December card closing date hasn't passed yet.
Hotel credit cards offer spending bonuses of their own. If you have The World Of Hyatt Credit Card , you can expect a free night reward every year you renew and pay the redeemable annual fee at Category 1-4 hotels. You can earn an additional free night reward after spending $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
Although folks with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card get a free night reward redeemable at most participating hotels worldwide each account anniversary after paying their annual fee, they can earn an additional one by spending $60,000 or more on purchases in a calendar year.
Likewise, those with the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card can earn a free night reward at $15,000 or more in calendar-year spending, and boost from Hilton Honors Gold status up to top-tier Diamond by hitting $40,000.
Some credit card issuers reward you with bonuses for referring friends to apply for your specific card or another one from the same bank. For instance, if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you might be eligible to earn 15,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points for every friend you refer who successfully applies, up to 75,000 points per calendar year. Have the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card? You might be able to rake in 20,000 bonus points per referral up to 100,000 points per year.
Some issuers even offer higher referral bonuses at different times throughout the year. So if you're looking to maximize your reward opportunities, check your credit card referral offers regularly, particularly toward the end of each calendar year when elevated incentives are most likely to come through.
American Express cards also often come with referral offers. This will often depend both on the cards you carry and the ones American Express wants to promote at that time. For instance, if you have the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, you can refer others for any available Amex personal or business card offer, and expect a rate of around 20,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points per successful referral, up to 55,000 bonus points total per year.
Timing is everything when it comes to utilizing your credit card benefits, especially when your expiration date is close at hand.
Missing benefit renewal dates
In the credit card game, nothing aches more than leaving behind free money — in the form of statement credits, of course. This guide focuses on benefits that recalibrate each calendar year. However, some cards offer statement credits that renew on your account anniversary, which are also worth tracking for maximum value.
Tracking benefits can be tricky, especially toward the busy end of the year, even when you know they expire on December 31. If you purchase a product that's on back order until January 4, for example, the merchant may not charge your card until the item is back in stock, which can cause you to miss out on an annual credit that requires a completed transaction by December 31.
A common pitfall of credit cards is the allure of easy spending. Annual statement credits or bonuses can be particularly tempting because they offer the illusion of free money — but only if they apply to products or services you plan to purchase regardless. The $50 Saks credit from your Amex Platinum Card can tempt you into spending $200 to get free shipping, for example, or buying products you don't need.
If you frequently find yourself overspending just to use your annual benefits, consider downgrading your credit card to a product with less perks. After all, credit card benefits aren't really free — you subsidize them through annual fees.
What are some common credit card benefits that reset each year?
Common benefits include travel credits for airline fees, annual shopping credits at select retailers, bonus points on anniversary dates, and elite status qualifications or renewals.
How can I keep track of when my credit card benefits reset?
Many card issuers provide notifications, but it's also wise to mark expiration dates on your calendar and regularly review your card's benefits guide.
Can unused annual credit card perks be carried over to the next year?
Typically, no. Unused benefits expire at the end of the benefit year and do not roll over, emphasizing the importance of timely usage.
What strategies can help me maximize my annual credit card benefits?
Plan major purchases or travel to align with the benefit period, use reminders for expiration dates, and consider all eligible spending categories.
What happens if I don't use my annual credit card benefits?
Unused benefits simply expire and are forfeited, which could mean missing out on significant value from your credit card.
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