Minimum spend is the amount that must be charged to a new card within a defined period before the welcome bonus is credited.
Minimum spend is the amount that must be charged to a new card within a defined period before the welcome bonus is credited.
Also called: Spending requirement.
How it works#
Three details in the terms decide everything: which purchases count, when the clock starts, and what is explicitly excluded. Fees, cash advances, refunds and prepaid top-ups frequently do not count. If the requirement is only met by pulling purchases forward or inventing them, the bonus is not a reward but a discount on spending that would never have happened.
Not to be confused with#
Minimum spend is not the same as a spending threshold for card benefits: one unlocks a one-off bonus, the other unlocks recurring annual perks.
In German#
The German term is Mindestumsatz. German version of this term
Related terms#
- Welcome bonus: A welcome bonus is a one-off points credit for opening a new card and meeting a minimum spending requirement within a set period.
- Merchant category code: A merchant category code is the four-digit code a card network uses to classify a business, and it decides which bonus points a purchase earns.
- Statement credit: A statement credit is an amount the card issuer refunds against qualifying purchases instead of awarding points for them.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onCards and money.