Weekly, monthly and yearly tasks for staying on track with your credit cards
Editor's Note
Quick summary
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While maximizing your credit card game doesn't mean you have to live and breathe credit card rewards (that's what we're here for), you should be keeping a close eye on your credit score, rewards earnings and overall financial health throughout the week, month and year.
The better handle you have on your own credit journey and rewards portfolio, the better you can make informed decisions to hit your goals — whether you're looking to boost your credit score before applying for a line of credit or save up enough points to get you to a dream destination for almost no money out of pocket.
Here are a few things to remember as you go through your week, month and year to help you stay on track.
Every week
Make a budget
Budgeting is an important aspect of your overall financial health, but it can also help you maximize your credit card earnings. If you have a general idea of where and when you'll spend money over the course of the week, you can make sure you're using the best credit card for those purchases. Plus, budgeting helps ensure that you'll be able to pay off your bill in full at the end of the month, which enables you to avoid interest payments and keep your credit score high.
Check your credit score
Your credit score is important — it determines which cards you can be approved for, your interest rates, whether you are approved for loans such as mortgages and car loans, and it can even affect whether you're able to rent an apartment in some places.
Luckily, it's effortless to access your credit score for free. In fact, pretty much every major card issuer provides an easy way to check your score for free through the bank's app.
Related: Best apps for money management
Keep a pulse on your credit card spending
Once you make a budget, keep an eye on your actual spending through your credit card apps. That way you'll be able to spot any billing errors, notice any rewards that aren't depositing the way they should, and make sure that you're following your budget.
For example, I've previously had travel expenses not earn rewards on my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Because I log in to check my spending log on my accounts regularly, I was able to flag this issue up to Chase and get it fixed.
Check for new issuer offers
American Express and Chase both have a solid platform of additional offers available to cardholders. You have to activate the offers that you want to use, but taking the time to do so could help you rack up additional points and savings. I personally sit down every Sunday to budget out my week, check through my previous week's spending and do a quick run-through of available offers on both my Amex and Chase credit cards.
Every month
Consider your card rotation
Consider which cards you're using for which purchases. This step is crucial as you consider cards with rotating quarterly category bonuses, like the Chase Freedom Flex card.
Related: How to improve your credit score
Adjust upcoming goals
Once a month, take some time to think about your short-term goals. Are you close to hitting the required spending needed for the next tier of elite status? Do you need to save money on expenses to cover an upcoming large purchase? Is there a post-holiday getaway you have your eye on for a points redemption? With these goals in mind, you can then adjust your earning and burning strategies.
Every year or so
Dive deep into your credit report
We've talked about regularly checking your credit score, but your score is only a small part of your larger credit report. By law, you are entitled to a full credit report from the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) once a year for free, and you should be taking advantage of this. Your credit report will list your identifying information, detailed summaries of your credit account information and a list of the hard and soft inquiries on your account.
It's important to make sure that all of that information is accurate and fix any errors as soon as possible, as they can adversely affect your credit score and overall financial health.
Related: How to check your credit score for absolutely free
Adjust your card wish list
Each year, I make a tentative credit card wishlist. To simplify, it's just a list of credit cards I'm considering applying for over the next year, as well as a short description as to why. It's not a list that I live and die by (for example, I had the Prime Visa on my wishlist for 2020, but ended up putting that application on hold because of a better offer for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card that I decided to jump on), but it does help me keep an eye out for special offers and elevated bonuses.
And don't forget to check the CardMatch tool for the latest targeted offers (offers are subject to change at any time).
Having a basic plan for which cards I may want to add to my wallet helps me navigate application rules, such as the Chase 5/24 rule, Amex's one-bonus-per-lifetime rule and others.
Plan out your long-term goals
In addition to having shorter-term goals, think about your long-term game plan for earning and burning rewards. Things like saving up for a specific dream vacation, hitting lifetime elite status and prepping your credit score for a mortgage application can take a long time, so it's important to know that those milestone goals are on your radar.
Your long-term goals should help inform your short-term goals, and those should help you figure out which cards to apply for, where to focus your spending and how to plan your redemptions.
Once you have your goals in mind, write out (or type out, if you prefer to keep track of things digitally) actionable steps to help you accomplish those goals. I personally use a free tool called Notion to keep things like this (as well as my monthly bills and weekly budget) organized.
Bottom line
The world of points, miles and credit cards can seem overwhelming at first, but having a game plan can help you take charge of your earning and burning strategies.
I've been able to take multiple international trips because of the points I've earned with rewards credit cards, I've saved hundreds of dollars on last-minute hiccups because of travel protections, and I've been able to significantly increase my credit score (which helped me score a great deal on my monthly car payment) — all because I took the step a few years back of being diligent about my credit card strategy.
Hopefully, this weekly, monthly and yearly outline will help you stay on track so that 2022 can be a great year for your personal finances.
Additional reporting by Chris Dong.