You’ve just been approved for a credit card with a great bonus offer. The shiny piece of plastic arrives in the mail and you complete the bonus spending requirements as quickly as possible. Then you wait for your points, miles or cashback to appear in your account. And then you wait some more.
Waiting for a welcome bonus or a lot of miles isn’t always stress-free, especially if you’re counting on them for a major purchase or upcoming trip. Each bank has its own schedule, and unfortunately, most of them do not provide rewards for redemption on the same day they were earned, as with Apple Credit Card*.
We contacted major credit card companies to find out how long it takes for points, miles or cash to be returned to your account. (And if we didn’t get a response, we did an online investigation to help fill in the gaps.) Here’s a list of what we’ve learned from issuer to issuer:
american express
Welcome BonusesA: Officially speaking, new American Express cardholders can expect eight to 12 weeks to receive their welcome bonus once they meet spending requirements. However, if you trust online word of mouth, your Membership Rewards stack should arrive much faster, just a few days after reaching this minimum amount.
Card expenses: Thankfully, the schedule for American Express rewards earned from daily reads is less ambiguous. According to Amex Customer Service, Membership Rewards points appear as “pending” on your account statement and become available for redemption no later than 72 hours after the minimum payment is received, provided you pay your bill on time.
Bank of America
Welcome Bonuses: According to spokesman Don Vecchiarello, welcome bonuses for new Bank of America credit card accounts are issued “at the end of the billing cycle, where the spending floor is reached.”
Card expensesA: While consumer card holders will see pending rewards online immediately, they will have to wait until their statement closes before they can use them. For small business accounts, rewards are issued after daily transactions are posted and are independent of the cardholder’s billing cycle, Vecchiarello said.
Capital One
Welcome Bonuses: Capital One spokeswoman Cathy Urban told us signup bonuses apply to a new cardholder’s rewards balance for two billing cycles after spending requirements are met. Ironically, however, it seems that the scores are published only a few days after your application is closed.
Card expensesA: Rewards typically show up online within 10 days of receiving them, Urban noted, but it can take up to two checkout cycles for them to be posted to your account and made available for redemption. (The same goes for business credit cards.)
chase
Welcome Bonuses: Thomas Doelp, former VP of Communications at JPMorgan Chase, said customers must wait “six to eight weeks for the points” from the welcome bonus to be credited to their account after they have qualified, though rumor has it that that it happens much faster than that.
However, some cardholders have reported delays in receiving their points if the minimum spend was not met towards the end of their billing cycle, so keep that in mind if they are meant to be redeemed over time.
Card expensesA: Unless otherwise stated in the offer disclosure, Doelp said that points earned from a transaction can be used at the end of the billing cycle in which the purchase was made. (This timeline is for the issuer’s most popular cards, including the Chase Sapphire and Chase Freedom sets.) In the meantime, you can track your earnings using the Ultimate Rewards dashboard. They will show up as pending until the statement close date.
City
Welcome Bonuses: Officially, Citi Welcome Bonuses can be credited to your ThankYou Points account for eight to ten weeks after you meet the minimum purchase requirements. However, again, anecdotal evidence indicates that your points may appear as soon as a couple of days after the end of your billing cycle.
Card expenses: ThankYou Points earned from daily card spending should be credited to your account shortly after your statement closes. However, Reward Points earned through special offers may appear within one or two additional billing cycles.
Unfortunately, you may have to wait a little longer to receive all the points you have earned with the Citi® Double Cash Card, which has a somewhat unconventional rewards program: you get 1% cash when you make a purchase and another 1% when you make a purchase. purchases. you pay for this purchase. Therefore, cardholders who do not pay their bill in full each month will experience delays in receiving that second 1%.
discover
Welcome Bonuses: Although there is no traditional welcome bonus, Discover provides the same amount of cash or miles you earn at the end of the first year, which can be even more beneficial for the new Discover it® Cash Back and Discover it. ® Miles cardholders.
According to spokesperson Britney Mitchell, Cashback Match applies from the day your account is approved for the first 12 consecutive billing periods (or 365 days, whichever is longer); they will appear in your rewards account within two billing periods after that. Sure, it’s a long wait time, but with no limits on how many issuers will match, it might be worth it.
Card expenses: Mitchell said that newly earned money or miles will be added to your rewards account at the end of each billing period. (We have heard that this can vary depending on how you redeem them, with direct deposits taking slightly longer than statement credits. Take this information with a pinch of salt, however.)
US bank
Welcome BonusesA: Customers with US bank credit cards must allow six to eight weeks or one to two billing cycles for welcome bonuses to be credited to their bonus balance after they have met the minimum spend, depending on the card. Informally speaking, these dots may appear shortly after your application’s closing date.
Card expensesA: Pending points accumulate in your US bank rewards account as they are earned, but will not be available for redemption until your statement is generated. And in some cases (for example, in the case of FlexPoints), it can take up to 60 days after purchase before it appears on the network. However, redemption requirements vary by credit card, so you won’t be able to use these rewards until you hit the minimum.
Wells Fargo Co.
Welcome BonusesA: Based on what we’ve found online, Wells Fargo awards welcome bonuses work a little differently than other credit card issuers. Instead of receiving your rewards after a billing cycle in which you have met the minimum spend, you will have to wait until the end of the qualifying period (plus one or two additional billing cycles after that).
For example, let’s say you’re approved for the Wells Fargo Propel American Express®* card, which offers a 20,000 signup bonus if you spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening an account. You will not receive these points until three months have passed, even if you make $1,000 worth of qualifying purchases in the first 30 days.
Card expenses: Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards appear in your account as pending until the end of the redemption period. After that, the points are added to the available balance and can be used immediately (usually the next day).
What should I do if my scores are not showing up?
It’s easy to get frustrated if your credit card rewards aren’t in your account when you think they should be.
If you want to know when your points will arrive, the easiest way is to call your card issuer. You can also send an email through your account or use the live chat feature. Before you do so, double-check your reports to make sure you’ve spent enough on qualifying purchases – some items, such as gift cards, may not count towards the minimum spend amount.
You may even be able to speed up the process a bit. Here’s how:
- Ask to speed up the process. In some cases, it is possible to ask your issuer if you can access your points earlier than usual, especially if it is an urgent situation, such as when you need to book a flight or stay at a hotel at the last minute. There is no guarantee that this will work, but there is nothing wrong with asking.
- Get the lowest cost as quickly as possible. It’s pretty obvious – the sooner you reach the welcome bonus spending requirements, the sooner those points will be credited to your account. Planning ahead for qualifying purchases makes this easier.
- Change statement closing date. Most banks issue rewards at the end of the billing cycle. Postponing your statement closing date as a new cardholder can help you claim this welcome bonus faster if you meet all other eligibility requirements.
- Pay the bill as soon as it arrives. Some issuers, including American Express, do not release your rewards for redemption until they have received your minimum payment.
bottom line
While most people will probably enjoy instant access to rewards on their credit cards, the vast majority of banks and issuers simply don’t work that way. However, our research has shown that in many cases cashback, miles and points are credited to your account faster than stated in your card’s terms and conditions.
If you know you’ll need a welcome bonus or a certain number of points for your scheduled redemption, it’s helpful to get ahead of the game: apply early, meet spending requirements as quickly as possible, and make payments on time.
*All Apple Credit Card and Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card information has been independently collected by CreditCards.com and has not been verified by the issuer.
Editorial disclaimer
The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective judgment of our contributors and is not based on advertising. It was not provided or ordered by credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to our partners’ products.
