I recently wrote about being mindful of your spend caps if you have and use an American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card or American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card, or an American Express Business Gold Card, or an Amex Everyday or Everyday Preferred Card. That is, you may only want to spend up to a certain amount on a card because after that, your spending rewards may decrease.
Well the same logic holds true about keeping track of your spending when you are trying to obtain an annual spend bonus. Many cards offer additional rewards if you spend a certain amount annually. If you are going for one of these annual spend bonuses, you may want to keep track of your spending to know when you hit it. After that, you can retire the card for the remainder of the year if you choose.
You should also keep track of your spending to make sure that you don’t miss a spend bonus by just a little. If you are close and the end of the year is approaching, maybe up your charges or even pay for something in advance, assuming financially you can of course. It would be silly to plan your spending for a whole year to get the bonus and then fall short by just a little at the end.