Sign-up offers can get you thousands of points or miles when you open a credit card - use the CardMatch tool to see if you're eligible for higher bonuses

• Credit card bonuses can be worth thousands of dollars and shouldn't be overlooked when you're choosing a new card.
• With the CardMatch tool, you may be able to find bigger bonuses than you would at the card issuer's website. For example, the Platinum Card® from American Express is available to some users with a welcome bonus of 100,000 points after $5,000 spent in the first three months (compared to the standard offer of 60,000 points).
• CardMatch offers can change at any time without notice, but now is a great time to check if you're eligible for the Amex Platinum offer, as reports indicate it's still available.
• If you're worried about meeting minimum purchase requirements, consider pre-buying things you'll need in the future anyway like cleaning supplies and other household goods.

One of the best parts of getting a new credit card is the sign-up bonus. I've brought home as many as 100,000 bonus miles or points with a single credit card welcome offer. That was the case with the first card I ever signed up for enticed by a bonus. The rewards took me on a trip to London, Paris, and Amsterdam using up just half of the bonus!

Credit card issuers tend to offer the same bonus no matter where you sign up, but there are some exceptions to that rule. One such exception is CardMatch, a tool from CreditCards.com that you can use to get pre-approved for some credit cards with an even bigger bonus. Here's how it all works.

Get customized credit card suggestions

When you land on the CardMatch page, you'll be prompted to fill out a short form with your name, address, and last four digits of your Social Security number. This information gives CardMatch enough information to do a soft pull on your credit (no impact on your credit score) to see which cards may be a good fit.

CardMatch works with multiple banks to give you top offers, including some that are higher than what you'll find through other channels.

The best example of this is the Amex Platinum card - its standard welcome bonus is 60,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months. That's not bad, but through CardMatch you could be able to get a 100,000-point offer with the same spending requirement.

Those 40,000 points are worth an extra $800 in travel according to valuations from The Points Guy. I use 25,000 as a reference point for domestic flights, so a 100,000-point bonus can take my whole family across the country, or just me four times. That's an obvious win, so if you're already considering opening the Platinum card, take a minute to see if you're eligible for this higher offer. Reports indicate it's currently circulating, so now is a good time to check.

CardMatch offer examples

When I gave CardMatch a test with my own information, I saw a selection of great cards from Chase and Capital One including the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. I already have four Amex cards, which is probably why American Express didn't match me with any new ones.

My wife got two American Express card offers on CardMatch, including one for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offer. The Blue Cash Preferred is popular for its cash-back rate of up to 6% at US supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year; then 1%) and select US streaming services, among other bonuses.

When comparing this to the public American Express Blue Cash Preferred offer, I didn't see any differences. But if you're going to get a new card anyway, it's certainly worth checking the CardMatch tool to see if you can get a bigger bonus than going through the card issuer's website for the entire process.

Reaching minimum spending requirements

The Blue Cash Preferred deal for my wife in CardMatch required just $1,000 in purchases over three months to get a $250 cash-back bonus. That's $333 per month, which is a lot less than my household typically puts on a credit card. Most singles or families should have no problem reaching that spending level with the purchases you already make at the grocery store, gas station, and elsewhere.

But what happens when you get a bigger minimum requirement? I've seen cards that require $10,000 or more to get some of the biggest bonuses. If you have to spend more than your typical budget, you have a few strategies to get over the finish line in time.

One option is to front-load future planned purchases. If you already buy things like toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, and toothpaste, you can stock up on these and other nonperishables you use around the house today and use them up later.

The same works with favorite stores and restaurants. If you go to the same grocery store every week, you can buy gift cards for that grocery store that you know will be as good as cash to you later on. I've done this with airline, supermarket, restaurant, and retail gift cards in the past to reach spending requirements.

If you're able to be patient and time your new card application with a big bonus or can find a bigger bonus using a tool like CardMatch, you'll definitely come out ahead.

Click here to visit CardMatch to see if you're targeted for the 100,000-point Amex Platinum offer.