Credit card issuers like American Express and Capital One are adding new ways to earn and redeem rewards during quarantine

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Since credit card travel benefits are currently unusable, issuers like American Express, Capital One, and Chase have rolled out new perks tailored to life in quarantine.
Amex, Bank of America, Chase, and Citi are extending the qualification period for earning a welcome bonus, giving you up to six months to meet the minimum spending requirement.
Capital One is letting select cardholders redeem miles to cover food delivery, streaming service, and mobile phone purchases.
If you have an American Express card, you may see Amex Offers for cash back on wine purchases, or for bonus points on food delivery.
See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards.

In the scheme of things, not being able to fully maximize your rewards credit cards during the coronavirus pandemic isn't the biggest problem. But many of the best rewards cards charge high annual fees, and several of their top benefits like airport lounge access and bonus rewards are related to travel, so it can feel difficult to justify the fees when you can't put those perks to use.

Luckily, in addition to extending customers various relief programs like the ability to request payment deferrals, credit card issuers are making adjustments to their rewards programs — and, in the case of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, even offering a statement credit to reduce the annual fee. Several issuers have also extended the period you have to meet a minimum spending requirement to earn a sign-up bonus, making it easier to earn rewards even if your finances and spending patterns have changed.

Here's a breakdown of what types of new benefits you can expect with each major card issuer. We'll continue to update this list as other issuers add new features and the ones already included here update and add to their rewards programs. Also see our list of airlines and hotels that are extending elite status.

American Express

Double the time to earn a welcome bonus

Amex was the first credit card issuer to extend the timeframe for earning a welcome bonus. If you open an American Express card, you generally have three months to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn the welcome bonus of points or cash back. Now, you can take up to six months to meet the minimum spend if you applied for your new card between December 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020.

This is great news if you were struggling to meet a welcome bonus spending requirement in three months, or if you've been eyeing a card with a very high spend requirement that could be doable in six months. For example, the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is offering 75,000 points to new cardholders who spend $15,000. You normally would have just three months to meet that requirement, but now you can take six months, averaging out to $2,500 in spending per month.

American Express The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Social distancing-appropriate Amex Offers

Not only does the Platinum Card® from American Express offer great purchase protection, but it also comes with Amex Offers that can save money or earn bonus rewards when you shop online.

For instance, while I typically see deals for saving money with travel brands like Hilton and Marriott, lately the offers on my Platinum Card® from American Express have been more geared toward life spent close to home. I've taken advantage of two Amex Offers for cash back on wine, including $30 back on a purchase of $100 or more at Wine.com. I'm also seeing an offer for one additional point per dollar on Grubhub and Seamless food delivery purchases.

American Express Platinum Card® from American Express

Bank of America

B of A is also extending the timeframe for earning a welcome bonus on Bank of America credit cards— in this case by an additional 90 days. According to Doctor of Credit, this extension is available if you opened your new account between January 1 and March 31. If you're considering opening a new Bank of America card, it could be worth calling the issuer to see if it's willing to extend the qualification period even if it falls outside of that window (since we're now in April).

Capital One

Use Venture miles to cover food delivery and streaming services

Acknowledging that most cardholders aren't traveling right now, Capital One introduced some new options for using miles. If you have the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, you can use miles to cover food delivery purchases made with your card. You can also use your miles to cancel out charges for streaming services including Hulu and Netflix. This redemption option is only available until June 30.

Use Spark miles to cover mobile phone payments

If you have the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business or the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business, you also have a new option for using your miles. According to Frequent Miler, you can use miles from either of these business cards to erase select mobile phone payments from your statement. Additionally, you can use miles to cover eligible food delivery charges.

Eligible wireless phone service providers include AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. This category includes phone bills and other purchases made with these providers.

Chase

Earn bonus points on groceries

Chase just announced that select cards will offer elevated rates on grocery purchases. In May and June, depending on which Chase card you have, you can earn up to 5 points per dollar on up to $1,500 in grocery spending per month. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns 5x points through this promotion, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, The World Of Hyatt Credit Card, and several other co-branded Chase cards will earn up 3x points.

More time to earn a Chase card sign-up bonus

Chase is another credit card issuer that's extending the period for completing the minimum spending requirement to earn a sign-up bonus. If you opened a Chase card between January 1 and March 31, your timeframe for earning the intro bonus will automatically be extended by three months.

This could make it easier to earn the welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. You need to spend $15,000 in the first three months, but that could be much more attainable over the course of six months. If you haven't applied yet, you could always call or send Chase a message to see if it's willing to extend the welcome bonus qualification period even though we've passed the March 31 cutoff.

Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Bonus rewards on food delivery with DoorDash and Tock

Chase has also extended its partnerships with food-delivery services DoorDash and Tock, giving you the opportunity to earn bonus rewards on your purchases. Through May 31, you can earn 5 Chase points per dollar on combined purchases with DoorDash and Tock with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Chase Freedom®, and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. That makes any of these cards a great option for ordering food.

Citi

More time to earn a Citi card sign-up bonus

Citi is yet another issuer that's extending the qualification period for earning a welcome bonus. Citi cardholders who opened an account between December 1, 2019 and May 31 can get another three months to complete the minimum spending requirement for cards like the Citi Prestige® Card and the Citi Premier Card.

More ways to use the Citi Prestige's $250 annual travel credit

Citi's also temporarily expanding the categories that qualify for the Citi Prestige card's $250 annual statement credit. While it usually only applies to travel purchases, from May through December the credit will be applied toward purchases and supermarkets and restaurants.