The credit card perks people forget to turn on

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Today's best rewards credit cards come with valuable perks that can make their annual fees well worth it, but you don't always get these benefits automatically. More and more cards are requiring you to "enroll" in certain perks for them to apply, which can be a problem if you don't know this ahead of time.

This is especially true for high-value statement credit offers that are worth hundreds of dollars, and with certain card issuers like American Express and Chase.

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Take the $300 annual StubHub credit on the newly refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve® card as an example. This credit is given out twice per year in increments of $150, and you have to "activate it" for it to apply.

There's not much involved in activating this perk other than logging into your Chase credit card account, heading to the card benefits page and clicking a button that says "activate." However, you will not get the credit if you don't take this step before you try to use it.

Amex also has a lot of credits that require activation ahead of time, which is not a huge deal but good to know.

There are also cash-back credit cards that require activation to earn the highest rewards rate in rotating quarterly bonus categories.

Here's a list of some (but not all) of the common card benefits that require activation or enrollment.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

• $300 annual StubHub credit
• $120 annual Peloton credit
• Annual DoorDash promo credits
• DashPass membership credits
• Apple Music subscription credits
• Apple TV subscription credits

The Platinum Card® from American Express

• $400 annual Resy credit
• $300 annual digital entertainment credit
• $300 annual Lululemon credit
• $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit
• $200 airline fee credit
• Hilton Honors Gold status
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
• Walmart+ membership benefits

American Express® Gold Card

• $120 annual dining statement credit
• $84 annual Dunkin credit
• $100 annual Resy credit

Chase Freedom Flex®

• 5% quarterly bonus categories

Discover it® Cash Back

• 5% quarterly bonus categories

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card

• 5% quarterly bonus categories

Double your travel points without signing up for another credit card

Most folks are happy earning points and miles on everything they buy with their credit card. But did you know there's a way to "double dip" and earn extra points for free? People know Bilt for its credit card that earns points on rent with no transaction fees. But you don't need a Bilt card to join the Bilt Neighborhood Benefits program. In fact, not only is it free to join, but you can stack the points you earn from it with the rewards from your existing credit card, and take home twice as much!

Learn how to double your rewards for free!

Quite a few airline and hotel credit cards have benefits that require enrollment as well, so make sure to look over available benefits for all rewards and travel cards you have.

If you try to take advantage of one of these perks and you don't take the steps to enroll first, you will almost certainly miss out. And given that it's a new year, now's the perfect time to take a few minutes to make sure you're set to take advantage of every benefit possible.

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