Americans are credit-card-maxing tax season with sign-up bonuses while half the country relies on their refund to catch up on bills

Some credit cards this year have high sign-up bonuses (SUBs), with some offering never-before-seen six-figure points for reaching the minimum spend.

So as tax day nears, some Americans are credit-card-maxing this tax year by opening a fresh credit card to pay their tax bill, pocketing the sign-up bonus, and cashing in points for a free flight.

The IRS allows credit card payments for a fee. On, say, a $5,000 tax bill, that 1.75% fee comes out to $87.50. By opening a credit card with an SUB of 100,000 points for $5,000 in spending, you essentially earned the points for less than $100 extra in fees.

The strategy is gaining traction on social media, but financial experts say it works only for a specific type of taxpayer—and for a growing number of Americans, the timing couldn’t be more fraught.

A new survey from coupon site CouponFollow of 1,000 Americans paints a stark picture of just how much financial pressure households are under heading into this tax season. More than half (52%) of Americans say they rely on their tax refund to catch up on bills, with 15% doing so on a regular basis. Meanwhile, 27% say they couldn’t afford to pay their taxes at all if they owed money this year, and only 12% s...