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The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Citi Premier® Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.
If you want to earn lots of points, miles, or cash back quickly, the best strategy is to apply for one of the best credit cards and earn its welcome bonus offer. You'll usually have to meet a credit card minimum spending requirement in a specified time frame (typically a few months), and it's well worth the effort to unlock a big sign-up bonus.
Some of these offers are only available for a limited time, so you shouldn't wait long to apply.
Best Credit Card Offers Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sign-up bonus?
A sign-up bonus, also known as a welcome bonus or intro offer, is a reward of points, miles, or cash back for new cardholders who meet designated requirements. Usually, these requirements involve meeting a minimum spending threshold within the first few months after you open your new credit card account.
Do credit card sign-up bonuses change?
Yes, credit card sign-up bonuses change frequently. If you're considering opening a new rewards credit card, do your research to see whether the card you want has previously offered a higher bonus. If it has, it could be worth waiting until that elevated offer returns, or you may even be able to find that higher offer through the credit card issuer's website.
What is the best credit card sign-up bonus?
The best credit card sign-up bonus depends on the person. Even if one card offers more points, not all points and miles are valued equally. There are also different types of credit card rewards — points, miles, and cash back — so the best welcome bonus for you depends on the rewards you value most.
How can I use a credit card sign-up bonus?
Typically, you can use a credit card sign-up bonus in a variety of ways. If you earn a cash-back welcome bonus, you could be able to use it toward a statement credit to reduce your credit card bill, or you could receive the money in check form. With a travel rewards card, you could use your points or miles to book an award trip, or cash them out for gift cards, money back, or merchandise.The exact options depend on the credit card you have and its specific rewards program.
Is a credit card without a sign-up bonus still worth it?
Yes, a credit card without a sign-up bonus is still worth it. Intro offers can be a great incentive to apply, especially if you're looking at a card that has an annual fee, but not every good credit card offers an intro bonus. For example, the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card - Product Name Only is one of the best balance transfer credit cards, but it doesn't offer a welcome bonus or earn rewards. It could be worth forgoing an intro bonus if that card's Wells Fargo Reflect® Card - Intro APR (then a Wells Fargo Reflect® Card - Regular APR APR) appeals to you.
Should I earn credit card rewards if I don't plan to travel yet?
Yes, you should earn credit card rewards even if you don't have upcoming travel planned. Earning a welcome bonus now can put you in a great position to use points and miles for your next vacation, whenever that may be. But before you apply for a new credit card, make sure you understand how credit card applications affect your credit score.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Product Name Only offers the highest welcome bonus among Chase cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Intro Bonus.
Plus, it has generous bonus categories — you'll earn 3 points per dollar in the first $150,000 in combined purchases you make on categories including travel, shipping, and advertising (and 1 point per dollar on everything else). This card has a Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Annual Fee annual fee, and it offers benefits like primary rental car insurance when you're renting a car for business purposes and cell phone protection.
Best welcome bonus for earning Amex Membership Rewards points
Small-business owners have a big opportunity to earn a massive amount of points with the limited-time welcome bonus offer on The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only. Like the personal The Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only, there's a hefty annual fee — The Platinum Card® from American Express - Annual Fee — but it's more than worth it if you can maximize the card's perks.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only members get some of the same perks as personal cardholders, including airline fee credits, hotel elite status, and airport lounge access. You can also receive statement credits for Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, and U.S. wireless service providers***, and get a 35% points rebate when you redeem points for first- or business-class tickets, or for any fare with your selected airline, through Amex Travel (up to 500,000 points back per calendar year).
The Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only is offering an solid welcome bonus: The Platinum Card® from American Express - Intro Bonus.
You can get hundreds of dollars in value from benefits such as up to $200 in Uber credits (including Uber Eats)** per year and up to $100 in annual Saks Fifth Avenue credits**. The The Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only also comes with excellent shopping and purchase benefits, including return protection, extended warranty, and targeted discounts and bonuses through Amex Offers**.
The annual fee is The Platinum Card® from American Express - Annual Fee. However, if you can put these new perks to use, you can get thousands of dollars worth of value from the The Platinum Card® from American Express - Product Name Only.
The American Express® Gold Card - Product Name Only is sometimes overlooked as the "kid brother" to its Platinum siblings, but it's actually one of our favorite rewards cards, especially for dining. You'll earn 4x points at restaurants up to $25,000 per year (then 1x) and up to $120 in annual dining credits** that you can use at select restaurants and on Grubhub and Seamless.
It also offers up to $120 Uber Cash ($10 per month credit) each calendar year (this is only applicable to U.S. Eats orders and Rides, and the Gold Card needs to be added to the Uber app to receive the Uber Cash benefit).
The card didn't always come with an attention-grabbing welcome bonus offer. But it's now increased its intro offer to American Express® Gold Card - Intro Bonus. Considering you can transfer your Amex points to nearly two dozen travel partners, these points can unlock lots of options for flights or hotel stays.
If you like earning cash back and spend a lot on groceries and streaming services, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express - Product Name Only is tough to beat. It's now offering a Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express - Intro Bonus, and earns 6% back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 in spending per calendar year (then 1%).
You'll also earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions; 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis, rideshares, parking, tolls, trains, and buses); and 1% cash back on everything else. You'll receive cash back in the form of Reward Dollars, which can be redeemed as statement credits). If you max out the $6,000 limit at U.S. supermarkets, you could earn $360 in cash back each year just from that category alone — that's more than enough to offset the annual fee of Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express - Annual Fee.
The American Express® Gold Card - Product Name Only normally offers 35,000 points after meeting minimum spending requirements, so this limited-time bonus is double the usual points. If you can maximize the credits you'll do even better, because they can more than offset the card's American Express® Business Gold Card - Annual Fee annual fee.
One reason the Amex Business Gold card has remained popular with small-business owners is the ability to earn 4x Amex Membership Rewards points in the top two categories you spend the most in each month, on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each year (then 1x).
These categories include U.S. gas stations, U.S. restaurants, U.S. shipping providers, U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, U.S. purchases for advertising in select media and transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Product Name Only was launched last year, and it offers a massive welcome bonus of Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Intro Bonus — worth at least Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Featured Reward Value in travel, based on Personal Finance Insider's valuation of Capital One miles.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Product Name Only is packed with upscale benefits that can more than offset the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Annual Fee annual fee — which is lower than other premium travel cards (Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Rates and Fees - Editorial Name Only).
Cardholders receive $300 per year in credits through Capital One Travel purchases, Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, and Capital One airport lounge access (even for authorized users), a 10,000-mile bonus on each account anniversary (worth $100 in travel), access to the Capital One Premier Collection (a luxury hotel booking program), and Visa Infinite travel and purchase benefits.
In addition to offering a bonus of Citi Premier® Card - Intro Bonus, the Citi Premier® Card - Product Name Only stands out for its wide range of bonus categories. Outside of the welcome bonus earning, cardholders earn 3 points per dollar at restaurants and supermarkets. This makes the card a great option for maximizing your everyday purchases — because everyone has to eat.
The Citi Premier® Card - Product Name Only also comes with a hotel savings benefit that can offset its entire Citi Premier® Card - Annual Fee annual fee. This perk will save you $100 once per calendar year when you book a hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) through ThankYou.com. Here's our Citi Premier card review for all the details.
You can't go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Product Name Only. Not only is this card Personal Finance Insider's pick for best travel credit card, it's one of the best to start with if you're new to credit card rewards (or if you don't want to pay the whopping Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Annual Fee annual fee on its premium sibling, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only).
The card currently offers a welcome bonus of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Intro Bonus. You can find out more about the card in our full Chase Sapphire Preferred card review.
The more premium sibling of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Product Name Only, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only is offering a welcome bonus of Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Intro Bonus.
It also earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, allows transfers to Chase airline and hotel partners, and offers the same variety of options for points redemption as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Product Name Only.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only has a Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Annual Fee annual fee — substantially higher than the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Product Name Only. However, if you can make use of the card's additional benefits — especially if you're traveling — the annual fee is certainly worth it.
Like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Product Name Only, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only got a refresh, with improved or new bonus categories and benefits like access to the new Chase Sapphire Lounges, the first two of which are open at Hong Kong Airport (HKG) and Boston Airport (BOS). In 2023, other locations will open at New York-LaGuardia (LGA), San Diego (SAN), Phoenix (PHX), Las Vegas (LAS), Philadelphia (PHL), and Washington Dulles (IAD).
Cardholders can also access Chase's Sapphire Terrace at the Austin airport (AUS), an indoor-outdoor space offering free drinks, grab-and-go bites, and Wi-Fi. Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Product Name Only here.
If you're looking for a Chase small business card but can't meet the hefty spending requirement on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Product Name Only, the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - Product Name Only is a great alternative.
It's offering a welcome bonus of Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - Intro Bonus — awarded in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio of points to cents.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - Product Name Only is a good pick if you spend a lot in the card's bonus categories:
5% cash back (5x points) on the first $25,000 spent (then 1x) in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services each account anniversary year
2% back (2x points) on the first $25,000 spent (then 1x) in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year
1% back (1x points) on all other purchases with no cap.
Some small-business owners don't want to fuss with bonus categories or spending limits. If that's your style, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Product Name Only is an easy pick — it earns 1.5% cash back (1.5x points) on all eligible purchases with no caps.
It's also offering a bonus of Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Intro Bonus (offered in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points) and has no annual fee. Although you won't have the opportunity to earn bonus points in popular business categories, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Product Name Only is a good fit if you value simplicity and straightforward earning. Read our Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Product Name Only review for a closer look.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Chose the Best Credit Card Welcome Offers
Personal Finance Insider looks carefully at the potential value of welcome bonuses and categorizes them according to which profile each will best serve. We also look at the ongoing benefits and earning rates of these cards, but our chief goal is to uncover the biggest, juiciest intro offers.
The Personal Finance Insider credit cards team is primarily concerned about one thing: that you open the right credit card for your lifestyle. There are lots of excellent credit cards out there (and just as many bad ones) — but even a credit card with an enormous value proposition isn't necessarily for you. Our job is to help you find the perfect product for your unique situation.
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