If you’re in the market for a new credit card in 2023, you may be hoping to cash in on the hundreds of dollars in sign-up bonuses offered to new customers.
Welcome bonuses and offers are a marketing tool that credit card issuers use to lure new customers: They offer the chance to score extra rewards points or get cash back for a limited time. Some are easy to get if you spend a relatively small amount on your new card. Others offer a greater cash reward but may carry an annual fee and require that you spend heavily right away.
Top Sign-Up Bonus Credit Cards Right Now
Money expert Clark Howard cautions against making a long-term decision for a short-term reward.
“I never want people to be so enamored with the sign-up bonus that they end up with a card that over time will ultimately under-reward,” Clark says. “The credit card issuers are making an assumption that you’re going to be really profitable over time for them. So often the bonus will be really generous, but the card itself will be pretty rotten.”
In this article, I’ll identify some of the top credit card welcome bonuses available right now. This list of cards is updated frequently as offers change.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Citi Premier® Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
- Wells Fargo Autograph Card
- Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card
There are some caveats to shopping for cards with welcome offers. Here are four things to consider before picking your favorite from the list below:
- I considered only those cards that carry an annual fee of $100 or less. While there are some great welcome bonuses for credit cards with annual fees that can be as high as $700, Clark believes most consumers are best served by avoiding large annual fees.
- The welcome bonus offers are listed from most valuable to least. In the case of rewards points bonuses, note that there sometimes is no cash value. And the cash-equivalent value of those points can fluctuate based on how you redeem them.
- You may get a welcome bonus offer for a card that’s different from the offer listed in this article. Welcome bonuses can vary based on a number of factors, such as date and location. I checked these offers in various web browsers over multiple days to get the most recent and accurate information possible, but please note that your results may vary.
- Clark’s philosophy is that you should never carry a balance on a rewards credit card. All welcome bonus advice issued here is given with the assumption that you’ll pay your bill in full each month as part of following Clark’s seven rules for using credit cards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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Annual Fee:
$95
Rewards Program Details:
Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
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Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. |
Citi Premier® Card
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Annual Fee:
$95
Rewards Program Details:
Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
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Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening |
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
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Annual Fee:
$95
Rewards Program Details:
2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 5 Miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
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Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back. |
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
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Annual Fee:
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Rewards Program Details:
6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more). 1% Cash Back on other purchases.
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Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. |
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
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Annual Fee:
$0.00
Rewards Program Details:
Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with no categories to track or quarterly activations. |
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Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. |
Wells Fargo Autograph Card
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Annual Fee:
$0.00
Rewards Program Details:
Earn unlimited 3X points on the following: Restaurants: dining in, take-out, catering, delivery and more Plus, earn 1X points on other purchases. |
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Welcome Bonus Offer: For a limited time, earn 30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,500 in purchases in the first 3 months. That’s a $300 cash redemption value. |
Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card
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Annual Fee:
$0.00
Rewards Program Details:
5%Cash Back:
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and when you pay using PayPal, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
1% Cash Back
Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Unlimited Cashback Match:
With Cashback Match, get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, automatically.
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Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn a dollar-for-dollar match on your cash back earned during the first year of card membership. |
Final Thoughts
Money expert Clark Howard acknowledges that shrewd credit card customers can “game the system” by jumping from one welcome bonus offer to another, but he believes that most consumers are going to find themselves unable to keep up.
Bottom Line: A welcome bonus can be a great way to pocket a few hundred bucks during your honeymoon period with a new card. But it’s important to remember there are many other factors that determine whether a credit card is the right long-term fit for you. Clark believes you should focus on long-term factors: your APR, annual fees and rewards programs.
To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees.
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