Best credit card sign-up bonuses for April 2024

• Bonus points, miles or cash back

  These offers are the most straightforward to earn and are available on several credit cards. They’re great for anyone who wants to earn a lump sum payment for their short-term spending. The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great example of a card with great first-year value for low initial spending.

• Additional perks, credits and other limited-time offers

  Co-branded airline or hotel credit cards can offer perks like airfare companion passes or free night awards for meeting its sign-up bonus spending requirements. New cardholders can earn credits, perks or limit-time offers for meeting spending requirements. One example is the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card, which includes Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ as part of its limited-time welcome offer. 

• Limited-time bonus categories

  Cards can sometimes offer boosted rewards rates in special bonus categories when you first open the card. These limited-time bonus categories usually expire after a certain time or when you reach a spending cap. For example, the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® incentivizes Walmart shoppers with a boosted rewards rate for the first 12 months.

• Reward-matching offers

  This welcome offer type doesn’t advertise a specific value, but matches the rewards you earn within a set period, making it a valuable opportunity for big spenders. The most famous example is the Cashback Match you can find on Discover’s rewards cards.

• Approval bonuses

  A credit card may provide an upfront bonus the moment you’re approved for the card instead of setting a spending requirement. An offer like this is more common among store credit cards, such as the Amazon gift card that comes with opening the Prime Visa card.

• American Express

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express: You can earn a substantial amount of American Express Membership Rewards points, which are among the most valuable credit card rewards currencies.
  • Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: Secure a decent statement credit for minimal spending over a six-month period, which is twice as long as purchase periods on other cards.

• Bank of America

  • Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: Earn an online cash rewards bonus that’s on par with most other welcome offers.
  • Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: This card’s offer is valued at roughly $600. Although it has a $95 annual fee, this offer alone can offset that cost for six years.

• Capital One

  • Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card: This card’s sign-up bonus offers one of the best return on spend rates available, rewarding cardholders with 45 percent of their spending requirement back as a cash bonus.
  • Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: You can earn a welcome offer that we value to be over $1,000. This card has the same offer as its upgraded sibling, the Capital One Venture X Credit Card, but its annual fee is a fraction of the cost.

• Chase

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among the most valuable credit card rewards. According to our points and miles valuations, this card offers roughly $1,200 worth of travel rewards value with its sign-up bonus, which is generous on a card with a $95 annual fee.
  • Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: This is perhaps the highest fixed sign-up bonus you’ll find on any credit card. Although its spending requirement is staggering, it has a modest annual fee.

• Citi

  • Citi Premier® Card: This sign-up bonus is the highest one that Citi offers, so new cardholders can start their Citi journey with a generously valued welcome offer to fund upcoming travel.
  • Citi Double Cash® Card: The Double Cash card’s sign-up bonus is underwhelming compared to the Citi Premier card’s offer, but Premier cardholders can combine their points in the app for maximum redemption value.

• Discover

  • Discover it® Cash Back: Discover’s first-year sign-up bonus is the same for all of its rewards cards, so the value of your offer depends on how much cash back you earn.
  • Discover it® Miles: Travelers who want a mile-for-mile sign-up bonus match can make the most of Discover’s Match®, which matches all the miles you earn at the end of your first year. 

• Wells Fargo

  • Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Wells Fargo’s top competitor with the Citi Double Cash for the best flat-rate cash back card tips the scales with its generous sign-up bonus because it has an industry-low spending requirement.
  • Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card: Cardholders can passively earn this card’s offer with their normal, everyday spending. It will also reward generously, so the card’s value isn’t wrapped up entirely with its sign-up bonus.

Calculate the value of the sign-up bonus

Only apply for cards with bonuses you can realistically reach

Redeem your points or miles for the most value possible

Make sure the card fits well into your overall budget and lifestyle

• Solid rewards value

  Since many cardholders looking for sign-up bonuses are eager to earn rewards, a key criteria for a card’s inclusion in our list is whether it offers impressive rewards value. This includes a card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

  To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories, as well as how closely those categories match the average person’s spending habits. In other words: Does the card earn rewards at a high rate in the most popular spending categories?

  We use consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to get a reliable third-party measure of people’s spending habits. The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2021 was $66,928 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

  This includes the following spending by category:

  • Groceries: $5,200
  • Dining out: $3,000
  • Entertainment: $2,500
  • Gas: $2,100
  • Apparel and services: $1,700

  Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

  This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

  With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other cards in its primary category.

  The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.

• Reasonable fees and APR

  We also rate all cards based on how their ongoing average APR compares to the average APR you’ll find other cards in their primary category. However, the impact of an especially high or low APR on a card’s overall score depends on its primary category.

  For rewards-earning cards, this factor has only a minor influence on the card’s score and whether the card is included in our list, since rewards card users generally try to avoid carrying a balance. That said, rewards-earning cards may get a solid boost in score and be more worthy of inclusion in our list if they also offer an intro APR on balance transfers or new purchases, since such offers aren’t always present on these cards.

  More important to these cards’ scores and their inclusion in our list is how their annual fees influence their overall value. We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. 

  Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee. After all, the highest rewards rates and most valuable perks are often found on cards with annual fees.

  Interest rates and intro APR offers play a much larger role in a card’s score and whether it’s included in our list when the card is designed specifically for users looking to save on interest charges, such as dedicated balance transfer or low-interest cards. 

  Other fees considered include cash advance and late payment fees, along with penalty APRs. 

• Flexibility and perks

  Along with rewards value and cost, we consider other factors that could give cards great long-term value, like flexible rewards redemption and especially unique and valuable perks.

  We rate rewards-earning cards based on the restrictions they impose on earning and redeeming rewards and consider this when deciding on a card’s inclusion in our list. 

  These restrictions could include only allowing users to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requiring users to meet a certain earning threshold before they can redeem rewards. We also examine whether points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

  We also evaluate each card’s perks based on their value, usefulness and uniqueness. Cards that offer top-tier benefits like airport lounge access or travel credits are likely to stand out, but we also aim to highlight cards that offer valuable under-the-radar perks, like cellphone protection or one-off credits for everyday expenses like dining and streaming services.

• Are credit card sign-up bonuses tax deductible?

  No, credit card sign-up bonuses are not tax deductible. In general, your sign-up bonus is not taxable if you have to spend money to earn it. However, the bonus could be considered taxable income if there isn’t a defined spending requirement.

• Which cards have the best sign-up bonus?

  The best sign-up bonus for you may depend on more than just the size of the bonus. Some people will also have to factor in the spending requirement and whether it fits their budget. However, here are some of the top intro bonuses for personal cards based on sheer rewards value alone:
  
  

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred: 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve®: 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
  • Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.

  Business rewards cards typically have larger welcome offers (with steeper spending requirements to match). Here are some of the biggest bonuses available with a new business card:
  
  

  • Capital One Spark Cash Plus: Earn a one-time cash bonus of $1,200 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months.
  • Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: 100,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months.

• What credit card sign-up bonuses are the easiest to get?

  A variety of cards with sign-up bonuses require minimal effort to qualify, including some cash back cards and travel rewards cards. On average, cash back credit cards tend to offer the lowest spending requirement for a welcome bonus. Some cash back credit cards require only $500 to $1,000 in spending to earn a decent sign-up bonus.

   

  By researching the different bonuses available from various credit cards, you can find the best card and bonus to fit your lifestyle and maximize your earnings.

• Can you open multiple cards at once to get more sign-up bonuses?

  You could try to open several cards at once to get the sign-up bonuses, but this could be seen as “card churning” and could have negative consequences. Some card issuers have strict eligibility rules for welcome offers, and in the process, you could temporarily damage your credit with multiple credit applications.
  
  For example, the Chase 5/24 rule states that if you’ve opened five credit cards in the past 24 months, you will likely not be eligible to open a new Chase credit card. The issuer intends to use the rule to limit the number of “churners” who sign up for credit cards with the sole intention of earning a sign-up bonus.

• Article sources

  We use primary sources to support our work. Bankrate’s authors, reporters and editors are subject-matter experts who thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate, timely and relevant.

  1. “What is New Credit?” myFICO. Accessed on April 11, 2024.

  2. “Consumer Expenditures 2022,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed on Feb. 5, 2024.