|
||||||||||
After a year of shrinking credit card offers and tightening terms, credit card sign-up bonuses on rewards credit cards are staging a comeback. In an effort to attract the business of consumers with the best credit scores, card issuers have stepped up the sign-up bonus deals on new credit card offers.
After a year of shrinking credit card offers and tightening terms, credit card sign-up bonuses on rewards credit cards are staging a comeback. In an effort to attract the business of consumers with the best credit scores, card issuers have stepped up the sign-up bonus deals on new credit card offers.
Cash Back Credit Card Deals
The Discover More card currently offers a $50 bonus for new credit cardholders, which is issued after you have made the first $599 in purchases. The Discover More Card has no annual fees, and it offers a tantalizing 5 percent cash bonus in categories that rotate every three months, including travel, groceries, gas, home improvement, restaurants, and more. If you plan your purchases well, this lucrative 5 percent cash back quickly adds up to real money. All other purchases earn cash back as well, but watch out; you earn only .25 percent on the first $3,000 in purchases and 1 percent cash back on all purchases after that.
The Discover More also comes with a 0 percent APR on purchases for the first six months and 0 percent APR on balance transfers for twelve months for credit card applicants with good to excellent credit. For the latter, however, cardholders pay a 5 percent balance transfer fee for the pleasure.
The PartnersFirst Visa Cash Back credit card, issued by Western Alliance Bancorporation, offers an attractive $50 cash back bonus for new cardholders, who charge $100 to the card within 60 days of opening the account. Applicants approved for the PartnersFirst Visa card get 1 percent cash back on all purchases and 0 percent APR on balance transfers for up to 6 months, with a 4 percent balance transfer fee.
Best Rewards Credit Card Deals
If reward points are more your style, Chase’s Sapphire card now offers an extra $100 in rewards—in the form of 10,000 bonus points— for new credit card applicants. The bonus is rewarded after you make your first purchase. For big spenders, who don’t mind paying for extra point rewards, an $85 annual fee (waived the first year) can bump qualifying applicants into the Chase Sapphire Preferred category. With the Preferred card, Chase throws in another $50 (5,000 points) rewards bonus for a total of $150 in rewards after you’ve spent $1,000 in the first three months. Sapphire Preferred also comes with a 7 percent annual points dividend, a 1:1 points transfer ratio for leading airline and hotel programs, and premier travel services. Both cards offer double points for airline tickets booked through the issuer’s Ultimate Rewards program.
Citi’s Forward card offers new cardholders 6,000 sign-up bonus points if they spend $250 in the first three months after the card is issued. The Citi Forward card offers another unique bonus feature: sign up for paperless statements within the first three months, and Citi will reward your green behavior with an extra 2,500 bonus points. Citi will also drop down the purchase APR by up to a full 2 percent for cardholders who regularly charge to the card, stay under the credit line, and pay on time. (However, keep in mind that even with a lower purchase APR, the interest costs of keeping balances on a rewards credit card will quickly eat up rewards earnings).
Airline Credit Card Deals
The Discover Miles card currently offers up to an additional 12,000 bonus miles during your first year of membership, 1,000 miles for every month you make a purchase. Cardholders who don’t mind paying an annual fee of $60 can enjoy over twice the bonus miles with Discover’s Escape card, which offers 1,000 miles per month for the first 25 months. In addition, Escape holders enjoy unlimited double miles on all purchases (Miles holders’ doubled miles, however, are capped at $3,000 in purchases, or 6,000 miles, so the deal isn’t as great as it may sound).
The Platinum American Express Delta SkyMiles Credit Card lets new applicants earn 20,000 bonus SkyMiles after making the first purchase. You get up to 5,000 additional points for adding up to two additional card members (2,500 rewards points per person) as well as a companion Coach Class ticket each year upon renewal. The generous bonuses come at the cost of a $150 annual membership fee, however, for at least the first year, just the bonus sign-up miles are worth the fee. For people who fly frequently on Delta, the card offers good value. For big spenders, the Amex Delta SkyMiles card lets you earn a Miles Boost of 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs); if you make $25,000 in eligible purchases during each calendar year, and an additional Miles Boost of 10,000 MQMs if you reach $50,000 in eligible purchases the same calendar year.
