Any credit cards with big sign up bonuses?

[Dred Pirate]

A little OT. I used to play the credit card churning game and got some great sign up bonuses - mainly in the travel category. I haven't really done much lately due to the having a baby and well, COVID. I figured the hotels and airlines might be hurting and looking for business and wondering if anyone knows of some great sign up offers?

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[Saiyo]

I have to admit I've never played the credit card game, because playing around with points and minimum spend seems like a pain.
Doing some research it appears I've missed the good days of perks as many of them have gotten cut back.

Recently however, I got the Chase IHG premier card. 140k points + $50 statement credit + waived AF for first year.
Probably not the most coveted or the best, but I think it works for me.

 

[radio frequency]

This website is a bit hokey, but he does all the work for you... Doctor Of Credit - Bank Account & Credit Card Bonuses

 

[mentos]

I like Chase Sapphire Reserve. There is a $550 annual fee but it's essentially $250 or less when you consider the benefits. I've had one since inception in 2016. They have the most versatile point system.

Signup bonus is 50,000 points which is easily worth $750. When used for air travel, you get a 1.5% redemption bonus. There is an annual $300 travel credit (works on gas, airfare, tolls, parking meters, rental cars, anything you can think of) but right now it also allows to gas and groceries. Restaurants and travel earn 3x points.

You get free Dashpass (no delivery fee), $60 Doordash credit during the first year and another $60 during the second. It includes $100 credit for TSA-pre/global entry which makes going through airport security so much easier - don't have to take off your shoes or take laptop out. There's also the premium Lyft benefits which I don't really use. This card can be used for primary care rental insurance and there are no foreign transaction fees.

Right now they have a "pay yourself back" program so you can get the redemption bonus for restaurant and grocery purchases. I had 150k points during the peak of Covid, since we aren't traveling I used it to take $2250 off my statement balance.

You can also get the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex to take advantage of those signup bonuses and 5% rotating categories, and combine all your points to the Sapphire Reserve card. It's so easy to accumulate hundreds of thousands of Chase points.

I'm sure I missed some benefits, there are so many. Best card out there imo. PM me if you'd like more info.

 

[mentos]

Waiting until I can reapply and get a sign up bonus again.... I think its 5 years?

48 months! Make sure to have your spouse apply too.

Get the new no fee Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited cards if you haven't already. They each have 20k sign up bonus and 5% groceries for 12 months. Think you can get a referral bonus too.

 

[PharmtoCS]

The AMEX Platinum apparently has a 100k bonus offer currently. I didn’t apply because I got the “pop up” (in other words, I don’t qualify).

 

[mentos]

The AMEX Platinum apparently has a 100k bonus offer currently. I didn’t apply because I got the “pop up” (in other words, I don’t qualify).

It's currently 75k. Maybe a select few will have a targeted 100k offer. I've never gotten any of those nice offers before. Amex Platinum would be my next choice but if you're not traveling now then the benefits aren't very useful.

 

[PharmDminus]

the JetBlue 100k bonus that is currently being offered is an ATH

 

[pezdispenser]

I'm actually starting to get rejected for having too many new credit cards. 830 score on Credit Karma. Currently 13 cards but I let a few get closed for inactivity since I've had some fraudulent charges. $160k total credit limit. Cards always paid off in full. Mortgage, student loans and all car loans paid off. So don't expect to be able to keep getting these deals forever.

 

[mentos]

I'm actually starting to get rejected for having too many new credit cards. 830 score on Credit Karma. Currently 13 cards but I let a few get closed for inactivity since I've had some fraudulent charges. $160k total credit limit. Cards always paid off in full. Mortgage, student loans and all car loans paid off. So don't expect to be able to keep getting these deals forever.

Which bank? You gotta know the rules.

Chase - 5/24 rule, instant reject if you've had more than 5 cards in the past 24 months. 1 sapphire bonus per 48 months

BoA - 2/3/4 rule, you can get up to 2 cards per rolling 2 months, 3 cards per rolling 12 months, or 4 cards per rolling 24 months

Citi - one bonus per family of cards per 24 months

Amex - one bonus per lifetime

Capital One - one card per 6 months

There will always be credit card signup bonuses as long as Americans keep living beyond their means and paying credit card interest for us to get these bonuses. I've been milking these cows for 15 years, constantly have 12+ cards open and rarely get rejected.

 

[pezdispenser]

Which bank? You gotta know the rules.

Chase - 5/24 rule, instant reject if you've had more than 5 cards in the past 24 months. 1 sapphire bonus per 48 months

BoA - 2/3/4 rule, you can get up to 2 cards per rolling 2 months, 3 cards per rolling 12 months, or 4 cards per rolling 24 months

Citi - one bonus per family of cards per 24 months

Amex - one bonus per lifetime

Capital One - one card per 6 months

There will always be credit card signup bonuses as long as Americans keep living beyond their means and paying credit card interest for us to get these bonuses. I've been milking these cows for 15 years, constantly have 12+ cards open and rarely get rejected.

I've done all the big ones: 4 Chase, 2 BofA, 6 Citi, 1 Cap One. Never had an Amex but they rejected me. So I've been doing the smaller banks who seem to be more willing to approve in order to gain customers: Ally/TD Bank, Barclay, BMO Harris, Fifth Third, HSBC, Wells Fargo.

 

[Whereismynorco]

BBVA select for $500 and if you in bank bonus game this is just free money BONUS400 | 360 Checking Bonus Offer | Capital One

 

[mentos]

I've got the freedom. Maybe I'll have my spouse cancel and get the sapphire reserve again

The plain freedom? They came out with 2 new versions and each has a separate bonus.

 

[mentos]

BBVA select for $500 and if you in bank bonus game this is just free money BONUS400 | 360 Checking Bonus Offer | Capital One

I used to do bank bonuses but stick with credit cards now. Don't need to worry about paying taxes.

 

[aqb]

It's currently 75k. Maybe a select few will have a targeted 100k offer. I've never gotten any of those nice offers before. Amex Platinum would be my next choice but if you're not traveling now then the benefits aren't very useful.

You refresh, try the offer link in a different browser, and/or go in incognito mode to try to have the 100k offer pop up. E.g. if you opened it in chrome, try the link in Mozilla/ie/edge in incognito.

The 100k offer is nice to get because that alone is worth $1k, when using the points correctly could be valued up to $1.5k.

I’m not applying bc I have a newborn, covid is happening, and I already got the sapphire reserve. Otherwise I’d be all over it.

 

[Prepharm1214]

Which bank? You gotta know the rules.

Chase - 5/24 rule, instant reject if you've had more than 5 cards in the past 24 months. 1 sapphire bonus per 48 months

BoA - 2/3/4 rule, you can get up to 2 cards per rolling 2 months, 3 cards per rolling 12 months, or 4 cards per rolling 24 months

Citi - one bonus per family of cards per 24 months

Amex - one bonus per lifetime

Capital One - one card per 6 months

There will always be credit card signup bonuses as long as Americans keep living beyond their means and paying credit card interest for us to get these bonuses. I've been milking these cows for 15 years, constantly have 12+ cards open and rarely get rejected.

amex is one bonus per lifetime? Seems a bit extreme. Is that one bonus for each card or one bonus excludes you from a bonus on all their cards?

 

[mentos]

amex is one bonus per lifetime? Seems a bit extreme. Is that one bonus for each card or one bonus excludes you from a bonus on all their cards?

One per card. So you can get Amex Platinum bonus once, Amex Gold bonus once etc. Most other issuers let you churn every 2-4 years.

 

[Monsterdaddy]

Best card IMHO for vacations stays is the top of the line Hilton Aspire from American Express. The $450 annual fee gets you automatic Diamond Status with Hilton Hotels which is a near 100% guarantee of a free upgrade, 100% free breakfast, 5th night free when booking "standard" rooms with points, and Executive Lounge access in Europe. Plus you get $250 of airline incidental credits and a $250 resort charge credit. Best of all each year you get a free Weekend Night Certificate which can be used on a "standard room" but it doesn't matter if the room charge is $2,500 or more.

I also like the free Priority Pass Membership for airport lounges (doesn't include restaurants anymore which is a HUGE shame). I had one trip with many legs where I used 3 lounges, made flying so much better and easier on the food budget.

Oh and you get 150,000 Hilton Honors points worth at least $750 as a one time bonus. The Aspire card earns bonus points on travel and restaurants.

The annual benefits easily exceed the $450 annual fee. If you like this I recommend simultaneously obtaining the Hilton Surpass too. Another 130,000 points and only a $95 fee but you gain the ability to earn another free Weekend Night Certificate every year you spend $15,000 on the card. It earns more points on other categories like gas and supermarkets.

Right now (after the coronavirus demolished all our travel plans) we plan on using 5 Weekend Night Certificate (temporarily usable any day) at the Waldorf Astoria in Cabo. The bill would have come out to over $7,100 but now it's zilch (covers taxes and resort fees!) and a good opportunity to dine for free on our $250 resort fee credit x2.

I'd seriously would appreciate letting me refer you if you're interested. It's worth 15,000 points to me, thanks!

 

[rxkrafted]

Best card IMHO for vacations stays is the top of the line Hilton Aspire from American Express. The $450 annual fee gets you automatic Diamond Status with Hilton Hotels which is a near 100% guarantee of a free upgrade, 100% free breakfast, 5th night free when booking "standard" rooms with points, and Executive Lounge access in Europe. Plus you get $250 of airline incidental credits and a $250 resort charge credit. Best of all each year you get a free Weekend Night Certificate which can be used on a "standard room" but it doesn't matter if the room charge is $2,500 or more.

I also like the free Priority Pass Membership for airport lounges (doesn't include restaurants anymore which is a HUGE shame). I had one trip with many legs where I used 3 lounges, made flying so much better and easier on the food budget.

Oh and you get 150,000 Hilton Honors points worth at least $750 as a one time bonus. The Aspire card earns bonus points on travel and restaurants.

The annual benefits easily exceed the $450 annual fee. If you like this I recommend simultaneously obtaining the Hilton Surpass too. Another 130,000 points and only a $95 fee but you gain the ability to earn another free Weekend Night Certificate every year you spend $15,000 on the card. It earns more points on other categories like gas and supermarkets.

Right now (after the coronavirus demolished all our travel plans) we plan on using 5 Weekend Night Certificate (temporarily usable any day) at the Waldorf Astoria in Cabo. The bill would have come out to over $7,100 but now it's zilch (covers taxes and resort fees!) and a good opportunity to dine for free on our $250 resort fee credit x2.

I'd seriously would appreciate letting me refer you if you're interested. It's worth 15,000 points to me, thanks!

I think that would be a good card if you plan on staying in Hilton hotels for all your travels since most, if not all, their major benefits are from spending money at their Hotels. For overall travel benefits CSR and Amex Platinum are more competitive.

 

[Monsterdaddy]

I don't know much about the AMEX Platinum but I have looked hard at the Chase Sapphire Reserve and for $550 annual fee I just don't see it providing more competitive benefits. And I really would like to find a place for using the CSR so it would honestly help me if you could show me.

If I apply the $300 travel credit against the $550 annual fee, I'd want an additional $250 worth of benefits and I just don't see it. I do know the Priority Pass benefit includes airport restaurants which I really like (and why I would have both CSR and the Aspire if it made sense).

I value Chase points at 1.6 cents each because I would transfer them to Southwest. I wouldn't use the Chase travel service, I get cheaper flights and better bonuses on Expedia. Hilton Honors points I value at 0.6 cents each. So it's about a wash when making purchases.

The Hilton benefits really do make staying at a Hilton much better, that Diamond status is awesome and you earn 34 points per dollar when paying with Aspire (over 20% return on points alone).

I don't see anything comparable with the CSR but it's so popular I'd like to know what I am missing.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Best card IMHO for vacations stays is the top of the line Hilton Aspire from American Express. The $450 annual fee gets you automatic Diamond Status with Hilton Hotels which is a near 100% guarantee of a free upgrade, 100% free breakfast, 5th night free when booking "standard" rooms with points, and Executive Lounge access in Europe. Plus you get $250 of airline incidental credits and a $250 resort charge credit. Best of all each year you get a free Weekend Night Certificate which can be used on a "standard room" but it doesn't matter if the room charge is $2,500 or more.

I also like the free Priority Pass Membership for airport lounges (doesn't include restaurants anymore which is a HUGE shame). I had one trip with many legs where I used 3 lounges, made flying so much better and easier on the food budget.

Oh and you get 150,000 Hilton Honors points worth at least $750 as a one time bonus. The Aspire card earns bonus points on travel and restaurants.

The annual benefits easily exceed the $450 annual fee. If you like this I recommend simultaneously obtaining the Hilton Surpass too. Another 130,000 points and only a $95 fee but you gain the ability to earn another free Weekend Night Certificate every year you spend $15,000 on the card. It earns more points on other categories like gas and supermarkets.

Right now (after the coronavirus demolished all our travel plans) we plan on using 5 Weekend Night Certificate (temporarily usable any day) at the Waldorf Astoria in Cabo. The bill would have come out to over $7,100 but now it's zilch (covers taxes and resort fees!) and a good opportunity to dine for free on our $250 resort fee credit x2.

I'd seriously would appreciate letting me refer you if you're interested. It's worth 15,000 points to me, thanks!

ya I think I have had every hilton card under the sun (including the old citi ones like 12 times haha Paid for our honeymoon in Moorea, and used IHG for Bora bora - 2 weeks at 500-800 a night hotels room covered with points. Ironically I just cancelled the IHG card a couple of months ago - but they offered the big 140k bonus - so got it again - Using it to stay a long weekend at the beach hotel we got married at.

 

[rxkrafted]

I don't know much about the AMEX Platinum but I have looked hard at the Chase Sapphire Reserve and for $550 annual fee I just don't see it providing more competitive benefits. And I really would like to find a place for using the CSR so it would honestly help me if you could show me.

If I apply the $300 travel credit against the $550 annual fee, I'd want an additional $250 worth of benefits and I just don't see it. I do know the Priority Pass benefit includes airport restaurants which I really like (and why I would have both CSR and the Aspire if it made sense).

I value Chase points at 1.6 cents each because I would transfer them to Southwest. I wouldn't use the Chase travel service, I get cheaper flights and better bonuses on Expedia. Hilton Honors points I value at 0.6 cents each. So it's about a wash when making purchases.

The Hilton benefits really do make staying at a Hilton much better, that Diamond status is awesome and you earn 34 points per dollar when paying with Aspire (over 20% return on points alone).

I don't see anything comparable with the CSR but it's so popular I'd like to know what I am missing.

The $550 annual fee bump did suck but i feel it is still better than any other travel card, esp the Hilton one you mentioned. The $300 travel credit is very important as a pro because it gives flexibility (pretty much deducting $300 from the annual fee), unlike other cards that restricts it to Airline upgrades or Hotel upgrades... this pretty much forces you to make upgrades which you may not even normally do.

They also have global entry/tsa precheck credit, special car rental upgrades, hotel complimentary upgrades (and more.. ).

I'm not that big of a spender but I manage to easily get >$400 worth of airline credit when I redeem tickets using my points every year.

I'm only against that Hilton card in comparison to a card like CSR because it restricts you to staying with Hilton. When I travel, I look for hotels with the best deals and reviews... I don't really care for the brand.

 

[mentos]

I don't know much about the AMEX Platinum but I have looked hard at the Chase Sapphire Reserve and for $550 annual fee I just don't see it providing more competitive benefits. And I really would like to find a place for using the CSR so it would honestly help me if you could show me.

If I apply the $300 travel credit against the $550 annual fee, I'd want an additional $250 worth of benefits and I just don't see it. I do know the Priority Pass benefit includes airport restaurants which I really like (and why I would have both CSR and the Aspire if it made sense).

I value Chase points at 1.6 cents each because I would transfer them to Southwest. I wouldn't use the Chase travel service, I get cheaper flights and better bonuses on Expedia. Hilton Honors points I value at 0.6 cents each. So it's about a wash when making purchases.

The Hilton benefits really do make staying at a Hilton much better, that Diamond status is awesome and you earn 34 points per dollar when paying with Aspire (over 20% return on points alone).

I don't see anything comparable with the CSR but it's so popular I'd like to know what I am missing.

The CSR 50k signup bonus alone if worth $750+. If you refer a friend you get 10k. I believe the $300 travel credit can be used towards gas/groceries due to Covid now. Even before Covid, it was the most flexible travel credit out there. Gas, tolls, parking meters, train tickets, airfare, ferry rides, car rental fees - no other card is this flexible with a travel credit.

Earn 3x points for travel and dining.

Free global pass/TSA pre is $100 value

Doordash $60 credit x 2 is $120 value. Free Dashpass can be valuable if you order out a lot

Primary rental car insurance is big. Most cards only offer secondary insurance (you have to use your own car insurance or pay the rental company for theirs).

Priority pass is great. We always get free food and booze when we fly. I believe you can bring up to 3 guests per pass. I even forgot my priority pass card one time and Chase told me to charge the lounge fee ($80 or so) and I got reimbursed.

The real value comes from combining points easily. You can get 5% from chase freedom and transfer those points to CSR to redeem at higher value. Get the signup bonus for Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Business Ink etc and transfer them all to CSR. Double up on all with your spouse.

I don't transfer the points, I just use it to book flights thru Chase portal which gives an additional 1.5% redemption bonus. Since there's Covid, you can use the points to redeem groceries, restaurants and home improvement stores. I've gotten probably 5k in statement credit this year from this.

There's some other benefits that I don't use like the free Lyft premium membership.

 

[Monsterdaddy]

I'm only against that Hilton card in comparison to a card like CSR because it restricts you to staying with Hilton. When I travel, I look for hotels with the best deals and reviews... I don't really care for the brand.

I will say this about Hilton, having Diamond status which is a free room upgrade and free breakfast, Executive Lounge access in Europe, plus ~20% cash back via points pretty much bumps up most Hilton stays to the best deal. Obviously, not really worthwhile for their less expensive properties.

I use Expedia and an Expedia Voyager credit card for "slumming" around cheaper properties and their deals and rewards beat CSR easily due to up to ~14% cash back on bundles. I had used hotels.com and the Capital One's Venture card combo which was great while it lasted due to ~18% cash back on stays.

I think the problem is the CSR, while nice, is just too generalized and you can beat any feature of CSR with one or more focused credit cards.

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

amex plat 100k; the only guaranteed 6 figures (aside from student loan debt) you'll get by reading on this forum

 

[GrandTheftAutumn]

The CSR 50k signup bonus alone if worth $750+. If you refer a friend you get 10k. I believe the $300 travel credit can be used towards gas/groceries due to Covid now. Even before Covid, it was the most flexible travel credit out there. Gas, tolls, parking meters, train tickets, airfare, ferry rides, car rental fees - no other card is this flexible with a travel credit.

Earn 3x points for travel and dining.

Free global pass/TSA pre is $100 value

Doordash $60 credit x 2 is $120 value. Free Dashpass can be valuable if you order out a lot

Primary rental car insurance is big. Most cards only offer secondary insurance (you have to use your own car insurance or pay the rental company for theirs).

Priority pass is great. We always get free food and booze when we fly. I believe you can bring up to 3 guests per pass. I even forgot my priority pass card one time and Chase told me to charge the lounge fee ($80 or so) and I got reimbursed.

The real value comes from combining points easily. You can get 5% from chase freedom and transfer those points to CSR to redeem at higher value. Get the signup bonus for Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Business Ink etc and transfer them all to CSR. Double up on all with your spouse.

I don't transfer the points, I just use it to book flights thru Chase portal which gives an additional 1.5% redemption bonus. Since there's Covid, you can use the points to redeem groceries, restaurants and home improvement stores. I've gotten probably 5k in statement credit this year from this.

There's some other benefits that I don't use like the free Lyft premium membership.

I love having complimentary access to airport lounges too, free booze and food.
The only thing is these lounges can get packed at times and find myself struggling to find a table/seat.
Are airport lounges still open right now btw?

 

[Monsterdaddy]

I love having complimentary access to airport lounges too, free booze and food.
The only thing is these lounges can get packed at times and find myself struggling to find a table/seat.
Are airport lounges still open right now btw?

I got to use 3 on a one trip with two stops (1 lounge and 2 restaurants) and it made travel soooo much more pleasant. I also used it one time I had to drop off a rental car and had to go back to the airport to catch the Underground and we stopped at a lounge that was outside of security. But unfortunately it seems Priority Pass is actually on the lowest priority for entry. Sometimes you can sweet talk yourself in.

Right now I would check Priority Pass' website. They will tell you if it is open or not (but I have no clue how accurate it is.)