A great sign-up bonus is one of the biggest perks of opening a new credit card. After all, there are few other opportunities to earn $200 or even $1,000 in bonus rewards in just a few months — at least for those of us who aren’t spending tens of thousands of dollars on the regular.

But sign-up bonus offers cover a broad range of budgets, rewards types, and timelines. The list below can help you find the best welcome offer to maximize your spending and ensure you never miss out on a great deal.

In this article:

• Best travel bonus: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Best cash-back bonus: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

• Best bonus with 0% APR: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card

• Best bonus with no annual fee: Chase Freedom Unlimited®

• Best credit-building bonus: Discover It® Secured Credit Card

• Best hotel bonus: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card

• Best airline bonus: Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card

• What are credit card sign-up bonuses?

• Are sign-up bonuses worth it?

• What is the highest credit card bonus available right now?

• Our methodology

Best travel bonus: Chase Sapphire Reserve

Annual fee: $550

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first three months

Rewards:

• 10x points on eligible hotel and car rental purchases through Chase Travel℠*

• 10x points on Chase Dining purchases

• 5x points on flight purchases through Chase Travel*

• 3x points on dining

• 3x points on all other travel purchases*

• 1x points on all other purchases
  *Applies after the first $300 you spend on travel annually

Recommended credit score: Excellent

More details: You’ll get up to $300 in statement credits each year for travel purchases you make with your card and begin earning rewards on eligible travel purchases after you max out the annual credits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve also gets you airport lounge access, up to $100 in credits every four years for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fees, monthly credits and membership with partner brands (like DoorDash, Instacart, and Lyft), and more.

Why we like it: When it comes to dollar value for your bonus points, it’s tough to beat the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It has a welcome offer of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 within three months — which is in line with other travel cards that have an annual fee. But with those points, you can potentially get an outsized value when using them for travel.

When you redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel through Chase, you can get a 50% boost in value. In other words, each point is worth 1.5 cents — making the 60,000-point welcome offer worth up to $900 in travel. With a bonus that high, you could get a few free nights at a hotel or even a round-trip flight to your next destination.

Even after the bonus offer ends, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a great premium option for frequent travelers. The $300 annual travel credit brings the effective cost down to $250 per year. And with the ongoing 1.5x boost on travel redemptions, you can continue to maximize your points when you book trips through Chase.

Best cash-back bonus: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

Annual fee: $95

Welcome offer: Earn a $300 cash bonus after spending $3,000 within the first three months

Rewards:

• 4% cash back on dining

• 4% cash back on entertainment

• 4% cash back on select streaming services

• 3% cash back at grocery stores

• 1% cash back on all other purchases

Recommended credit score: Excellent

More details: In addition to ongoing cash rewards, you’ll get 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases, as well as complimentary Uber One membership through Nov. 14, 2024. There are a few more benefits too, including purchase and travel protection and access to Capital One Travel and Capital One Entertainment.

Why we like it: Among all of the cash-back credit cards we compared with great sign-up bonuses, none of them beat the Capital One Savor card. If you’re able to spend at least $1,000 per month for the first three months after you open your card (for a total of $3,000), you can get a fantastic $300 cash bonus.

By comparison, many welcome bonuses from cash-back cards top out around $200 or $250 — even those with annual fees like the Savor card. Plus, if your $3,000 in purchases falls within the 4% bonus categories, you’ll net an additional $120 during this period. Because the card’s bonus rewards are focused on everyday spending, it’s also a great card for long-term value — as long as the rewards you earn each year are enough to cancel out the annual fee.

On the other hand, $3,000 is a high spending threshold compared to $500 or $1,500 spending requirements for other cash-back bonuses. Make sure that the amount is within your budget before you apply to avoid carrying a balance on the card.

Best bonus with 0% APR: U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card:

Annual fee: $0

Intro offer: Get a 0% introductory APR on new purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles, after which the standard APR will apply

Rewards: N/A

More details: If you want to use this card for a balance transfer, you’ll need to transfer your balance within 60 days of account opening; you’ll also pay a fee of 5% or $5, whichever is greater. The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum also offers up to $600 in cell phone protection against damage or theft when you use the card to make your monthly cell phone payments.

Why we like it: Not every new card offer is cash back or points-based. Depending on your financial situation and goals, you may get even more value from a great 0% APR offer for new cardholders. The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card carries one of the longest introductory 0% APR offers for both new purchases and balance transfers available right now.

With a 0% APR lasting for 21 billing cycles, you won’t have to worry about your balances accruing interest until 2026. If you have a large upcoming purchase to make and want extra time to pay it off, for example, this card can give you a lot of flexibility. Just pay down any remaining balances before the introductory period ends, or else you’ll risk taking on the card’s ongoing variable APR — a high rate that can quickly lead to steep interest charges.

Best bonus with no annual fee: Chase Freedom Unlimited

Annual fee: $0

Welcome offer: Earn an extra 1.5% cash back on every purchase up to the first $20,000 spent in the first year (up to a $300 value)

Rewards:

• 5% cash back on travel through Chase Travel

• 3% cash back on dining

• 3% cash back on drugstore purchases

• 1.5% cash back on all other purchases

Recommended credit score: Good to Excellent

More details: Along with cash rewards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited offers a solid 15-month introductory 0% APR on both new purchases and balance transfers, and you’ll get some added partner benefits from brands like DoorDash, Instacart, and Lyft. You can redeem the rewards you earn for travel through Chase Travel, as well as standard cash back.

Why we like it: The Chase Freedom Unlimited is the only no annual fee cash-back credit card among those we compared that offers a potential $300 welcome bonus. This offer is different from many standard sign-up bonuses, though. Instead of a spending requirement over a few months’ time, you’ll get 1.5% added to your regular rewards, up to $20,000 spent in the first year. With the card’s rewards categories, that looks like:

• 6.5% cash back on travel through Chase Travel

• 4.5% cash back on dining

• 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases

• 3% cash back on all other purchases

In other words, you can earn a minimum of 3% cash back on every purchase for the first year (up to the $20,000 spending limit). Of course, to maximize this bonus, you’ll need to spend up to the maximum — equivalent to about $1,667 in purchases each month. If that’s over your regular budget, you may need to forfeit some of the potential welcome bonus value to avoid overspending on the card.

Best credit-building bonus: Discover It Secured Credit Card

Annual fee: $0

Welcome offer: Earn an Unlimited Cashback Match — Discover will automatically match all the cash back you earn in your first year

Rewards:

• 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 in combined spending each quarter, then 1%)

• 1% cash back on all other purchases

More details: This secured credit card doesn’t require a credit check, but you'll need to put down a security deposit of at least $200 (and up to $2,500) to open your account. The deposit is refundable and will act as your credit limit. In as few as seven months, Discover will automatically review your account to determine whether you qualify to upgrade to an unsecured card and get your deposit returned.

Why we like it: It’s rare to find a secured credit card with a welcome bonus at all — let alone one with as much potential value as the Discover it Secured offers. This card’s Cashback Match welcome bonus is the same as on any Discover card: At the end of your first year, Discover will match all of the cash back you’ve earned so far.

Say you put down a security deposit of $1,000 when opening the card. Each month, you put around $333 in gas station and restaurant purchases on your card and pay them off when your bill is due. This keeps your credit utilization relatively low and lets you max out the quarterly 2% bonus categories. Over the first year, it also leaves you with a total of about $80 in cash back. After the Cashback Match, you’ll get another $80 for a total of $160.

But in addition to the bonus and rewards, the Discover it Secured is a useful credit-building option for people with low credit scores or no credit history at all. Over time, you can enjoy the benefits of your cash-back earnings while also practicing good credit habits that will help you achieve and maintain a great score.

Best hotel bonus: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card

Annual fee: $250 (see rates and fees)

Welcome offer: Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 within the first six months

Rewards:

• 6x Marriott Bonvoy points on eligible purchases at Marriott Bonvoy hotels

• 4x Marriott Bonvoy points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (up to $15,000 in combined spending per calendar year, then 2x)

• 2x Marriott Bonvoy points on all other purchases

Recommended credit score: Good to Excellent

More details: More benefits for Marriott Bonvoy customers include complimentary Gold Elite status, 15 Elite Night credits each calendar year, and a Free Night Award after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your card in a calendar year. You’ll also get a 1,000-point bonus for every stay you book with Marriott Bonvoy at eligible properties.

Why we like it: The Bonvoy Bevy’s 85,000-point welcome offer puts it among the highest available bonuses today by face value. Marriott Bonvoy uses dynamic pricing, so it can be difficult to pin down an exact monetary value for the bonus. The number of points required for an award night depends on when you book, where you travel, and what time of year you go.

When we checked in late April, this card’s bonus was enough to cover a four-night stay at the Aloft or AC Hotel in Miami over Memorial Day weekend or a full seven-night stay in late September at The Coral at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

If you’re a Marriott regular, you may also want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and its welcome offer of 85,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 within the first six months. The Bonvoy Bevy is still our pick, though. Here’s why: To earn those extra 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points, you’ll need to make an extra $1,000 in purchases over the same time frame and commit to a $650 annual fee (see rates and fees) — $400 more than the Bonvoy Bevy.

Considering the overall card details, we believe the Bonvoy Bevy offers the greater short- and long-term value for most Marriott loyalists.

Best airline bonus: Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card

Annual fee: $95

Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees starting at $23) after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days of account opening

Rewards:

• 3x miles on eligible purchases with Alaska Airlines

• 2x miles on eligible gas, EV charging station, and local transit purchases (including rideshare)

• 2x miles on eligible cable and streaming services

• 1x miles on all other purchases

More details: As a cardholder, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority boarding, and 20% off in-flight purchases when you fly Alaska Airlines. If you’re also a Bank of America customer with an eligible account, you’ll get a 10% bonus on all the miles you earn through your spending — in other words, for every 10,000 miles you earn, you’ll get an extra 1,000.

Why we like it: The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card’s welcome offer is extra valuable because it’s two-fold. After meeting the spending threshold, you’ll get both a bonus miles boost and Companion Fare. The 60,000 bonus miles alone are already among the top offers from many airline credit cards we compared. Short-haul flights start at just 4,500 miles for an economy ticket; you can even find flights to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean starting as low as 10,000 miles. With 60,000 bonus miles, you can book a round-trip domestic flight and possibly even more.

But the Famous Companion Fare may be the even more valuable piece of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature welcome offer. Companion Fare gets you one economy fare ticket for $99, plus taxes and fees starting at $23. You’ll need to purchase a ticket on the same itinerary and book at the same time (with your card) to use the Companion Fare.

If Companion Fare is a big draw for you, you’ll also enjoy this card’s long-term value. For each account anniversary, you can earn another Companion Fare as long as you make at least $6,000 in purchases with your card over the year prior.

What are credit card sign-up bonuses?

A credit card sign-up bonus is an incentive for new cardholders, offered in the form of cash, points, or miles rewards after you meet some requirements. You’ll often see sign-up bonuses referred to as welcome bonuses or welcome offers.

Unlike other credit card benefits, a welcome bonus is a one-time offer. It’s not an annual perk that comes around every account anniversary; if you don’t earn it after you open a new card, you won’t get another chance later on.

Because welcome bonuses are one-time only, when you apply, it can make a difference. For example, you might apply for a new travel card a few months before you book an upcoming vacation so you can secure the bonus and use those points toward your flights and hotel. That way, you’ll save money and potentially score bookings that might otherwise be out of your budget.

How sign-up bonuses work

In most cases, you’ll earn a card’s welcome bonus after you spend a certain amount of money within a given timeframe.

A common rewards card bonus may offer 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 within the first three months of account opening, for example. Alternatively, you might find an offer for $200 cash back after you spend $500 within the first three months.

This is the most common type of sign-up bonus, but there are others, too. Some credit cards, for instance, have extended offers lasting as long as a year. You might get a boosted rewards rate for the first year after opening your account or an offer to match your entire first-year earnings.

Depending on how much you spend, this type of offer could potentially be lucrative. But you also won’t get the instant gratification of a typical sign-up bonus, and may need to more strategically track your spending over the year to maximize the offer.

Are sign-up bonuses worth it?

Sign-up bonuses may seem like a windfall of cash or points directly into your account, but they can also take a lot of money and time to earn. And if a card’s only real value to you is the bonus — without much to offer over the long run — it could end up costing you more than you’ll actually gain from the upfront rewards.

Consider these card details to choose a credit card and welcome bonus that are worth it for you:

Spending requirement

The spending threshold you’ll need to meet to earn a card’s sign-up bonus can require thousands of dollars over a relatively short time period. Before you commit, make sure it’s within your budget.

If you have a lot of regular expenses, you may have no issue meeting the requirement at any given time. Otherwise, it could make sense to apply for a card during a period when you know your spending will increase. For example, you might open a new card before you make a large, pre-planned purchase. If you’ve already saved the money for your purchase, you can charge the amount to your card to meet the bonus requirement and then immediately pay it off with the money you’ve saved to avoid any interest charges.

If you can’t meet the spending requirement without spending more than you can pay off before your balance is due, the sign-up bonus may not be worth it. Given today’s high APRs, you could risk paying more in interest than the value of your bonus.

Annual fee and long-term value

Some of the best welcome bonuses come from rewards credit cards with annual fees. Make sure you’re prepared to take on this yearly cost even after you’ve redeemed your one-time sign-up bonus.

For example, maybe you can get the equivalent of $300 in value when you sign up for a new credit card that charges a $95 annual fee. But the card has few other benefits you’ll use, and you don’t regularly make purchases in any of the available bonus categories. As a result, you only make about $5,000 in purchases and earn 1 point per dollar each year — worth about $50 in rewards value.

Over the first year, you’ll have a total $350 in rewards value, easily canceling out the $95 fee. But in subsequent years, your $50 in rewards won’t be enough to cancel the cost of simply owning the card.

Before you apply for any new card, make sure you compare your regular spending to the long-term rewards and benefits. If you only account for the welcome bonus, you may regret choosing the card later on. But with the right combination of both first-year bonus value and potential rewards over time, you’ll increase your long-term earnings and continue to get the most from your credit card year after year.

What is the highest credit card bonus available right now?

Among the more than 80 credit cards we compared, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card has the current highest welcome offer by number of points. You can earn a total 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points when you spend $6,000 within the first six months of opening this $650 annual fee card (see rates and fees).

However, the Bonvoy Brilliant Card also comes at a higher price than many other great welcome offers available today. You’ll need to spend $6,000 within six months, and also pay the $650 annual fee each year after. It may not be worth it for some people who don’t always stay in Marriott properties when they travel, or who don’t travel often enough to justify a premium hotel rewards card.

That’s why it’s so important to compare a credit card’s overall fit for your wallet rather than only seeking the highest possible bonus. A sign-up bonus can offer fantastic first-year savings, but you’ll also want to continue to gain value from it over time.

Our methodology

To determine the best sign-up bonuses, we looked beyond face value to find the cards that offer the best bonus amount while also factoring in the redemption value, annual fee, spending requirements, and more.

Using those criteria, we curated the list above by comparing more than 80 different credit cards — including cash back, rewards, travel, and 0% APR cards.

To make our final picks, we designated superlatives to help narrow down a range of cards suited for cardholders looking for different card types and welcome bonuses. These included the best welcome bonuses for airline and hotel rewards, for people working to build credit, for cash back, and more. The cards chosen for each superlative represent the most valuable welcome bonus for that card type.

However, we did not include business credit cards on our list. Business cards tend to offer much higher welcome bonuses across the board (along with much higher spending thresholds) so we opted to keep them separate from consumer card offers available today.

This article was edited by Alicia Hahn

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.