When you go to sign up for a new credit card, you may read about about an introductory offer, sometimes called a sign-up bonus or welcome bonus. But how do these intro offers work, and what’s their appeal?
For credit cards where you can earn rewards, an intro offer will often be a large amount of reward points or miles that you can earn on the condition that you use your new card to spend a certain amount within a certain time frame. For example, you may see a card that offers 50,000 points if you spend $5,000 within the first three months, or something along those lines. This can be a great way to earn a large amount of rewards fast, as long as you spend the minimum amount required to get the bonus. You can then use these rewards in a variety of ways – some card issuers allow you to get cash back, spend points on travel, get gift cards, and more! Be sure to research the rewards program of the card you choose to find out how to best take advantage of it.
Not all intro offers are equal. Some cards will offer a larger amount of rewards, or require you to spend more to earn the reward, or have a longer time period in which you can earn it. Ideally, the best intro offer has a large amount of reward points for a reasonable amount to spend, in a time period that’s long enough to allow you to reach the spending goal. When comparing intro offers, look for the amount you can earn, the amount you have to spend, and the time period in which you have to spend it, and use this knowledge to determine which intro offer is right for you.
Card issuers often offer attractive sign-up bonuses if you open a new account, but how do these intro offers compare? We’ve collected some of our favorite intro offers below based on the amount of rewards you can earn, the amount you have to spend, and the time limit in which you can earn the reward. Read on to see if these intro offers are right for you!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Annual Fee: $95
- Intro Offer: 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 during the first three months after account opening
- Rewards: 5x points on travel when you book through Chase Ultimate Rewards®; 3x points on dining; 2x points on select other purchases.
- Other Perks: Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, and Lost Luggage Insurance.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers rewards for travel, dining, and more! What really makes this card stand out is their intro offer: earn 60,000 bonus points that you can earn when you spend $4,000 during the first three months after your account is opened. If you redeem your rewards through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, that’s a value of $750! Plus with Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more, you can rest easy when you travel. The rewards system can take a bit of effort to master, but for the benefits you get, it’s well worth it
Citi Rewards+® Card
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro Offer: 20,000 points when you spend $1,500 during the first three months after account opening; For a limited time through June 30, 2024, earn 5 ThankYou® Points for $1 spent on car rentals, hotels, and attractions (excluding air travel) when you book through the Citi Travel℠ Portal
- Rewards: 2x ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for up to $6,000 annually, then 1x after the cap has been met; 1x ThankYou® Points on all other eligible purchases.
- Other Perks: Recieve 10% of your points back after you redeem for as much as 100,000 points per year. Every purchase is rounded up to the nearest 10 points.
The Citi Rewards+® Card has an intro offer of 20,000 ThankYou® Points if you spend $1,500 during the first three months after account opening, which is redeemable for $200 in gift cards on ThankYou.com. However, the star feature of this card is its annual bonus for redeeming rewards, which lets you receive 10% of your points back after you redeem, for as much as 100,000 points per year! That means you have chances to earn not only when you first get this card, but annually as you earn and redeem ThankYou® Points. And because every purchase is rounded up to the nearest 10 points, you can earn even more! This card has a $0 annual fee, but on the downside, the 2x ThankYou® Points on Supermarket and Gas Station purchases is limited to the first $6,000 each year, after which it drops down to 1x.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Annual Fee: $95
- Intro Offer: 75,000 miles if you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening
- Rewards: 5x miles on Rental Cars and Hotels booked through Capital One Travel; 2x miles on Everyday Purchases
- Other Perks: Miles don’t expire for the life of your account, and there’s no limit to the amount of miles you can earn. Get up to a $100 credit on a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a sign-on bonus of 75,000 miles if you spend $4,000 within the first three months of opening up your card account! It also offers the ability to earn five times the miles on rental cars and hotels that are booked through Capital One Travel and can two times the miles on everyday purchases. Because miles don’t expire for the life of your account and there’s no limit to the amount of miles you can earn, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great way to rack up rewards! This card has an annual fee of $95 and is only available for those with good or excellent credit, but if you have a great credit score and are looking for a rewards travel card, this could be the one for you!
Citi Premier® Card
- Annual Fee: $95
- Intro Offer: 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 during the first 3 months after account opening. For a limited time through June 30, 2024, you can also earn earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on car rentals, hotels, and attractions (not including air travel) when you book through the Citi Travel℠ portal.
- Rewards: 3x points on supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations, air travel, and hotels; 1x points on all other purchases.
- Other Perks: Points have no expiration and no limit on the amount you can earn. No foreign transaction fees.
The Citi Premier® Card combines the benefits of a travel credit card with a general rewards credit card, as well as having an attractive intro offer of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 during the first 3 months after account opening! You can earn 3 points for every $1 spent at supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations, and air travel and hotels, as well as 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases. With an annual fee of $95, this credit card offers a significant amount of rewards for the cost.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Annual Fee: $695
- Intro Offer: 80,000 points if you spend $8,000 within the first 6 months after account opening
- Rewards: 5x points on flights booked through an airline or on American Express Travel for up to $500,000 per calendar year; 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel
- Other Perks: Luxury lounge access. Hilton Honors gold status (enrollment required). No foreign transaction fees. Terms apply.
The Platinum Card® from American Express is a luxury card that offers impressive perks such as luxury lounge access, Hilton Honors gold status (enrollment is required), no foreign transaction fees, and five times the rewards points earned on flights booked either through an airline or on American Express Travel for up to $500,000 per calendar year! In addition, you can earn five times the rewards points on prepaid hotels that have been booked through American Express Travel. This card currently has an intro offer that allows you to earn 80,000 points if you spend at least $8,000 within the first six months after opening your account, which has a value of approximately $800 when booking through American Express Travel (one rewards point is worth around one cent). Because this is a luxury card, it has a more expensive annual fee: $695. However, it does have an attractive intro offer, and does allow more time to meet the earning requirement than most other cards. Terms apply.
Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. The content on this page is accurate as of 2/1/2023; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.