This article was updated on June 25, 2018.
If you're in the market for a new piece of plastic for your wallet, don't just apply for the first offer you see.
There are some particularly good U.S. credit card offers available, with features such as low introductory fees, low introductory interest rates, and very often massive rewards worth hundreds of dollars, too.
Image source: Getty Images.
The best offers available from top cards
The following table lists a bunch of top-rated U.S. credit cards and their best offers. Before you jump to grab any of them, know that:
- Great offers tend to come and go. The one you're interested in may have expired for now, or it may do so soon. (Many offers stay in place for a very long time, though.)
- There's much more to a card than its introductory offer. Be sure to assess its other features, lest you end up paying hefty annual fees and steep interest rates when you didn't want to.
- Think twice before applying for a dozen new cards just for their offers. That can hurt your credit score, as scoring algorithms tend to punish a slew of new cards because it can look like you're in need of a lot of money.
- The introductory offers of lots of points or miles or even dollars when you sign up for a card don't typically arrive automatically. In most cases, you're expected to spend a certain sum within the first three months to qualify for the bonus. Be sure to read any card's fine print.
Without further ado, here are some strong cards to consider. They're not necessarily the very best credit cards in each category, but sometimes they are.
|
Credit Card |
Key Card Offers |
Other Details |
Motley Fool Review of Card (if available) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ink Business PreferredSM Credit Card |
80,000 bonus points (worth $800 to $1,000) once you spend at least $5,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A business-oriented card. $95 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Earn 3 times the points on up to $150,000 in combined spending in each account anniversary year in certain categories such as travel, shipping, and advertising. Earn 1 point on all other purchases. |
|
|
Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card |
80,000 bonus points once you spend at least $3,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A good hotel card. $85 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Earn 5 times the points per $1 spent at over 5,700 participating hotels, 2 times the points at qualifying airlines, car rental, and dining purchases, and 1 point on all other purchases. |
N/A |
|
IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card |
60,000 bonus points once you spend at least $1,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A hotel-oriented card. $49 annual fee (waived in first year). Earn 5 times the points when spending at IHG hotels (that include Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza). No foreign transaction fees. |
N/A |
|
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® |
60,000 bonus miles once you spend at least $3,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A good travel card. No foreign transaction fees, a free checked bag on American Airlines flights. Earn 2 times the miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile on other purchases. |
N/A |
|
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card |
Get 50,000 bonus points (worth $500) once you spend at least $3,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A good rewards card. $95 annual fee, no foreign transaction fees. Earn 2 times the points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases. Bank of America Preferred Rewards clients get a 25%-75% rewards bonus on every purchase. |
N/A |
|
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card |
Get 50,000 bonus miles (worth $500 in travel statement credits) once you spend at least $3,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
Good as a travel card. $95 annual fee (waived in first year). Earn 2 times the miles per dollar spent. No foreign transaction fees. |
|
|
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
Get 50,000 bonus points (worth $500 to $625) once you spend $4,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A solid rewards card. $95 annual fee (waived in first year). No foreign transaction fees. Earn 2 times the points on travel and dining expenditures and 1 point on all other purchases. |
|
|
Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® |
40,000 miles (worth $400) once you spend at least $3,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A good travel card. $89 annual fee (waived in first year). No foreign transaction fees. Earn 2 times the miles per $1 spent. |
|
|
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card |
40,000 miles (worth $400) once you spend at least $1,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
A good travel card. $99 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases. |
|
|
Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business |
Get $500 after spending $4,500 in the first three months. |
A business credit card. $95 annual fee (waived in first year). Earn 2% cash back on all purchases. |
|
|
Discover it® Cash Back |
All your cash rewards earned in first year are matched. |
A good cash-back card. No annual fee or foreign transaction fee. Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent over three months in categories that you activate. |
Data source: Card websites.
Image source: Getty Images.
How to snag even bigger offers
You may be able to do even better than these offers. Some cards, for example, offer 100,000 miles or some other out-sized temptation for new cardholders -- but those offers tend to come and go, sometimes with a year or more passing before they return. You may be able to snag a massive offer simply by waiting and watching. The Platinum Card® from American Express, for example, has offered 100,000 points in the past. The Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express has, in the past, offered up to 125,000 points for new card members, while the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard® from Bank of America has offered 90,000 miles.
While you wait, know this: Sometimes the best offers will just come to you, directly from a credit card company, even when a given offer isn't available to the public. Your odds of experiencing this will be greater if you have a high credit score and perhaps if you're a big spender, too.
Clearly, hefty sign-on bonuses can offer substantial value and are well worth considering. Think about each contender card's other features, too, though, and choose the one(s) that will serve you best. A lot of points toward purchases you don't tend to make isn't so great, and accepting a somewhat smaller bonus from a card where you're likely to rack up additional points more rapidly can be worth it.
