Million Mile Secrets reader, Bansi, emailed:
Which credit cards currently have the best deals? We are making a few large purchases for our home.
There are several cards offering terrific sign-up bonuses, including a few best-ever offers that are only available for a limited time.
I’ll share top travel cards with excellent sign-up bonuses!
Top Travel Card Sign-Up Bonuses
Link: Hot Deals
Whether you’re new to miles & points hobby or have been doing this for awhile, these cards can help boost your account balances so you can achieve your travel goals!
And folks with a large upcoming purchase, like reader Bansi, have an easy way to meet minimum spending requirements for the lucrative sign-up bonuses!
Emily and I don’t receive a commission for all of these cards. But we’ll always share the best deals with our readers!
1. AMEX Starwood
Link: My Review of the Best-Ever 35,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus With AMEX Starwood Cards
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
Through April 5, 2017, you can earn up to 35,000 Starwood points on the personal and small business versions of the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express cards after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.
With the personal AMEX Starwood card, you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. And 10,000 more Starwood points for spending another $2,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.
And with the AMEX Starwood small business card, you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. And 10,000 more Starwood points for spending another $3,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.
You’ll also get:
- 2X Starwood points per $1 you spend at Starwood hotels (includes Aloft, Design Hotels, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Westin and W brand hotels)
- Unlimited use of Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots (excluding in-flight)
- For small business cardholders, access to Sheraton Club lounges (free breakfast and hors d’oeuvres) for cardholder and 1 guest staying in the same room (3rd-party bookings are excluded).
- 2 stay credits or 5 night credits toward Starwood Elite Status
- No foreign transaction fees
The $95 annual fee is waived the first year on both cards.
Note: American Express only allows folks to get the sign-up bonus ONCE per person, per lifetime on ALL their cards.Check out my previous post about using the 35,000-point sign-up bonus for a week-long vacation at terrific Starwood hotels!
Or consider using Starwood points for:
- Free stays at 5,700+ Starwood AND Marriott hotels around the world
- Award flights with transfer partners like American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, and more
2. Chase Ink Business Preferred
Link: Chase Ink Business Preferred
Link: My Review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred
When you sign-up for the Chase Ink Business Preferred, you’ll earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
You’ll also get:
- 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points for every $1 you spend on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites, and search engines (up to a maximum of $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year)
- Up to $500 in cell phone insurance when you pay your cell phone bill with the card
- 25% bonus when you redeem points through the Chase travel portal
- Primary auto rental insurance (CDW) when renting for business purposes, plus purchase and extended warranty protection
The card has a $95 annual fee (waived the first year when you apply in-branch).
Keep in mind, there will be a targeted, in-branch ONLY offer beginning March 12, 2017, with a 100,000-point sign-up bonus. But only very few will qualify because you have to be a “Business Managed Customer” (specific businesses overseen by Branch Relationship Managers).
The current online sign-up bonus is worth at least $1,000 toward travel. That’s because Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.25 cents each when you redeem for travel through Chase’s travel portal.
Or, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners like Hyatt or Singapore Airlines, where they can be worth even more!
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are my favorite kind of flexible points!
But don’t forget about Chase’s 5/24 rule. It’s now tougher to be approved for most Chase cards if you’ve opened ~5+ cards from any bank (except these business cards) in the past 24 months.
3. AMEX Hilton
Link: Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express
Link: My Review of the Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express
Folks looking for more Hilton points can do well with the Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express. It comes with 100,000 Hilton points after you spend $3,000 in 3 months. This matches the highest-ever offer I’ve seen for this card! With this card, you’ll earn:
- 12 Hilton points per $1 spent at Hilton hotels
- 6 points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets & gas stations
- 3 points per $1 spent on everything else
- Free Gold elite status (free breakfast & internet)
- Terms apply
The card comes with a $75 annual fee, NOT waived the first year.
To get the sign-up bonus, visit this Running With Miles post and click the sign-up link on his site.
4. Chase Southwest
Link: Chase Southwest Premier Small Business Card
Link: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Link: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
I’ve written how you can easily earn the Southwest Companion Pass with the sign-up bonuses from a Chase Southwest personal and small business card.
Emily and I think the Companion Pass is the best deal in travel! Because a friend or family member can travel with you for almost free on paid and award ticket for up to 2 years!
Here’s a comparison of the 3 Chase Southwest cards.
| Southwest Premier Card | Southwest Premier Business Card | Southwest Plus Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sign-Up Bonus Points | 50,000 | 60,000 | 50,000 |
| Spending | • 2X Southwest points with Southwest • 1X Southwest points on all other purchases | • 2X Southwest points with Southwest • 1X Southwest points on all other purchases | • 2X Southwest points with Southwest • 1X Southwest points on all other purchases |
| Anniversary Points | 6,000 | 6,000 | 3,000 |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None | None | 3% |
| Annual Fee | $99 | $99 | $69 |
You’ll earn 50,000 Southwest points with the Southwest Plus and Premier personal cards after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. The Southwest Premier small business card requires $3,000 on purchases in the same time frame, and you’ll earn 60,000 Southwest points. All these points DO count toward the Companion Pass!
These cards are impacted by the Chase 5/24 rule.
5. Chase Sapphire Reserve
Link: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Link: My Review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you’ll earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
That’s worth $750+ in travel. Because when you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents each on travel booked through Chase.
With this card, you also get perks like:
- 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel & dining (it can add up quickly!)
- $300 statement credit for any travel purchases (like Airbnb, airfare, car rental, Uber, etc.) each cardmember year
- Priority Pass Select for access to airport lounges
- $100 statement credit for Global Entry
- No foreign transaction fees
The card comes with a $450 annual fee, but can be offset with perks like the $300 statement credit and airport lounge access.
Plus, you can get more value from your points by transferring them to valuable partners, like Southwest or Hyatt!
6. Chase IHG
Link: Chase IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card
Link: My Review of the Chase IHG Card
I like the Chase IHG card because you get a free night certificate each year on your cardmember anniversary. And you can use it at ANY IHG hotel in the world! That’s one of the reasons why I keep this card in my wallet!
You’ll earn 60,000 IHG points when you open a Chase IHG card and spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account. Plus, you’ll get a $50 statement credit after your first purchase.
And you can earn an additional 5,000 IHG points when you add an authorized user and make a purchase in the same timeframe.
With this card, you’ll also get:
- IHG Platinum elite status (free upgrades, priority check-in, and elite rollover nights)
- A free night at any IHG hotel worldwide each year of card membership
- 5X IHG points for every $1 you spend at IHG hotels
- 2X IHG points per $1 you spend at restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations
- 1X IHG point per $1 you spend on everything else
- 10% rebate on redeemed points (up to 100,000 IHG points a year)
- NO foreign transaction fees
The Chase IHG card has a $49 annual fee which is waived the 1st year. But it’s easily offset with the free night on your card anniversary.
You can also get this card even if you’ve been approved for more than 5 credit cards in the past 24 months, because it is NOT impacted by Chase’s 5/24 rule.
Bottom Line
Folks looking to get Big Travel with Small Money can do well with these cards:
- AMEX Starwood personal and small business cards
- Chase IHG
- Chase Ink Business Preferred
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase Southwest Premier Small Business Card
- Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
These cards come with excellent sign-up bonuses! And if you have a large upcoming purchase, it will make it easier to meet the minimum spending requirements. But keep in mind some offers are only available for a limited time!
Not all these cards earn us a commission, but we’ll always tell you about the best deals!