These are the travel cards with the best bonuses

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Rewards credit card welcome bonuses are the fastest way, hands down, to accumulate points and jump-start your next free adventure. So naturally, a common question is which bonus is the biggest or the best.

First, it’s important to understand that not all miles and points are created equal – 150,000 points offered by one travel credit card may not be nearly as valuable as 80,000 points offered by another.

Credit cards with the best welcome bonuses:

• IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Let’s take a look at each.

IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card

Current bonus: 140,000 IHG points

With the IHG Premier credit card, you’ll earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.. And the IHG Premier card’s benefits are surprisingly valuable for a card with such a low annual fee.

First off, every cardmember year you’ll get an anniversary reward night certificate valid at IHG hotels costing 40,000 points or less. This perk alone can make the IHG card worth the annual fee. You’ll also get an application fee credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck once every four years (up to $100). Plus as long as you have the card, you’ll get IHG Platinum elite status, which comes with perks like, a 50% bonus on the base points you earn on IHG stays and upgrades and late checkout (when available).

On top of that, you’ll earn 10x points at IHG hotels, 2x points at restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores and one point on all other purchases. And you’ll earn 10,000 bonus points each account year that you spend $20,000 or more with the card.

This card has an $89 annual fee, waived the first year.

There are 17 IHG brands representing 5,500+ hotels around the world, so it’s good to have a collection of IHG rewards at your disposal. And there are also frequent IHG promotions to take advantage of, which can be some of the best ways to use IHG points.

And right now this card has an all-time high intro bonus, making it a rewards credit card you won’t want to pass up.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Current bonus: 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Again, we find that the value of Chase points hovers around 2 cents per point (though they can be worth much more).

If you utilize Chase transfer partners like Iberia, Flying Blue or Singapore Airlines, you can potentially receive unthinkable value for your points. For example, you can transfer 34,000 Chase points to Iberia for a one-way, lie-flat business-class seat to Madrid from Chicago. That exact seat costs $7,000+ (though it should be noted that you can find non-Iberia business-class flights for less money). This means you’re receiving a value of 20 cents per point ($7,000 seat / 34,000 points)!

I’ve used Iberia Avios points to book two transatlantic business-class flights. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to find availability considering it’s such an award sweet spot.

$95

Why it’s worth it

This is one of the best Chase credit cards available. You can redeem the points you earn with the Chase Sapphire Preferred for 1.25 cents each when you use them to pay for travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal. You can even transfer the Chase points you earn from other no-annual-fee Chase cards to this card and they are instantly worth 1.25 cents each through the Chase Portal.

This card has a long list of valuable benefits, such as primary rental car insurance (which can easily save $15+ per day when you rent a car) and high-end trip delay and baggage delay insurance (sure to save you hundreds if you travel with any frequency).

Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred review for the full details.

Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express

Current bonus: 150,000 Hilton points

The Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express currently comes with 150,000 Hilton points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. We estimate the value of Hilton points to be 0.5 cents each on average. With this gigantic bonus, you should have no trouble receiving at least $750 in value when staying at Hilton hotels — and it’s possible to receive way, way more.

For example, you can book Hilton’s most inexpensive hotels for between 5,000 and 10,000 points per night. Using your points for these hotels nearly guarantees you’ll receive more value for your points than just 0.5 cents. And although most of these low-cost hotels are uninspiring, there are some exceptions.

The Hilton Sharm Waterfalls Resort is a five-star property in Egypt, bookable for just 5,000 Hilton points. Room rates can be $140 per night, meaning you’ll receive a value of 2.8 cents per point at this hotel. If you were to use your welcome bonus here, you could book 30 nights and save $4,200.

You can find plenty of other amazing (and closer to home) deals in the Hilton portfolio, as well. The five-star Waldorf Astoria collection of hotels is a Hilton hotel brand, and they’re often a good use of points.

$450 (see rates and fees)

One of the biggest upsides of this card is the complimentary Diamond Hilton status you receive just for having the card. You get perks like:

• 100% bonus Hilton points (20 total points per dollar at most hotels)
• Free space-available room upgrade (up to one-bedroom suite)
• Complimentary breakfast at all hotels

The card also comes with one annual weekend night free at nearly any Hilton hotel, up to $500+ in statement credits annually for various travel purchases, unlimited access to 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide, and much more. Read our full Hilton Aspire review for all the details or the perks and benefits guide for a deep dive into all the extras that come with the card, including an up to $250 airline fee credit and up to $250 Hilton resort credit.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Current bonus: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards points

The Amex Business Platinum comes with a bonus of 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within the first three months of account opening. If you’ve got a business with plenty of expenses, this spending requirement probably isn’t too big a deal. Many of us, however, will find $15,000 in spending prohibitive, even if it is $5,000 less than the minimum spending requirement on the previous offer for this card. Check out our post on how to meet credit card minimum spend, if you need tips on meeting a spending requirement.

We estimate that the value of Amex points is generally two cents each, though they can be worth much less or much more depending on how you use them. Redeeming them through Amex transfer partners is the best way to use Amex points, and you may find yourself receiving a return of seven cents per point in some cases.

For example, you can transfer 110,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Air Canada for a round-trip business-class flight to Paris. That same seat costs $5,000+, meaning you received a value of 4.5 cents each ($5,000 ticket price/110,000 points).

Read our American Express points review for more details of how you can use Membership Rewards.

$595 (see rates and fees)

Amex only allows you to receive the welcome bonus on each of their cards one time, so it’s imperative that you apply when the bonus is large and we’ve seen 100,000 point offers in the past. Granted, the minimum spending requirement is usually higher. Also, Amex business cards and personal American Express cards are considered different products. So you can earn an intro bonus with each version of the same card.

The card comes with perks like up to $400 in various statement credits each year, mid-tier hotel and rental car elite status, an unparalleled airport lounge access benefit, and much more. Read our review of the American Express Business Platinum.

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Current bonus: 100,000 Chase points

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card comes with 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. The value of Chase points depends on many things, but we estimate you should receive an average of 2 cents per point. That makes this welcome bonus worth $2,000 in travel.

The best way to use Chase points is by transferring them to valuable Chase transfer partners, like Hyatt, Southwest, Iberia and Singapore Airlines. You can accomplish just about any travel goal with Chase points by transferring. For example, with this bonus you can transfer 35,000 points to Singapore Airlines for a round-trip coach flight to Hawaii. You can then transfer 40,000 points to Hyatt for two free nights at the stunning Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort, only steps away from the beach.

$95

If you’re in the miles and points hobby, you need to be collecting Chase points (read our Chase Ultimate Rewards review). They’re quite possibly the most valuable of all points currencies, and they’re super-easy to earn. For example, the Ink Business Preferred earns 3 points per dollar spent on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines (up to a maximum of $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year). If you’re a small business owner with any of those expenses, you’ll make out like a bandit.

Read our Ink Business Preferred review for full details, the card also includes perks like cellphone insurance and purchase protection.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Current bonus: Up to 100,000 Southwest points

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card offers up to 100,000 bonus points; earn 70,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. Plus, an additional 30,000 points after spending $25,000 on purchases in the first six months. The value of Southwest points swirls around 1.5 cents each, making this bonus worth $1,500 in Southwest flights.

This is by far the largest current Southwest bonus. But the best part is that it’ll get you well over halfway to the coveted Southwest Companion Pass, which allows you to bring a travel buddy with you every time you fly Southwest for just the cost of taxes and fees. You need to amass 125,000 qualifying Southwest points to earn it. This is your most effective move if a Companion Pass is your goal.

$199

The card also comes with the best Southwest benefits of any card. You’ll receive:

• Four upgraded boardings each year (between A1 and A15)
• Up to 365 credits each year worth $8 toward inflight Wi-Fi
• 9,000 anniversary points (worth $135 in flights)
• 3 Southwest points per dollar on Southwest and Rapid Rewards hotel and car purchases
• Statement credit of up to $100 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee

If you’re a frequent Southwest flyer, this is the biggest no-brainer you’ll find. Read our Southwest Performance Business credit card review for the full details and our perks and benefits guides for an in-depth look at the rewarding extras the card comes with.

How we choose the best bonuses

The bonus itself

Even though not all points are created equal, the number of points you earn from each bonus is still important. Sometimes the value of the bonus itself can offset the cost of the annual fee for a decade. So if the bonus was big enough and the points valuable enough, it made this list.

Flexibility of Rewards

The more flexibility you have when redeeming your points, the more valuable they are. That’s why we mostly listed cards with transferrable points since having more options is always better. For instance, if you have Amex points and want to fly to Europe, you can transfer to a number partners each which are in a different airline alliance, meaning you’re not boxed into a few airlines. It can also allow you to take advantage of different sweet spots in each airline’s award chart.

For airline co-branded cards, you can use their miles for big value on a multitude of partners (other than Southwest, but they don’t have blackout dates).

Bottom line

All of these cards have annual fees (some are significantly high), so make sure you like the card’s ongoing benefits or you’ll find yourself canceling the card after ~11 months to avoid paying the fee. And if you want to do more card comparisons, check out our our list of best business credit cards and best travel cards. Let me know what your next card is on this list! And subscribe to our newsletter for more credit card miles and points analysis like this.

Some bonus valuations based on MMS valuations and not provided by issuer.

For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, click here.