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If you're just starting to earn points and miles, a credit card sign-up bonus can be a quick and easy way to boost your rewards balance. Welcome bonuses are essentially incentives to apply for a new credit card, and they can vary substantially by issuer.
More often than not, you can only earn a card's welcome bonus once, so you'll want to be strategic about when you apply for a new credit card. Here's everything you need to know about how sign-up bonuses work, and why you should care about earning them.
What Is a Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus?
At its most basic, a credit card sign-up bonus is a reward for new cardholders who meet a minimum spending requirement within a specified window. If you spend a certain amount of money on your new card within this window, the issuer will award you a one-time bonus in the form of points, miles, or cash back.
Banks offer these bonuses because the competition for the best customers is fierce, and issuers want to attract new card members. The bank hopes you'll remain a card member for a long time after earning the sign-up bonus so they can recoup the cost of acquiring your business over the course of your relationship.
Fortunately, not all cards require you to meet a large minimum spending requirement to earn a lucrative bonus. Some cards award the bonus after your first purchase — or even instantly upon approval. If you have limited expenses you can put on a credit card, these types of offers can be a great way to boost your rewards balance. Just be sure to pay attention to the timeframe and additional requirements to qualify for your bonus, such as paying the card's annual fee.
The welcome bonus should be clearly outlined on the credit card application page before you apply. Note that not all credit cards will offer a welcome bonus. Typically, cards designed to rebuild credit or those offering extended intro APRs on balance transfers won't be eligible for a bonus.
Types of sign-up bonuses
Your sign-up bonus will likely come in one of three forms: points, miles, or cash back. Here's a look at an example of each:
- New cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) can earn 100,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- New cardholders of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card can earn up to 90,000 bonus SkyMiles – 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new card, plus 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases on the card, both within the first 6 months of account opening (offer ends 07/15/2026).
- New cardholders of the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card can earn a $250 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
$95Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 2X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 2X miles per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1X miles on all other eligible purchases
$0
- 8% cash back on purchases made via the Capital One Entertainment ticketing platform
- 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 3% cash back on dining and entertainment
- 3% at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®)
- 3% on popular streaming services
- 1% on all other purchases
Some cards may offer additional or alternative incentives for new cardholders. Maybe you'll earn a hotel free night award, a fast-track to elite status, or even a coveted companion pass.
For example, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card currently offers new cardholders the following:
- Earn up to 125,000 Bonus Points + 1 Free Night Award (valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months.
- Special Offer through 6/30/2027: Get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually.
- Earn 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases annually on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining.
- Earn 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend.
- 1 Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
- Earn up to 17X total points per $1 spent at thousands of hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card.
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits annually, automatic Silver Elite status, and path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Your points don't expire as long as you make purchases on your card every 24 months.
- Member FDIC
- 6X points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
- 3X points for every $1 spent on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases annually on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
Here are a few more historical examples of credit cards offering different kinds of welcome bonuses:
- Hilton's co-branded credit cards have offered a free night award in addition to bonus points.
- Southwest's co-branded cards have offered cardholders a Companion Pass or a Southwest flight discount.
- Delta's co-branded cards have offered $100 or more in statement credits when you make a Delta purchase.
- Select Capital One cards offered a $250 Capital One Travel credit in addition to the standard 75,000-mile offer.
Please note that these examples are for illustrative purposes only; they may not represent the current offer for the cards mentioned.
Tiered (multi-part) bonuses
Most often, a welcome offer comes with a straightforward spending requirement, but some offers use a tiered structure. This means you have to meet two (or more) spending requirements within multiple timeframes to get the full welcome bonus.
For instance, the avianca lifemiles American Express® Elite Card offers new cardholders a tiered welcome bonus:
- Earn 3x miles on avianca or lifemiles purchases
- Earn 2x miles on restaurant and other travel purchases
- Earn 1x on all other eligible purchases
These kinds of bonuses are much harder to track, so make sure to carefully plan your spending to avoid leaving value on the table. Always confirm the offer details before applying for a card to ensure you know exactly how much you need to spend and the relevant deadline.
Limited-time bonuses
Most cards have a standard sign-up bonus that is in effect for most of the year. But periodically, an issuer might run a limited-time, increased welcome offer.
For instance, the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees) standard welcome offer allows new cardholders to earn 75,000 bonus Citi ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. However, the best-ever offer on the card allowed new cardholders to earn 100,000 bonus points after spending the same amount.
- Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
Sometimes, promotional welcome offers require a higher spending requirement. For example, the best-ever offer on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card gave new cardholders the chance to earn 100,000 Capital One miles (up from 75,000), but you had to spend $10,000 in six months (compared to $4,000 in three months).
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
While more miles are always nice, be sure you can comfortably meet the spending requirement. The last thing you want is to forfeit a bonus because you can't spend enough within the required timeframe.
How Does a Minimum Spending Requirement Work?
The amount you need to spend to earn your credit card bonus is called the minimum spending requirement. You won't get your bonus points if you don’t meet this requirement within the specified timeframe. Most of the time, credit card issuers give new cardmembers 90 days or three months to earn a welcome bonus.
Note that the welcome bonus countdown clock starts ticking the day you are approved for the card, not the day you receive the card in the mail or activate it. Luckily, most cards these days will show your card number instantly upon approval, provide a temporary number to use while you wait for your physical card, or let you add your card to a digital wallet. This way, you can start spending toward your welcome offer as soon as you are approved.
Many issuers will also provide access to a tracker showing how close you are to meeting the spending requirement. The Amex welcome offer tracker, Chase bonus tracker, and Citi sign-up bonus tracker are all great tools for monitoring your spending and ensuring you meet the requirements. However, if you can't find the bonus tracker, you can call the number on the back of your card to confirm when the offer expires and how close you are to reaching it.
Remember that many purchases take a day or two to post to your account, so try not to wait until the last minute.
How do I meet the minimum spend?
The biggest key to earning your sign-up bonus is picking an offer that fits your normal spending patterns. Your goal should be to meet the minimum spend with purchases you would make anyway.
If you worry about meeting the minimum spending requirement, consider timing your credit card sign-ups to coincide with a large purchase. Purchases outside the norm may help you to meet a more ambitious minimum spending requirement. Additionally, consider whether you can pay your rent or mortgage by credit card, pay taxes with your card, or even pay your (or your child's) college tuition.
If you need to spend a little extra to get yourself to the finish line, consider buying gift cards to places you normally shop. This strategy lets you pre-pay for future purchases on your new card. If you do this, be careful. Make sure you can pay off the bill in full each month. Credit card interest will negate the value of any rewards you earn.
Related: Tricks to Meet Minimum Spending Requirements on New Credit Cards
How to Evaluate a Sign-Up Bonus
Welcome offers aren't built equally. Before applying for a new credit card, you need to carefully evaluate both the annual fee and the card itself to determine if it brings you closer to your financial or travel goals.
For example, many of the best rewards cards come with an annual fee. Sometimes, that fee will be waived for the first year as part of the credit card bonus offer. In other cases, the annual fee will be billed to your account when you're approved for the card. This adds to the cost of opening a new account, but ideally, the card's benefits will offset the annual fee.
You'll need to do the math to determine if access to airport lounges, statement credits toward travel purchases, hotel or airline status, more comprehensive travel insurance, or the ability to earn bonus points on certain purchases is worth the annual fee, especially considering premium cards now charge close to $1,000 a year.
You also need to be careful when comparing offers that earn different types of rewards. For instance, the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees) is currently offering new cardholders the opportunity to earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy an Anniversary Free Night at IHG® Hotels & Resorts. Plus, enjoy a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay.
- Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Automatic Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier cardmember
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
- IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Hotel Indigo® & Holiday Inn®
- Member FDIC
- Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card member
- Earn up to 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn up to 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® One Rewards member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
Meanwhile, the Citi Strata Premier® Card is offering a bonus of just 60,000 Citi ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com. That seems like a much worse deal, right?
When you consider that AwardWallet users, on average, redeem IHG One Rewards points for 0.68¢ apiece and Citi ThankYou Points for 2.3¢ apiece, the math starts looking different.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
Apply for best-ever offers
The right timing can make a huge difference in the number of points or miles you can earn from welcome bonus offers. If you need help evaluating whether an offer is worth jumping on, here's a historical look at offers from cards by four major issuers:
- American Express: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
- Capital One: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
- Chase: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
- Citi: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
If you’re smart (or just lucky), you can find a card that has a welcome bonus of 100,000 points or more.
While it's always best to snag these limited-time offers when they're available, it may be possible to get the bank to match a recent offer if you miss an opportunity. If you've signed up for a credit card in the past 90 days and notice the bonus has increased, contact the issuer and ask whether they'll match the higher bonus. This doesn't always work, but it's worth the effort.
Related: Best Rewards Credit Card Offers This Month
Can you get the same bonus twice?
You likely won't be able to get a welcome bonus on the same card more than once. In the rare instances you can, you'll need to wait several years between applications. Credit card issuers have different rules, but it's not uncommon to see phrasing like “Bonus points are not available if you received a new account bonus for this card in the past 48 months.”
Other issuers, like American Express, implement a “once in a lifetime” rule for each card, so you want to earn the highest bonus possible whenever you open a new Amex product.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Final Thoughts
Building a strong portfolio of cards is a marathon, not a sprint. You'll earn far more points in the long run if you wait to take advantage of limited-time offers. But make sure to choose offers that fit your normal spending patterns. You won't earn that big bonus if you don't meet the minimum spending requirements.
Remember that some types of points are worth more than others, so don't fall into the trap of picking the bonus with the biggest number before considering your future travel plans.
FAQ
When will my signup bonus post?
Each credit card issuer handles this a little differently. Typically, your bonus will post within a few weeks of the statement closing for the month you meet the spending requirement. Your statement closing date is the day your bank creates your bill for the previous month's charges. Any purchases made after this date will end up on the subsequent billing statement.
You might assume you'll see your bonus post soon after meeting the spending requirement, but you may end up waiting for a month or more if you cross the spending threshold at the beginning of a new statement cycle. You can get your bonus faster by timing your spending to meet the requirement right before your statement closes.
Will opening cards hurt my credit score?
A new card can actually improve your score in the long term by decreasing your credit utilization and increasing your average account age. However, in the short term, a credit card application will result in a hard inquiry on your credit report, which will decrease your credit score by a few points. This will typically affect your score for only a few months.
Can I get a signup bonus more than once?
The major banks have tightened their application rules to discourage folks from earning multiple bonuses for the same card. While this is still technically possible with some cards, don't rely on it.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees), IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees), and Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees)
