With so many options, choosing the best sign-up bonus credit card can be challenging. There are several important factors to consider, including the bonus type (cash back, points or miles) and annual fee. Here are a few steps you’ll want to follow when making your decision:
1. Make sure your credit score is up to par
First, look at the eligibility requirements of the cards you’re considering. Most sign-up bonus credit cards require a good credit score (a FICO Score of 670 or above) for approval. If your credit is lacking, you may want to consider a credit card to build credit to help you boost your score. While not as common, some of these cards offer sign-up bonuses as well.
Don’t know your credit score? Sign up for
LendingTree Spring to get your free credit score and recommendations to boost your score.
2. Choose the type of rewards you want to earn
The next step is deciding what type of rewards you want to earn. As you’ll see in the table below, there’s something for everyone:
3. Consider the card’s annual fee
One of the most important things to consider when making your choice is the card’s annual fee. While some of our picks are free to carry, others come with annual fees that can take a huge chunk out of your bonus. For example, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®‘s bonus is worth around $1,260*, but its $595 annual fee brings the actual value down to $665 (which is still a great value). However, premium cards usually come with premium perks that can make up the difference. You just need to consider what’s more important in the long run.
4. Make sure you qualify to earn the bonus
Aside from your credit score, many issuers have additional qualifying restrictions on sign-up bonuses. Major issuers typically put restrictions on earning sign-up bonuses to avoid credit card churning — the practice of repeatedly opening and closing credit cards with the intention of earning sign-up bonus rewards. Make sure that you always read the fine print of the offer before you apply.
5. Calculate the value of the bonus
It’s important to understand the value of a bonus offer before you apply. While cash back bonuses are fairly straightforward, the value of points and miles can vary greatly depending on how you redeem them. For example, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, 60,000 points are worth $900 when redeemed for travel through Chase’s portal but only $600 when redeemed for cash back or gift cards.
How to calculate the value of a sign-up bonus
To determine point/mile value, you’ll first need to take the cash value of your target redemption option and divide it by the number of points or miles — be sure to subtract any taxes and fees that you have to pay in cash.
Point value = $ value of target redemption option (minus taxes/fees) ÷ number of points
Example: $500 plane ticket – $11.20 taxes ÷ 50,000 points = ~$0.01
Then, take the point value and multiply it by the number of points in the sign-up bonus. That will give you an approximate cash value for that card’s welcome offer.
Bonus value = $ value of points or miles x number of points or miles
Example: 80,000 miles x $0.01 (1 cent per point) = $800