Credit Cards With The Best Signup Bonuses!

54
DDMS IconNever Miss Another Deal - Follow DansDeals on Facebook

Please click here to see current American Express card offers.

Related posts:
-DansDeals Credit Card Links And Card Opening FAQ’s On The DansDeals Forums
-Credit Card Benefits, Categorized By Benefit.
-Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Starwood, Or Freedom? A Guide For Which Cards To Use For Any Purchase.
-Does Opening And Closing Cards Hurt Your Credit Score?
-The Best Credit Cards For Spending!
-Credit Card Reconsideration: Don’t Give Up!
-Need To Meet A Spending Threshold Deadline? Get Waived Fees On AMEX Gift Cards!
-Need To Meet A Spending Threshold Deadline? Send And Receive $1,000/Month With No Fees Using Amazon Payments!

———————————————————————————
These cards currently have bonuses that I would value as being worth at least $850.

Consumer Cards:

Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card
-50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points for spending $3,000 within 3 months.
-Earn a 7% annual point dividend in January or February on all points earned, even on top of the signup bonus! This brings the signup bonus to 53,500 points.
-Valuing these points at 1.9 cents each would mean this bonus is worth $1,016.50.
-Double points (actually 2.14 points after the 7% point dividend) for flights, hotels, car rentals, dining, charges made in airports, with travel agencies, at caterers, on timeshares, trains, buses, taxis/limos, ferries, bridges, and tolls.
-Triple points (actually 3.21 points after the 7% point dividend) for travel booked via the Chase booking tool.
-After spending $3,000 you will have between 56,710-63,130 points depending on your type of spending with the bonus point categories and the 7% point dividend.
-Points can be transferred instantly with no fees to anyone’s Continental, British Airways, Korean, United, Hyatt, Priority Club, Marriott, or Amtrak account at a 1:1 ratio.
-$500/item return protection if a store won’t take an item back.
-When you call customer service a live person answers right away. No phone tree!
-No foreign exchange fees and an awesome heavy metal card.
-No fee for the first year, then $95.

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa Signature
-50,000 Rapid Rewards points good for $950 of free flights for spending $1.
-Use the points for yourself or someone else, cancel or change awards for free, and check 2 bags of luggage for free.
-Earn 110,000 Rapid Rewards points in a year (including earnings from credit card bonuses and credit card spending) and you get a free companion pass that allows you to bring a companion with you for free when you fly Southwest, even if you are flying on a free ticket!
-Earn 3,000 bonus points for every year that you keep the card, worth $57 of free flights.
-Double points on Southwest purchases, including hotel and car rentals made via Southwest.
-$69 annual fee.

Chase Hyatt Visa Signature
-Current non-elites earn 1 free night at any Hyatt worldwide without blackout dates for spending $1 and another free night after spending $1,000. Free nights have no resort fees or taxes. Plus non-elites earn Platinum status with free internet, bonus points, upgrades, guaranteed avaialbility, expedited checkin, and late checkout, for as long as they have the card.
-Platinums at the time of application (including those who status-matched to Platinum) earn 2 free nights at any Hyatt worldwide without blackout dates for spending $1 and earn 2 suite upgrades on paid stays of up 7 days each.
-Diamonds at the time of application (including those who status-matched to Diamond) earn 2 free nights in a suite at any Hyatt worldwide without blackout dates for spending $1.
-High-end Hyatt hotels include the Park Hyatt Sydney, Park Hyatt Maldives, and the Park Hyatt Paris, where nights in a standard room can cost as much as $1,200 each!
-Earn a free night (excluding hotels in category 5 or 6) for every year that you keep the card.
-Triple points for spending at Hyatt.
-No foreign exchange fees.
-$75 annual fee.

American Express Platinum Charge Card
-25,000 bonus Membership Rewards points for spending $1,000 within 3 months.
-$200 in airline spending per calendar year after registration with the airline of your choice. That means spend $200 by 12/31/11 and spend another $200 on 01/01/12! The best thing may be to buy increments of $100 gift cards (more than $150 won’t work for some reason) and you’ll have $400 for future travel!
-Valuing these points at 1.8 cents each and adding the $400 in airline credit would mean this bonus is worth $850, but there are many more benefits on this card than just that.
-$100 credit for Global Entry, a US Government program that allows for expedited clearance upon return from an international trip. The cost to apply for this is $100, which will be automatically refunded when charged to your AMEX Platinum card. The $100 fee will also be refunded for any additional cardholders. You will be registered for 5 years for free with the program.
-Free Platinum lounge access (good for 4 years!) for you and your spouse and kids, or for you and 2 companions when flying with American, Delta, or USAirways (You don’t need to be traveling with USAirways for access).
-Priority Pass Lounge Membership with unlimited free visits to over 600 airport lounges, including lounge access in Israel. You do not need to be flying the airline of the lounge you want to enter with Priority Pass.  This membership normally costs $399 per year.
-Complimentary Starwood Gold Elite Status. This normally requires 25 paid nights in Starwood hotels or $30,000 spent in a calender year on the Starwood AMEX. It gets you complimentary upgrades at Starwood hotels, 4pm late checkout time, and bonus Starpoints when staying at Starwood hotels. And potential status matching with other hotel chains.
-Free Regus Office Lounge Membership.
-Give additional Platinum cards to 3 other people for just one fee of $175 which will give them full lounge access and more.
-Premium Car Rental Program with benefits for Avis, Hertz, and National.
-Lost item insurance and $10,000 per item purchase protection.
-Baggage protection.
-24/7 Platinum Concierge and Fine Hotels and Resorts Benefit Program.
-Points can be transferred to Delta, Aeromexico, Air Canada, Airtran, Alitalia, ANA, British Airways, El Al, Flying Blue, Frontier, Hawaiian , Iberia, Jetblue, Singapore, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, Starwood, Hilton, Best Western, Choice, or Priority Club.
-No foreign exchange fees.
-$450 annual fee. Should you decide against keeping the card within 60 days you will get a refund and after that you can get a prorated refund of $37.50 per month that you don’t use.

Business cards:

Chase Ink Bold
-50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points for spending $5,000 within 3 months.
-Valuing these points at 1.9 cents each would mean this bonus is worth $950.
-Earn 20% bonus on purchase if you are a Chase consumer or business checking customer. That’s 1.2 points per dollar spent.
-Spend $25K in a year and get a 7,500 point bonus. (If you are a checking customer that’s a total of 37,500 points for $25K spend or 1.5 UR points per dollar spent.)
-Spend $50K in a year and get a 22,500 total point bonus. (If you are a checking customer that’s a total of 82,500 points for $50K spend or 1.65 UR points per dollar spent.)
-Spend $100K in a year and get a 47,500 total point bonus. (If you are a checking customer that’s a total of 167,500 points for $100K spend or 1.675 UR points per dollar spent.)
-Get a Priority Pass lounge membership with 2 free visits.
-Points can be transferred instantly with no fees to anyone’s Continental, British Airways, Korean, United, Hyatt, Priority Club, Marriott, or Amtrak account at a 1:1 ratio.
-No fee for the first year, then $95.

Leave a Reply

54 Comments On "Credit Cards With The Best Signup Bonuses!"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

chaim

i was just last week able to match a continental and a united card from 30k to 50k. seems like that should be on the list as well no?

Deal Guy

With the Chase Sapphire card, how do I access the Chase booking tool? Also,are their airfare prices the same as I would find on Kayak or Orbitz?

mark

The link for the Ink Bold sends me to the 25,000 after 1 swipe bonus

Sam

Can I get a business card if I don’t have a Tax ID number?

Dan

@chaim:
Well done on the match! This list is just for public offers, but 50K is indeed great for the Continental OnePass Plus and the United Mileage Plus Explorer cards.

@Deal Guy:
Login to your Chase account. Under the Sapphire card click on ‘Go to Ultimate Rewards”. Then click on travel.
Prices seem to be the same as Kayak or Orbitz. During checkout you will have the option to pay cash (and earn 3.21 points per dollar) or redeem Sapphire Preferred points at 1.25 cents each-not exactly the best use of points.

@mark:
Thanks, fixed now!

@Sam:
Sure. A sole-proprietor just puts in his social security number again as that is his TIN.
If you sell stuff on ebay that’s a business! If your name is Sam White just name it Sam White Sole Proprietorship.
Best of all spending on a business card doesn’t hurt your credit score as the utilization on the card isn’t reported to the personal credit agencies!

Good luck!

different

I see u wrote tht u fixed the ink link but it still show 25k

dovid

Dan, does the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
have any advantages over the Starwood Business card that its worth the extra annual fee

Uri

Hi Dan, I was denied last month for united (and approved for the sapphire) b/c too many cards recently with chase (3 in the last 6 month), should I try now the ink buisness now or wait 6 month from deniel?

Dan

@different:
Try using a different web browser or refreshing your page.

@dovid:
For regular spending the Starwood card is better.
But the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card has a bigger signup bonus and gives triple and double points for airfare and gas. Use it for the free year and then decide if its worth keeping.

@Uri:
You may have more luck with a business card.
The real key is to keep calling the different reconsideration numbers for Chase and explain why you want each card for the different benefits they provide. By calling those numbers I have been able to open about 9 Chase cards this year.

meme

I have the platinum amex card, where do I buy the gift cards for the airlines that u were talking about?

Dan

@meme:
Buy them from the airline you registered for, like AA or Continental from aa.com or continental.com.

eve

i have the amex platinum too. if i buy airline gift cards can they still be sold off for amazon gift cards. u once mentioned something to that effect…but i dont remember how to do it

eve

just to add to my question does the gift card have to be for $50 in order for it to work, and if so can i order 4 gift cards in one order or will that be an issue because i will get chraged once for $200?
thanks dan

Puppydogs

Chase Sapphire Preferred

“-50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points for spending $3,000 within 3 months.

-Earn a 7% annual point dividend in January or February on all points earned, even on top of the signup bonus! This brings the signup bonus to 53,500 points.

-Valuing these points at 1.9 cents each would mean this bonus is worth $1,016.50”

Dan just out of curiosity how/why did you value these at 1.9 cents each? Is there some formula?

Thanks,

Dan

@eve:
You can try selling gift cards here: http://www.dansdeals.com/go/plasticjungle/

@eve:
Any amount of $150 or less will be refunded. The total order must be $150 or less.

@Puppydogs:
1.9 cents is the level at which I’ll redeem the points instead of buying a ticket.

There is no hard and fast formula. If you use 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket that would cost just $300 then your miles are worth just 1.2 cents each. But you probably should look into selling your miles before redeeming them for that.

If you use 120,000 miles for a business class ticket to Israel that would cost $6,000 then you miles are worth 5 cents each.

Or if you use 220,000 miles to go around the world on 16 flight in First Class that would cost $125,000 then your miles are worth 57 cents each.

1.9 is just the minimum rate that I aim for when redeeming those miles.

boruch

question about the ‘Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa Signature’ card.
Does it make sence to sign up for their ‘Rapid Rewards Premier Card’? the annual fee for that one is $99 (instead of $69 for the Rapid Rewards Plus Visa Signature) but you receive 6000 bonus points every year, worth $114. (instead of 3000 bonus points, worth $57 on the Rapid Rewards Plus Visa Signature)

Dan

@boruch:
That would depend on how long you plan to keep the card.
In year 1 you are ahead by $30 with the plus card.
In year 2 you are ahead by $60 in cash with the plus card but with the premier card you have an extra $57 of flight money, so the advantage still go to the plus card.
In year 3 the premier card finally comes slightly out ahead as you will have paid $90 more than the plus card but have $114 in more flight money.

So if you plan to keep the card for a very long time then you may be better off with the premier, even though it is more cash out of your pocket sooner. Otherwise you’re better off with the cheaper plus card.

boruch

thanx!

bpboy

hi dan. what do you mean by access to the lounge for four years? the priority pass expires after two years.
also, where can i purchase the $200 gift cards for continental? thanks.

steve

I applied for chase ink 50,000 point bonus in September. Just yesterday, I had the old 80,000 point offer matched. 30,000 was put into my account and the 50,000 balance will post when I meet spending requirement. Offer code M6L.

chez

Where can I book round the world flights for so cheap? also, can I make a stop in Israel?

Anshel

@steve:
Steve, Congrats on convincing them to match the 80k offer.
did you call in to match (if so which department and phone#), or did you send a secure message?

Thanks!

Mtriver

Dan

I just called AMEX to cancel my Platinum card which i opened about 2 1/2 months ago and was told by the cancellation department that once its past 60 days i lose the full $450 annual fee.

Please Help!

Thanks!!

Mike

@Dan where can i get 1.9 Cent for my Chase Sapphire Preffered Points ?

Dan

@bpboy:
The Platinum card itself is goof for lounge access for 4 years.

@steve:
well done with the match!

@chez:
AA, Continental, Delta, and United all offer a round-the-world award. You can stopover anywhere you want.

@Mtriver:
Do you have any other active AMEX cards? If you do just call back and talk to another rep about a pro-rated refund.
If you don’t then downgrade the card to a free card and they will prorate the annual fee.

Eli

Dan, I was turned down by chase for 3 cards with the 3 browser method (too many recent inquiries). I called Chase for reconsideration and was turned down. Should I keep on trying to get a more sympathetic CSR ?

Dan

@Eli:
You need to reconsider 1 card at a a time. Also try calling different departments.

Eli

I did call to reconsider with just one reference number.

sammy

where can i get 1.9 for chase saphire

steve

@Anshel:
secure message

Anshel

@steve:
Thanks Steve, do you happen to remember which “inquiry type” you selected to send the SM to?

was it Credit Cards / Rewards Inquiry?

TIA

Aay B

Dan, for what it’s worth, this is an offer i received from Hilton HHonors.

American Express Hilton HHonors Card
50k Points after spending $750 within first 90 days
NO ANNUAL FEE

steve

@Anshel:

yes exactly right
This is conversation:
Original Message:
Good evening. I just received the chase ink business card in the mail and I have already been using it for my business. I would like to request that the invitation for the 80,000 signup bonus points be extended to me as well. At the time I applied for card I believe that 50,000 was offerred but I have become aware of 80,000 bonus point offer. Thanks so much for your consideration much appreciated.

Response:
Dear xxxxxx,
I am writing in response to your inquiry about the 80,000
bonus points.
I would like to inform you that, when you apply for a
card, there are various sign up offers given to the
cardmembers. Regretfully, I am unable to honor your
request for the additional 30,000 bonus points as a sign
up offer, as this offer was made through a small direct
mail test and is non-transferable.
Further, as per the offer on your account, you will
receive 50,000 bonus points after spending $5,000.00 in
purchases within 93 days of account open date.
However, if you were sent an invitation for this offer, I
kindly request you to reply to this e-mail with the Offer
Code and Invitation Number, and either myself or one of my
colleagues will be happy to assist you.
If you have any further questions, please reply using the
Secure Message Center.
Thank you,
Neelu Sachdeva
E-mail Customer Service Advisor
1-800-346-5538

Reply:
Thanks for response. The offer code was M6L good for
50,000 points after first purchase and 30,000 additional
points after $5,000 of purchases. Thank you for your
consideration

Response:
Dear xxxxxx,
I am writing in response to your inquiry regarding the
promotional offer on your INK account.
As requested, I have added 30,000 points to match the
80,000 points offer. This adjustment will reflect online
immediately.
We value your business. If you have any additional
questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center.
Thank you,
Tamseel Kardame
E-mail Customer Service Advisor
1-800-346-5538

Dan

@Eli:
Persistence pays off. So does calling another recon dept.

@Aay B:
Hilton points are only worth about half a cent each, so that’s only a $250 bonus on a mediocre card.

Anshel

@steve:

Thanks a lot Steve and Good Luck!

DZ Telz

Dan,
What does this mean “awesome heavy metal card.

Dan

@DZ Telz:
It’s a metal card, much heavier than regular plastic cards. It’s great to clank on a table!
And people think you must be important when they see the card, it’s pretty impressive looking with just your name on the front and the credit card number on the back.

APoshiterYid

@Dan: Just keep in mind that PJ only buys physical AA GCs, not virtual…

dave

@chaim: @chaim: How did u do it ?

Lechaim2life

My wife successfully applied for the Platinum card last night after being turned down by Chase, Citi etc for the past couple of months because of lack of credit history. Just an FYI for people out there, it seems like a good starter card.
@Dan: When she was on the phone with the rep last night they mentiioned something about buy 1 get 1 free on international flights when making reservations through AMEX travel services. Know anything about this? Also, is the card only worth it if you cancel after 60 days?

yehuda

hi
is it worth it for me and my wife to sign up just to get the 50k and then sell the points to a buyer for $850 each?

Eli

I just called again, spoke to a supervisor, and convinced him to give me another Chase card. I had asked them to just take some credit from another card but they went ahead with the new card with a new line of credit of 10,000. Go figure.

rob

Can I transfer the 50k American Express Business Gold Rewards Card to mileage plans like Flying Blue or Continental (as is the case with starwood)

Dan

@Lechaim2life:
The AMEX Plat is an awesome card with awesome benefits, but the buy one get one benefit is bogus, thus I didn’t mention it.

@rob:
I even wrote under that card where exactly you can transfer the points to.

Jake

Hi guys, any idea where I can get the most for my points? I spend around 100,000 a Month for business and have only been getting 1.55 on the amex gold.
please help
Thanks

Dan

@Jake:
Switch to Starwood or one of the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. Both those currencies are more valuable.

MTRIVER

I just got an offer from chase for a chase ink business card.
40K miles after the first transaction.
Can I apply if I don’t have a business?
What information do i fill out on the form?

Thanks!

Aay B.

Can anybody please get us some expiration dates for all these Bonus offers?
I’ve tried calling in Chase but the rep couldn’t clarify that.. Anybody with more luck?
Reason I’m asking is cuz I (as well as many others – I believe) are working on their credit files with the 3 agencies to increase the chances of getting approved.. But it takes some time..
Anyone with any info on the due date of singing up for all these great bounus offers Dan has mentioned in this post?
TX

RAJ

Hi Dan,
I love your posts – very informative and helpful! I currently have about 170,000 miles on American Airlines (from an American Airlines Mastercard), which I don’t find so helpful. I am looking to open a card that would allow me to fly more convenient airlines for me, like Continental. So, 2 questions:

1. It seems from your posts that it would fit me to start a Chase Freedom card and a Chase Sapphire Preffered card (so I could then transer it into miles. (I am a standard consumer, spending most of my money on food, gas, cleaners, utilities, and the like.) Does that sound right?

2. Any way I could transfer those miles from American to any other account I would be starting?

Thanks so much for your help!

Amexplat

@Dan
Hi Dan. Looks like many of us fellow platt account holders have the same questions how to cash in on the Airline credit. Should we buy giftcards and if so for how much (150 or 200) and where can I buy continental gift cards.
Was it proven that they reimburs for airline gc?
Thank you so much Dan!!!

cranky

hi Dan you wrote “Or if you use 220,000 miles to go around the world on 16 flight in First Class that would cost $125,000 then your miles are worth 57 cents each.” wow wow just please send me a link or thread to understand how

Josh

Dan, I tried applying for the Chase Sapphire and I get this message
“We were unable to process your request. Unknown Error ()”

Dan

@Josh:
Their systems are probably down. Try again in the morning.

mx

Dan,

I have a platinum card. I had “borrowed” the 60k additional points not realizing that at the end of the yr if i do not have it back in my account i will pay around .025c per point missing. What would be the best and quickest way for me to accumulate the 50k-60k pts in my account? I was told i can not take pts from someone else’s account. Is this true? Thank you

wpDiscuz