5 Big Credit Card Bonuses to Get Before They’re Gone

Getting a new credit and earning a huge welcome offer bonus is all about timing: You want to open a credit card when the bonus offer is at its highest. Right now, there are a handful of opportunities out there … but timing is absolutely critical: They won’t be around much longer.

Whether you’re looking to earn flexible points to redeem for all kinds of travel or miles specific to a single airline, these are some of the biggest bonuses we’ve ever seen.

Just remember: Credit cards are serious business. No matter how many points you earn through a welcome bonus, they’re not worth digging yourself into debt if you can’t afford to pay off every single charge you make.

Here’s a look at the five best card offers that are currently available. Just remember: You’ll want to act fast if you’re interested. 

1. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Current Offer

The *chase ink preferred* is currently offering 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 in the first three months of card membership. These points are worth a minimum of $1,500 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠ – if not much, much more.

It’s not just the best offer we’ve ever seen on this small business credit card – it’s one of the best offers on the market right now, period. But this bigger welcome bonus ends at 7 a.m. EST on Sept. 5, 2024!

Annual Fee: $95

Learn more about the *chase ink preferred*

Why This Offer Makes the List

If you have a small business (and trust us, you might be eligible for a small business card and not know it), you won’t find a better welcome bonus at a lower price point right now than the current offer on the Chase Ink Preferred.

Beyond a stellar welcome bonus, the Ink Business Preferred is one of the best business cards out there. It offers a solid ongoing return on spending and strong travel benefits for small business owners. Best of all, the card has a low annual fee of just $95, making it worth a spot in your wallet for the long run.

Read our review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card!

2. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Current Offer

The *capital one venture card* is currently offering the following: bonus_miles_full. Offer ends next Monday, Sept. 9, 2024!

Annual Fee: $95

Learn more about the *capital one venture card*

Why This Offer Makes the List

Considering that you can use Capital One miles to cover nearly any travel purchase at a rate of 1 cent per mile, the current 75,000-mile bonus and that $250 Capital One Travel credit combined are worth a minimum of $1,000. If you’re game to transfer those miles to one of Capital One’s slew of airline and hotel transfer partners, you could probably do even better than that.

While you won’t get all the perks that come with the premium *venture x*, you also won’t be on the hook for a $395 annual fee each year. And you’ll be earning the same unlimited 2x miles on every purchase, just like the Venture X. This means it’ll be easy to keep racking up miles well after you earn the big bonus.

The Venture Card includes a credit of up to $100 every four years to cover the cost of a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership – making it one of the most cost-effective ways to get this benefit from a credit card. For the remainder of this year, it also comes with two complimentary visits to the outstanding Capital One Lounges.

With a huge, limited-time bonus offer like this, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card for someone just getting started with points and miles.

Read More: 75K Venture Miles & More Perks: All About the Capital One Venture Card

3. Southwest Business Cards

Current Offer

You can earn up to 120,000 Rapid Rewards points and get an easy path to earning a Southwest Companion Pass on either card! Offer terms vary depending on the card that you open.

The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

• Welcome Offer: bonus_miles_full   Offer ends on Sept. 16, 2024!
• Anniversary Bonus: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 9,000 Rapid Rewards points.
• Get 10,000 bonus points toward earning the Companion Pass: After raising the requirements to earn the Pass this fall, Southwest will deposit 10,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points in your account at the start of each calendar year starting in 2023.
• Earn 4x Rapid Rewards Points: Per dollar spent on Southwest purchases.
• Earn 2x Rapid Rewards Points: Per dollar spent on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, and phone services.
• Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points: Per dollar on all other spending on the card.
• Four upgraded boardings per year (when available).
• Up to a $100 statement credit (increasing to $120 on Oct. 1, 2024) every four years for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS.
• Up to 365 Inflight WiFi Credits each year.
• Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
• Annual Fee: The card has an annual fee of $199, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.

Learn more about the *southwest performance biz*.

The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

• Welcome Offer: bonus_miles_full Offer ends on Sept. 16, 2024!
• Anniversary Bonus: Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you will receive 6,000 Rapid Rewards points.
• Get 10,000 bonus points toward earning the Companion Pass: After raising the requirements to earn the Pass this fall, Southwest will deposit 10,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points in your account at the start of each calendar year starting in 2023.
• Earn 3x Rapid Rewards Points: Per dollar spent on Southwest purchases.
• Earn 1x Rapid Rewards Points: Per dollar on all other spending on the card.
• Chase 5/24 Rule: The card will be subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be approved for the card depending on how many credit cards you’ve opened in the last two years.
• Annual Fee: The card has an annual fee of $99, which is not waived for the first year of card membership.

Learn more about the *southwest premier biz*.

Why These Offers Make the List

This is one of the biggest limited-time offers we’ve ever seen on Chase’s portfolio of Southwest business credit cards, ever.

Better yet, the sign-up bonus from any of these cards will count toward the 135,000 points needed to qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass. What’s the Southwest Companion Pass? Oh, just one of the best deals in all of travel – and the timing of these bigger bonuses is pretty solid to earn it for nearly two full years.

With the Southwest Companion Pass, you get to choose one person to fly free with you every time you buy a flight or redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points. No blackout dates and no questions asked: If the flight is bookable, you can add your companion. Considering you get another 10,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points just for having a Southwest Card, you could almost completely earn BOGO flights with Southwest just by earning the max welcome bonus offer.

Since Chase only allows you to hold one Southwest personal credit card at a time, you’ll need to pick up one of the above business cards to earn the Companion Pass solely through sign-up bonuses.

Not sure if you’re eligible for a business card? You just might be.

Beyond the bonus points and opportunity to get close to a coveted Companion Pass, these cards come with other benefits like anniversary bonus points, early bird check-ins, upgraded boardings, and a discount on in-flight purchases.

If adding one of these Southwest cards makes sense for you, don’t wait long.

Read more: Earn Up to 120K Points (& a Companion Pass) With New Southwest Business Card Offers!

4. American Express® Gold Card

Current Offer

The *amex gold* is currently offering: bonus_miles_full. You’ll also get six months to meet that spending requirement, twice as long as card offers from most other banks.

Be sure to check if you’re eligible for a 75,000-point offer via CardMatch … or an even bigger bonus via personal referral links!

Annual Fee: $325 (see rates & fees)

Learn more about the *amex gold*

Why This Offer Makes the List

The *amex gold card* is one of our favorite travel rewards cards.

Here’s what you need to know: The real value of the Gold card goes far beyond that initial bonus – though a 60,000- to 75,000-point bonus sure doesn’t hurt.

That’s because the Gold Card earns 4x points for every dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually then 1x) and 4x points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (including takeout and delivery in the U.S. up to $50,000 annually then 1x), making it arguably the best card to use for all your food purchases.

You’ll also get up to $120 in dining credits each year to spend at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar (until Sept. 25, 2024), Five Guys, and select Shake Shack locations (until Sept. 25, 2024), an $84 Dunkin’ credit, a $100 Resy Credit, and up to $120 annually in Uber cash to use at both Uber and Uber Eats. Aside from the Resy credit, which comes in two $50 installments, these statement credits are given out in $10 monthly increments and any amount you don’t use at the end of the month will be forfeited. Just add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.

Maximizing these credits alone will cover all your $325 annual fee (see rates and fees) and then some. These credits and bonus categories are a big reason why we feel the card is easily worth the $325 annual fee.

Read our full review of the American Express Gold Card!

5. AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®

Current Offer

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® is out with an excellent offer for new applicants to quickly earn up to 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after making a single purchase and paying the annual fee in full – both within the first 90 days. With an annual fee under $100, these aren’t just the easiest miles you’ll ever earn – they’re also some of the cheapest. 

Whether you regularly fly with American Airlines or hardly at all, there are lots of great ways to use this big bonus, making it easily worth your attention. 

Annual Fee: $99

All information about the AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

Learn more about the Barclays AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard (Full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).

Why This Offer Makes the List

AAdvantage miles are perhaps some of the most valuable frequent flyer miles you can earn. And this bonus is easier to earn than virtually any other travel credit card.

While most credit cards require you to spend $3,000 or more in the first few months to unlock a big welcome bonus, that’s not the case with the AA Barclay’s card. Make one purchase – whether it’s a pack of gum, a cup of coffee, a flight, or something else – and you can earn a quick and easy 70,000 miles. These are some of the easiest points and miles you will ever earn.

Put this together with the current bonus on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and bam: You’ve got 145,000 American Airlines miles. That’s an easier (and cheaper) path to pile up nearly 150,000 miles than you’ll find with almost any other airline. AAdvantage miles are great for flying domestically with AA or internationally on one of American Airline’s many partner airlines.  

This increased offer comes around every so often. It’s unclear exactly when it will end … but it never seems to last long. Be sure to apply before it’s gone! 

Read More: How to Quickly Earn 120K American Airlines Miles (And Why You Should)

Bottom Line

Getting the best welcome offer bonus on a new credit card is often about timing it right. Right now, these five card welcome bonus offers are out with some of the biggest bonuses we have ever seen.

But you’ll need to act fast! Some of them are set to end soon.