Some of the offers mentioned below are no longer available.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Many card issuers have been busy releasing new limited-time promotions. Rewards cards from American Express, Capital One and Chase have seen record-setting welcome bonus offers worth up to $1,250, depending on the card.
If you're looking to maximize credit card rewards, earning a welcome bonus is a great perk on top of the rewards you already earn by using your card.
Select breaks down the welcome offers for these five cards and what they're worth:
- American Express® Gold Card
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Chase Freedom Flex℠
When determining the best welcome bonus, consider how you can redeem each offer for maximum value, which we explain below.
What Amex, Capital One and Chase welcome bonuses are worth
The Amex Gold card's 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points bonus can be worth up to $600 when you redeem points for flights and gift cards. But since the value of points varies based on redemption method, other redemption options can be worth less. Statement credit redemptions are worth $360, while booking prepaid hotels through Amex Travel is worth $420.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a low-fee card with generous cash-back rewards and useful ongoing benefits, such as a monthly Disney Bundle credit. (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned)
- High cash-back earnings for U.S. supermarkets and streaming services
- Intro-APR offer for purchases and balance transfers
- No annual fee for the first year
- It's less rewarding after the first year because of the annual fee
- Bonus rewards for U.S. supermarkets are capped
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Apply and find out your welcome offer. As High As $300 cash back* after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply, and if approved: 1. Find out your offer amount 2. Accept the Card with your offer 3. Spend $3,000 in 6 months 4. Receive the cash back. *Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.49%-28.49%.
- Plan It®: Buy now, pay later with Plan It. Split purchases of $100 or more into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee so you don't have the pressure of paying all at once. Simply select the purchase in your online account or the American Express® App to see your plan options. Plus, you'll still earn rewards on purchases the way you usually do.
- Earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in eligible purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at eligible U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more) purchases and 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit and at Amazon.com checkout.
- Get up to a $10 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred® Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, or Stream.ESPN.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars
Blue Cash Preferred card members receive cash back in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for statement credits or at Amazon.com checkout. The welcome bonus offer could be as high as $300 cash back after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 6 months. Apply to find out your offer. If approved, you'll: 1. Find out your offer amount, 2. Accept the Card with your offer, 3. Spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 6 months 4. Receive the cash back. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
The Sapphire Preferred card's 60,000-point bonus can be worth up to $750 thanks to the added value points receive on eligible redemptions. When you redeem points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® or grocery store, dining, home improvement store and eligible charity statement credits with Pay Yourself Back, points are worth 25% more. The Pay Yourself Back benefit ends Dec. 31, 2022
Since Freedom Flex cardholders receive cash back in the form of Ultimate Rewards points, the $200 bonus is equal to 20,000 points. Points are worth up to $200 in statement credits or more than $200 when Chase is running a gift card sale. You can even transfer points between other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Bottom line
Overall, the best welcome bonus depends on how much money you can reasonably afford to spend with a new card. Consider the spending requirements and time frame for each offer to narrow down your options. You should also review the annual fee and rewards rates to make sure the card is worthwhile.
If you're looking to maximize rewards and spending thousands of dollars to earn a bonus is within your means, consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Capital One Venture.
If you need more time to earn a bonus that has typical spending requirements of $6,000 or $4,000, the Amex Gold and Blue Cash Preferred are good options with six-month time periods.
And if you want a bonus that's easy to earn and doesn't require much spending, the Chase Freedom Flex is your best choice.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Our methodology
To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed popular credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.
Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.
Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.
Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.
While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.
Information about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer prior to publication
