Below you’ll find my picks and a dash of analysis for the top 5 consumer card offers and the top 5 business card offers.
Background
Our Best Credit Card Offers page always shows the best offers sorted overall and within each card issuer by estimated first year value. This is a great non-biased way to compare credit card offers, but it misses nuances such as whether or not the rewards are easy to use, whether or not the card is worth keeping long term, etc. With this monthly series, I list my top consumer offers and top business offers, but with a small dash of analysis for each.
Top 5 Consumer Card Offers
Amex Gold: 100K + Up to $100 (20% back on dining)
Card Offer |
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75K points + 20% back at restaurants ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K points after $6K in purchases in the first 6 months + 20% back at restaurants for the first 6 months up to $250 back. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$325 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 100K after $6K in the first 6 months + 20% back at restaurants for the first 12 months up to $250 back [Expired 11/10/24 - referrals only] |
The Amex Gold Card has been a favorite of ours since it debuted with its 4X dining and grocery categories (see above for details). Recently the card gained new rebates, but with a higher annual fee. Fortunately, the welcome bonus for this card far exceeds the annual fee and makes this a great choice to at least try out the card for a year.
See also: Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide
Chase Sapphire Preferred: 60K + $300 Chase Travel Credit
Card Offer and Details |
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60K Points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: There may be elevated offers available by applying in-branch A similar offer with the first year annual fee waived may be found in-branch. YMMV. Recent better offer: 60K points + $300 travel credit (Expired 11/14/24) FM Mini Review: Great signup bonus. Unlocks ability to transfer points to hotel & airline partners. Solid option to pair with fee-free Ultimate Rewards cards such as the Freedom cards, Ink Business Cash, and Ink Business Unlimited. Earning rate: 5X Travel booked through Chase Travel℠ (2X all other travel) ✦ 3X Dining ✦ 3X Select streaming services ✦ 3X Online grocery ✦ 5X Lyft (through March 2025) ✦ 10% annual point bonus Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ $10 monthly credit for non-restaurant DoorDash orders ✦ Free DashPass through 2027 ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ $50 back for hotel stays booked through Chase per cardmember year in the form of a statement credit |
This is a great offer for an excellent card.
Application Tips: If you apply and are denied, you still have a good chance. Call the reconsideration line (1-888-270-2127) to ask for the decision to be reconsidered. If you currently hold other consumer Chase cards, tell the agent that you are not looking for more credit and you are happy to move credit from another card to open this one. If they tell you incorrectly that you have opened 5 or more cards in the past 24 months, check whether you are an authorized user on some cards that have been opened in that time frame. If so, tell the agent that you are an authorized user and you are not responsible for those credit lines.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
See also:
Citi Strata Premier: 75K
Card Offer and Details |
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75K Points ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Very strong earnings for spend. Excellent bonus categories. Points transferable to select airlines. Recommend pairing this card with Citi Double Cash and Citi Rewards+. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 3X grocery ✦ 3X dining ✦ 3X gas stations & EV charging ✦ 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies ✦ 10X hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel℠ Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline partners ✦ $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit ($100 off a $500+ hotel stay, excluding taxes and fees, when booked through Citi Travel) ✦ Travel protections See also: Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide |
This is nearly as good as the all-time-best 80K offer that we saw last year. The Citi Strata Premier card offers excellent earnings on spend (3X grocery; 3X dining; 3X gas stations; 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies) and unlocks the ability to transfer ThankYou points to airline and hotel programs.
See also:
- Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide
- How to use your Citi ThankYou point fortune
- Citi’s awesome trio –Double Cash, Premier, Rewards+.
Hilton Aspire: 175K
Card Offer |
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175K Points + free night certificate ⓘ Friend-Referral 175K after $6K spend in first 6 months. Free night certificate every year - first certificate is awarded 8-12 weeks after approval. Terms apply. (Offer Expires 1/8/2025)$550 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. |
In my opinion, this is one of the best cards on the market to get for the welcome bonus and to keep long term. The card offers up to $400 back per year in Hilton resort rebates plus up to $200 per year towards flights. Those rebates alone more than make up for the card’s annual fee and yet you still get an uncapped free night each year (including one about 8 weeks after approval) plus top-tier Hilton Diamond status.
See also: American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card Review
Sonesta: Up to 125K
Card Offer |
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This card is currently not available$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $75 Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. |
This is a great offer. The welcome bonus can easily be worth $1,300 or more towards Sonesta hotel stays. The only big downside is that Sonesta properties are currently limited mostly to North and South America. You can find a full list of Sonesta locations, here.
More Great Consumer Card Offers
Here is an unfiltered list of all of the consumer rewards cards we track sorted by best estimated first year value (e.g. sorted with the best welcome bonuses on top):
Card Offer Mini |
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Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card 175K Points + free night certificate ⓘ $1136 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Schwab Investor Card® from American Express $200 Cash Back as a statement credit ⓘ $185 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard 30K Miles + 1 Year Silver status ⓘ $174 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Discover it Miles - Double Miles your first year $100 + First Year Double ⓘ $100 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard 40K Miles + 1 Year Gold status ⓘ $-116 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Top 5 Business Card Offers
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to apply for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
Ink Business Unlimited: 90K + 1.5x everywhere
Card Offer |
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75K points ⓘ Affiliate 75K after $6K spend in 3 monthsNo Annual Fee Alternate Offer: You may be able to get an offer of 120,000 points after $6,000 in purchases via a Business Relationship Manager. |
This is a terrific offer for this card. Even though Chase describes this as a cash back card, rewards are actually in the form of Ultimate Rewards points. Once you earn the points, you can cash them out for a penny each, but that’s not the best way to get the most value. A better option is to move points to a card that makes the points more valuable for travel (Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred). For example, you could move the points to your (or a household member’s) Sapphire Reserve card and then use points to pay for travel at 1.5 cents per point value, or you can transfer points to loyalty programs such as Hyatt, United, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
See also:
Amex Business Platinum: 250K
Card Offer |
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250K points ⓘ Friend-Referral 250K points after $20K spend in the first 3 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$695 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Targeted online offer of 250K points after $15K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. |
This is a fantastic offer for this card! If you are eligible and can meet the big spend requirement, go for it.
See also: Amex Platinum Complete Guide
Amex Business Gold 200K
Card Offer |
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200K points ⓘ Friend-Referral 200K points after $15K spend in 3 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$375 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: None. This is the best we've ever seen. |
This is a fantastic offer for anyone can meet the big spend requirement. Additionally, the card’s $20 per month rebate on eligible purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores help to cushion the annual fee.
See also: American Express Business Gold Credit Card Review
Capital One Venture X Business Card: 150K
Card Offer |
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150K Miles ⓘ Affiliate Earn a one-time bonus of 150K miles after $30K spend in the first 3 months$395 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 3/31/23: 250K Miles after $50K in spend. |
The Venture X Business card is almost identical to the consumer Venture X, but it is a business charge card. Both cards offer excellent perks and basically pay for themselves with their annual point bonuses and travel credits.
See also: Capital One “Miles” Complete Guide.
Ink Business Cash: 75K + great 5X categories
Card Offer |
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Up to 75K points ⓘ Affiliate 35K after $3K spend in 3 months and an additional 40K points after $6K spend in 6 months. No Annual Fee Alternate Offer: If you have a household member with an Ink card, you may prefer the referral offer whereby the referrer can earn 40,000 points and the new account holder can earn 75,000 points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months since it will yield more total points. Recent better offer: 90K after $6K spend in 6 monthd (expired 1/17/24 |
This fee-free card belongs in every point collector’s wallet. It offers 5X for office supplies and 5X for phone service, cable TV, and internet (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5X categories annually). Many families would do well to setup their phone, TV, and internet bills to autopay from the Ink Business Cash card in order to earn 5X rewards without any effort whatsoever.
Even though Chase describes this as a cash back card, rewards are actually in the form of Ultimate Rewards points. Once you earn the points, you can cash them out for a penny each, but that’s not the best way to get the most value. A better option is to move points to a card that makes the points more valuable for travel (Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred). For example, you could move the points to your (or a household member’s) Sapphire Reserve card and then use points to pay for travel at 1.5 cents per point value, or you can transfer points to loyalty programs such as Hyatt, United, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and more.
See also:
More Great Business Card Offers
Here is an unfiltered list of all of the business rewards cards we track sorted by best estimated first year value (e.g. sorted with the best welcome bonuses on top):
Card Offer Mini |
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Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card 3 Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50K points each ⓘ $619 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card $500 statement credit ⓘ $425 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card $300 statement credit ⓘ $240 1st Yr Value Estimate |
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express 15K points + 0% APR for 12 months ⓘ $236 1st Yr Value Estimate |
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card $250 back + 0% APR for 12 months ⓘ $220 1st Yr Value Estimate |
I would love to open one business account and one personal account. Suggestions as to the best?
It’s really hard to say. It depends so much on what goals you have, how much you can spend to meet minimum spend requirements, what cards you already have, etc.
Check out the new format for this post, though. It might be more helpful than before.
I obtained a Marriott Brilliant card in August. I recently applied for the Marriott AMEX Business Bonvoy with the 125k offer and was refused. I wonder why that would be the case, as the Brilliant card was the only one I have opened in the past few years? When would it make sense to reapply?
Just a note to say that I tend to come back to this page throughout the month as I think of next steps. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great resource to have all this at one’s fingertips. I don’t say I follow FM’s trail everywhere it leads, but when my inclinations line up with your recs, that’s a pretty good indicator.
That’s great to hear!
Amex Marriott Brilliant now up to 250k. In a 150k plus 75k format. Not certain if it’s targeted.
Where did you see that offer?
Curious why you didn’t include the delta cards. In most cases, the first year value of the delta cards is higher than any of these other airline offers.
Good catch. I took them out when the bonuses dropped and forgot to put them back when the bonuses went up again. I’ll add them.
Greg, small point: On the Ink Business Preferred: 100K, you say: “Who shouldn’t get it: Don’t apply if you don’t have a business or if you’re over 5/24″.
But that should be “Don’t apply if you don’t have a business or if you’re not UNDER 5/24”.
I see what you mean but I don’t love the sort-of double negative “not under”. How about “… or if you’re at or over 5/24”
Not sure about the requirements for the 200k AMEX BIZ Plat offer. In the separate post, I understood it to say that I must do the checking account AND the $15k spend to get the 200K MRs. I already have the AMEX checking (from the original offer) so if I just do the spend will I get the MRs?
You would get the 150K only.
The 200k offer listed at the top here is different. This one doesn’t require a business checking account
I was thinking about replacing my vanilla Platinum with the Schwab as I’d prefer a reasonable cash out option, but the linked page shows only 80K, not, 100K. Has the offer gone down?
Sorry about that. Yes the offer went down.
Would you recommend applying for the current Platinum offer (150K + $200) or wait until early December to apply given the ability to triple dip the calendar year credits? I’d very likely only hold for 1 year and cancel after second AF posts.
If you’re confident you can use the various perks (like the $200 airline fee credit) quickly in December of 23 and January of 25, then I’d wait. There’s always a chance that the signup bonus will be significantly worse then, though, so there’s some risk, but my guess is that you’ll be able to find at least a 150K offer even if the $200 extra is no longer available.
When I click the 160K link for the Amex Biz Plat, it shows a 155K bonus – 150K for the card, 5K for the AU. And then when I click thru and login, it says it is no longer available (not sure if that means it is unavailable just for me, or for everyone).
However I did just receive an email for the 200K Biz Plat + Biz checking with an Apr 30 expiration. I already have the checking (60K bonus should be posting soon), does anyone know if I can do it again to get a net 50K bonus assuming I get another Biz Plat?
Thanks. I’ve updated that section to say 150K + 5K. It still works for me when I log in so I believe that you aren’t targeted.
I don’t know the answer to your question about the biz checking bundle
That streets are saying csp may go 90k soon.
Greg: you mention that the $50K spend requirement for the Capital One Venture X Business Card could possibly be better spent elsewhere. “Also, if you prefer to sign up for lots of cards, you can do much better with $50K of spend.” Could you give me an example(s) of what you are referring to?
Greg is referring to doing several sign-up bonuses rather than just the one with Cap1. For example, from the list above, you could get an Amex Business Platinum with $15K required spend and a Chase Ink with $6K required spend. If you wanted to only be applying for business cards (e.g. to stay under 5/24), and if you wanted to spread your applications across banks, you could add the BofA Alaska Biz card for $4K and the Barclays AA or JetBlue Biz card for $2K, taking your total to $27K and still with $23K for spend on different new cards. You need to give 90 days and then you can apply for another Biz Plat or Chase Ink (though by then the 90K bonus will probably be gone), or maybe get a Amex Biz Gold or … there are a lot of options. I am not factoring in all the annual fees, you would need to look at the annual fee costs as well as the value to you of all the points/cash-back earned in bonuses and the perks provided by the cards (e.g. how much are the Dell credits on the Biz Plat worth to you).
Thank you!
A couple small things – for Ink Biz Preferred, current CIC is 90% of points with 40% of minimum spend – not 75% and 50%.
Also, I thought you could no longer get IHG premier if you had the old IHG card. I gather it may not always be enforced?
I have both the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited cards for some years now. In my chase account, I see offers “Just for You” for both of the 90k offers plus the Ink Preferred cards. Is it possible to receive the SUB again for the Inks, and have two of the same cards?
Yes.
Greg, I’ve heard that there needs to be at least 90 days between Amex NLL offers on the same card type. Any thoughts? Thanks.