Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
The best cash back welcome bonuses can earn you up to $500 or more of cash back when you get a new credit card and meet minimum spending. Here are the best cash back incentives for new credit cards that we have found.
The best welcome bonuses for cash back
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: $1,000 of cash back value
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full Get this welcome bonus.
Cash back value: $1,000 ($1,250 in travel value when Ultimate Rewards® points are redeemed through Chase Travel℠.)
A great card for small business owners who want rewards on travel.
Annual fee: $95
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card: $750 of cash back value
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full Get this welcome bonus.
Cash back value: $750 (Bonus is earned as Ultimate Rewards® points.)
Offers 1.5% cash back on all of your small business purchases. Read our review.
Annual fee: $0
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: Up to $750 of cash back value
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full Get this welcome bonus.
Cash back value: Up to $750 (Bonus is earned as Ultimate Rewards® points.)
Offers additional rewards in small business categories. Read our review.
Annual fee: $0
Ink Business Premier® Credit Card: $1,000 of cash back value
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full Get this welcome bonus.
Cash back value: $1,000
Earns 2.5% cash back on large purchases and 2% elsewhere.
Annual fee: $195
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: $750 of cash back value
Welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full Get this welcome bonus.
Cash back value: $750 ($937.50 in travel value when Ultimate Rewards® points are redeemed through Chase Travel℠.)
Rewards card with best-in-class travel insurance protections. Read our review.
Annual fee: $95
U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card: $1,000 of cash back value
Welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points. Just spend $2,000 in the first 120 days. That’s a $500 value redeemable toward merchandise, gift cards, cash back, travel and more. Get this welcome bonus.
Cash back value: $500
An uncommonly good welcome bonus on a card that you’ll never pay an annual fee for. Read our review.
Annual fee: $95 ($0 intro annual fee first year). Annual fee changes to $0 on September 9, 2024.
Our methodology: How do we select the best cash back welcome bonuses?
If you’re looking for the best cash back credit card sign-up bonus, you’re probably wanting at least $500 of cash back when you open a new card. And our list of the best cash back welcome bonuses reflects that. The cards on this list all meet the following criteria:
- Earn at least $500 of cash back or points which can be redeemed for at least $500 worth of cash.
- Earn at least an effective 5% cash back on the spending required for the welcome bonus.
What about annual fees? Some of the cards on our list have annual fees. If you consider just the value of the welcome bonus, minus the annual fee, you’ll often come up with values of less than $500 cash back for these cards. But many of the cards that carry an annual fee offer an ongoing value proposition beyond the welcome bonus that for many makes the annual fee worthwhile.
The exact order of the list is made at the discretion of our editors, but generally takes into account the net cash back you earn after the annual fee, limited-time offers, and the effective cash back earning rates of the bonuses.
More on each of the cards with the best cash back welcome bonuses
Of course, a new cardmembers sign-up bonus isn’t the only reason to pick up a new card. Most of the cards on this list offer great ongoing value if you’re the right type of customer. Here’s a bit more on each of these cards to help you decide if the cards are right for you.
Chase Ink Business Preferred®: A great choice for small business owners who travel
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers small business owners rewards on business category purchases like travel, shipping, internet services, and advertising, plus essential protections like extended warranty and primary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance when renting for work. The card carries an annual fee of $95.
The card earns three points per dollar on the first $150,000 in combined purchases in its bonus categories, which include:
- Shipping purchases
- Internet, cable and phone services
- Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
- Travel
Purchases beyond $150,000 in these categories and all other purchases earn one point per dollar. Rewards are earned as Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to one of Chase’s 15 travel transfer partners.
The Ink Business Preferred comes with a robust set of travel and insurance benefits which, while not as generous as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, do cover the essentials. The card includes primary auto rental collision damage waiver when renting for business, baggage delay protection, and trip delay reimbursement as well as purchase protection and extended warranty protection
Learn more in our review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offer: 100,000 bonus points after $8,000 of spending in 3 months. (Annual fee: $95)
bonus_miles_full (Get this welcome bonus.)
Largest welcome offer available on an Ultimate Rewards® card. Rewards are earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points
Travel insurance for employees. Point transfers to partners. 25% more value for redemptions through Chase Travel℠.
This is an affiliate link.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited®: Unlimited 1.5% cash back for small business
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card from Chase offers small business owners simple 1.5% cash back rewards on all their spending, with no caps or bonus categories to worry about. The card carries no annual fee.
The strength of the Ink Business Unlimited® card’s rewards is simplicity: You get 1.5% cash back on all of your spending. Chase markets the card’s rewards as cash back, but the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points behind the scenes, which can be transferred to a premium Ultimate Rewards® card and redeemed for greater value.
The card offers a limited, but useful set of perks including primary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance when renting for business, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection.
Learn more in our review of the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® card.
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
Click here to learn more and apply.
This card occasionally offers a higher welcome offer, so you might consider waiting for a better offer to come around. The current offer is the card’s business-as-usual offer. The Ink Business Unlimited is marketed as a cash back card, but earns Ultimate Rewards®.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® at a glance:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 1.5% on every purchase. 5% on Lyft rides through March 2025.
Benefits: Extended warranty. Purchase protection. Primary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance when renting for business.
Chase Ink Business Cash: Up to 5% rewards in business categories
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a cash back card for small business owners who want purchasing power combined with increased rewards on business purchases like office supplies, internet, cable, and phone services, gas, and restaurant purchases. The Ink Business Cash carries no annual fee.
The card’s biggest strength is its bonus cash back categories. The Ink Cash earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services. The card also earns 2% on $25,000 in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants, plus 1% cash back on all other purchases. Although rewards are marketed as cash back, the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points behind the scenes, which can be transferred to a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards® card and redeemed for greater value.
The Chase Ink Business Cash® credit card also offers a handful of benefits useful to small business owners, including primary auto rental collision damage waiver when renting for business, purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
Learn more in our review of the Chase Ink Business Cash® card.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offer: Get up to $750 in new cardmember rewards. (Annual fee: $0)
bonus_miles_full (Get this welcome bonus.)
Chase recently made this bonus easier to earn. Best no-annual-fee Ink card welcome bonus. Rewards are earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points
Bonus rewards in business-related categories, at gas stations, and at restaurants. (More in our card review.)
This is an affiliate link.
Ink Business Premier® Credit Card: The best card for large small business purchases
The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card is most rewarding for small business owners who frequently charge large ($5,000 or larger) purchases to their card. The card comes with Chase extended warranty and one of the most generous cell phone protection plans available on a card. And the card’s trip delay insurance will protect both you and your employees from additional expenses incurred from overnight travel delays.
Get this card if you are a small business owner who makes more than 8 or more purchases of $5,000 or more each year. At that point, you’ll offset the card’s annual fee and be earning one of the best rates of cash back you can get on a small business credit card.
Ink Business Premier® Credit Card offer: $1,000 after spending $10,000 in 3 months. (Annual fee: $195)
bonus_miles_full Get this welcome bonus.
One of the best cash back welcome bonuses available. Rewards are earned as cash back.
2.5% cash back on purchases $5,000 and over. 2% cash back on other purchases.
This is an affiliate link.
Chase Sapphire Preferred®: Premium travel card with travel insurance benefits
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of Chase’s flagship rewards cards. It offers elevated rewards in useful categories like travel, online grocery, dining, and select streaming services and best-in-class travel insurance protections. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® carries an annual fee of $95.
The card offers rewards of three points per dollar in several categories, including online grocery, select streaming providers, and dining. When you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠, you’ll earn five points per dollar. All other travel earns two points per dollar. Finally, the card also offers increased rewards for Lyft rides (5x) and Peloton purchases.
The Sapphire Preferred features travel insurance benefits like primary rental car insurance, baggage delay insurance and trip delay reimbursement coverage, making it an excellent choice to use for booking travel. Most importantly, the card offers transfers to Chase’s useful suite of travel partners, plus 25% increased value for your rewards when you redeem them for travel through Chase Travel℠.
Learn more in our review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
card_name welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: It’s been almost a year since we saw a larger welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred®. The current bonus is the standard bonus available online. You might be able to get an offer for 10,000 points more by applying in-branch.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $95
Rewards: 5x hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠. 3x dining. 3x streaming. 3x online grocery. 2x other travel. 1x other purchases.
Benefits: Premium travel insurance benefits. 25% more value on travel redemptions. Point transfers.
Citi Premier® Card: Rewards card with transfer partners
The Citi Premier® Card is a core card of the Ultimate Citi ThankYou Points Wallet. It offers generous rewards on travel spending, dining and grocery stores. While the Premier offers great rewards, it lacks many of the travel insurance protections common among travel credit cards. The Citi Premier card carries an annual fee of $95.
The Citi Premier® Card offers a long list of 3x bonus categories, including hotels purchases, air travel, restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations. Plus, until 6/30/2024, you can earn 10 total points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions, excluding air travel, booked through the Citi TravelSM portal. The card earns 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases. Points are earned as ThankYou Points, which can be redeemed for cash back or transferred to travel partners for additional value.
The Citi Premier® Card is notably light on the travel benefits that you might expect from a premium travel credit card; it does not include essentials like trip delay protection, auto rental collision damage waiver, or extended warranty benefits. The card does include $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more when you book through thankyou.com.
Learn more in our review of the Citi Premier® Card.
Citi Premier® Card welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
All information about the Citi Premier® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Citi occasionally offers larger welcome bonuses on the Citi Premier card. If you don’t have an urgent need for this card, you might want to wait to apply.
The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.
Citi Premier® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $95
Rewards: 10x on hotel and car rentals booked through the Citi travel portal through 6/30/2024. 3x on other hotel purchases, air travel, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations. 1x on all other purchases.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card: A card that is dropping its annual fee later this year
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card offers some of the most generous point earning rates on travel, gas stations, and EV charging of any card. The card comes with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95/year. (On September 9th, 2024, this will change—the card will be dropping its annual fee.)
The card features 5x points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center, plus 4x points on travel, gas stations, and EV charging stations. The Altitude Connect also offers 2x points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, dining, and streaming services, plus 1x points on all other purchases.
The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect also offers a fairly generous set of travel benefits for the price, and is one of the lowest-cost ways to access airport lounges if you travel occasionally. With the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect, you’ll get four free visits to airport lounges through the card’s included Priority Pass Select membership, a $100 credit toward PreCheck or Global Entry once every four years, cell phone protection, and trip delay reimbursement.
Learn more in our review of the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card welcome bonus:
U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points. Just spend $2,000 in the first 120 days. That’s $500 value redeemable toward cash back. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, $95/year thereafter. Effective September 9, 2024, you will enjoy a $0 annual fee.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Recently, U.S. Bank announced changes to this card. It’s becoming a $0 annual fee card on September 9, 2024. That said, we expect the bonus to become less generous on or before that date. We know of no previous better offers on this card.
The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0 intro fee in the first year / $95 thereafter. Effective September 9, 2024, you will enjoy a $0 annual fee.
Rewards: 5x on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked in bank portal. 4x on travel, gas stations, EV charging, 2x on grocery stores, grocery delivery, dining and streaming services. 1x all other eligible purchases
Perks: 4 Priority Pass lounge visits, Global Entry/PreCheck Credit, Cell phone protection.
How do credit card welcome bonuses work?
Credit card issuers offer welcome bonuses an incentive for new credit card customers. New cardmember bonuses are most common on premium cards that carry an annual fee. You may hear new card bonuses referred to as sign-up bonuses, welcome offers, or welcome bonuses.
Most welcome offers require a certain amount of spending within a set period to earn the bonus. Very few welcome bonuses will give you the incentive simply for applying and being approved for the card. To earn your bonus, you must spend the require amount by the bonus deadline. Some welcome bonuses offer two-part bonuses with separate incentive amounts and spending thresholds.
Usually you’ll earn points or cash back as a new cardmember welcome bonus in addition to the points you’ll earn from using your card, but pay attention to the wording of the bonus promotion—sometimes issuers will count the base points you would earn anyway in the welcome bonus amount.
Additional pointers on applying for cards at each bank
Banks have various application rules, limits on the numbers of cards you can have. Here are some additional notes on applying for cards at the banks mentioned on this page.
A few notes on applying for Chase cards
- 5/24 rule. Chase generally won’t approve you if your credit report is showing 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months. This rule is knows as the 5/24 rule. If you’re unsure if you are “under 5/24” you should check your 5/24 status before applying for a Chase card. Note that recently this rule seems to have softened, especially for Ink cards. See our coverage about Chase 5/24 for more.
- Only one Sapphire-branded card. You can only hold one Chase Sapphire-branded card at a time. This means you can have either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, but not both.
- You can get a welcome bonus on a Chase card, even if you’ve had the card previously. How often you can earn a welcome bonus on a Chase card varies by card family.
- Most cards allow you to earn a welcome bonus if it has been at least 24 months since your last received a welcome bonus on the same card.
- Chase Sapphire-branded cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can only earn a welcome bonus once every 48 months. (We published a separate article to help you determine if you can get a Sapphire welcome bonus.)
- Marriott cards have their own special rules.
- Chase will match an increased bonus. If you apply for a Chase card and the bank offers a higher bonus within 90 days, you can send Chase a secure message or call them to have your welcome offer matched.
- In-branch offers are sometimes better. Chase sometimes has better credit card welcome offers in-branch than it will publish on its own website or through affiliate networks. Check all channels to make sure you’re getting the best bonus.
- Chase business cards do not report to personal credit reports and do not impact your 5/24 status as long as they are current.
A few notes on applying for Citi credit cards
- Citi has limits on the number of applications you can submit. You can only apply for one personal card every eight days and no more than two cards every rolling 65 days. Business cards are subject to the same eight-day limitation, but you can apply for no more than one business card every 95 days.
- You can get a new customer welcome bonus on Citi cards multiple times, but Citi has rules on how often you can earn a welcome bonus.
- ThankYou Point welcome offers are typically not available if you’ve received a new account bonus on the same card in the past 48 months.
- Welcome bonuses on AAdvantage cards are only available if you have not received a welcome bonus for the same card within the past 48 months.
- There is no limit to the number of Citi cards you can hold.
- You can check your application status on the Citi website or by calling 1-866-606-2787.
Frequently asked questions
Are the points on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card worth more when redeemed toward travel?
Yes. The points on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed toward travel through Chase Travel℠, but this list only considers the cash back value of these points, which is 1 cent per point.
Why aren’t there any American Express cards on this list?
American Express Membership Rewards are a great travel currency if you’re willing to play the points game, hunt for rare award flights, and learn how to use the program’s travel transfer partners. If you want to see how many hoops you have to jump through to get cash back out of your Amex points, look at our article on how to get cash back out of your Amex points.
The Capital One Venture and Venture X cards offer a large welcome bonus. Why are they not on this list?
Capital One Venture miles can only be redeemed for cash back at 0.5 cents each, which makes the 75,000 point bonus offered on these cards worth only $375. And that’s before taking these cards’ annual fees into account.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
