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.
March 3 2025: In the next month and a half, you are likely to have a large tax bill. Paying your taxes with a credit card can be a great strategy to earn a giant new cardmember welcome bonus. On this list, we include cards we found that offer a $500 or greater bonus once you subtract the card’s annual fee.
Best $500+ cash back new cardmember bonuses
Editor’s take: Several cards with $500+ bonuses flying under the radar
When we put together this list, we were surprised at how we found several cards that we didn’t see on other large sites. In particular the Signify Business Cash℠ Card, U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card, and Capital One Spark cash cards seemed to be missing from other lists published elsewhere.
Maybe this is unsurprising, since those banks either have no affiliate programs or have less-accessible affiliate programs. But it is our editorial policy to publish the best offers we know about, regardless of our affiliate relationships.
There’s plenty of reason to like many of the cards on this list. The Chase cards are great if you’re into the Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem—they offer plenty of ways to get additional value if you redeem for travel. Same with the Capital One cards. If you also hold a card that earns points, you can transfer you cash back rewards to your points-earning card, and then transfer your rewards to one of Capital One’s transfer partners. And the Bank of America card is an essential card if you’ve earned Platinum Honors or higher status with Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program.
Why cash back over points?
For most people, we think that cash back makes the most sense, especially if you are starting out in the credit card rewards game.
Why? Cash back can be used for literally anything—travel, investing in your retirement account, augmenting your income—and cash back rewards usually don’t require you to accumulate a huge amount of rewards to cash them in. When we talk about cash back, we also include points that can be redeemed for cash back.
Now, you can get plenty of value out of transferable points, airline miles, hotel points, and other travel points, but using these often requires knowledge of how to redeem points—and some points currencies require in-depth knowledge of loyalty programs to get reasonable value redemptions. And you won’t always be able to redeem your points for the travel you want. If you have plenty of United Mileage Plus miles, but United doesn’t have award travel availability to where you want to go, your miles might be pretty worthless for the travel that you want to do.
That’s why we like cash back. After all, cash back is the most flexible point currency.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Sign-up bonus: Earn 90,000 Bonus Points After you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
Annual fee: $95
About the rewards: The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card earns Ultimate Rewards® points, which can be redeemed for one cent of cash back each, but you’ll get 25% more value from your rewards if you redeem them through Chase Travel℠. And you can get even more value if you transfer your points to travel transfer partners.
A good choice for you if: You are a small business owner, you like earning and redeeming points on travel and you want a card with good travel and consumer insurance protections built in.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card at a glance
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers more points for travel purchases and gives you the ability to redeem your rewards through Chase Travel℠ for 25% more value and transfer points to travel partners.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Welcome Offer
Earn 90,000 Bonus Points After you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
This bonus is awarded as Ultimate Rewards® points.
Annual fee: $95
Ink Business Premier® Credit Card
Sign-up bonus: Earn $1,000 Bonus Cash Back After you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
Annual fee: $195
About the rewards: The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card earns cash back rewards.
A good choice for you if: You are a small business owner, and you want good travel and consumer insurance protections, coupled with the simplicity of cash back rewards everywhere. The card becomes an exceptional choice if you frequently make large purchases of $5,000 or more.
Ink Business Premier® Credit Card at a glance
The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card is a great choice for small business owners who make large purchases and want simple-to-use cash back rewards.
Ink Business Premier® Credit Card Welcome Offer
Welcome Offer: Earn $1,000 Bonus Cash Back After you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
This link is a referral link. Someone from our team or community may earn a referral bonus if you are approved through this link
Annual fee: $195
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Sign-up bonus: Earn $900 Bonus Cash Back After you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
Annual fee: $0
About the rewards: The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card earns is marketed as a cash back credit card, but earns Ultimate Rewards® points behind the scenes. If you also hold a premium Ultimate Rewards® card like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer your Ink Cash points to that card and use them for more lucrative redemption options.
A good choice for you if: You are a small business owner and your spending patterns match up with the Ink Cash bonus categories: Office supply stores; internet, cable and phone services; gas stations; and restaurants.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card at a glance
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers up to 5% cash back rewards in useful business categories like office supply stores, and internet, cable, and phone services.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card Welcome Offer
Welcome Offer: Earn $900 Bonus Cash Back After you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
This link is a referral link. Someone from our team or community may earn a referral bonus if you are approved through this link
Annual Fee: $0
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Sign-up bonus: Earn $900 Bonus Cash Back After you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
Annual fee: $0
About the rewards: The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card earns is marketed as a cash back credit card, but earns Ultimate Rewards® points behind the scenes. If you also hold a premium Ultimate Rewards® card like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer your Ink Unlimited points to that card and use them for more lucrative redemption options.
A good choice for you if: You are a small business owner and you want a card to use for general spending that has no annual fee.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card at a glance
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers up to 5% cash back rewards in useful business categories like office supply stores, and internet, cable, and phone services.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card Welcome Offer
Welcome Offer: Earn $900 Bonus Cash Back After you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Apply through our referral link to support this site.
This link is a referral link. Someone from our team or community may earn a referral bonus if you are approved through this link
Annual Fee: $0
Bottom line: Lots of opportunities to earn a huge cash back bonus
The cards on this list represent your best bet if you’re looking for a card with a large (>$500) new cardmember bonus. And with many small business cards on this list, you can earn plenty of extra points without having additional accounts showing up on your credit report.
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.
