In a season of $1,000+ credit card bonuses, these are the 3 I'd apply for

The offer mentioned below for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is no longer available.

In recent years, credit card issuers have been growing their offerings with new and revamped credit cards, expanded travel partners and added benefits. This competition for your business is great news if you're in the market for a new credit card.

Right now, we're in the midst of an onslaught of massive limited-time credit card welcome bonuses. While award travel inflation is always a factor, many of these bonuses match or exceed all-time best deals for that card. That makes now an excellent time to consider applying for a new card.

Here are the cards I've recommended to friends and family and a few key things to think about as you decide which offers (if any) are right for you.

Waiting to apply until there's a big bonus is a good strategy, but don't get so focused on the upfront reward that you forget about the rest of what the card offers. There are ongoing costs, benefits and bonus requirements you'll want to take into account.

Spending requirement

It's rare to simply receive a welcome bonus when you're approved for a new card. You'll typically need to meet a minimum spending requirement. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the intro bonus, the bigger the spending requirement will be.

For the top bonuses, you could be required to spend $4,000 to $8,000 in the first three to six months after you're approved for the card. Bigger business credit card bonuses may have even larger requirements.

Before you apply, be sure the bonus requirements fit into your typical budget; it's not worth overspending to earn rewards.

Type of rewards

It can be difficult to compare card offers because there is so much variation in the value and redemption options for miles, points and cash back. Many rewards programs have different values for the same points depending on how you use them. All of that is to say, a smaller bonus that gets you more valuable points could be worth more than a large bonus.

Knowing how you prefer to use points and having a rough valuation of those rewards will go a long way in helping you hone in on the best deal for you.

Cost vs. benefits

Premium credit cards can have eye-popping bonuses and thousands in annual benefits, but they also have the most expensive annual fees. Credit cards with no annual fee may have fewer perks, but can end up being more valuable in the long run since you don't have to maximize benefits to justify having the card.

Before you take advantage of a huge welcome bonus, think about whether you'll get enough ongoing value from the card to justify keeping it after you've earned the upfront rewards.

How common is the offer?

Certain cards have increased offers several times a year, and others may only feature limited-time bonuses once a year (or less). An all-time high offer is enticing, but how frequently the card features that offer can factor into your decision.

Hotel cards and airline cards tend to have increased welcome bonuses several times per year. The top travel cards typically have bigger offers less frequently. I still apply for (and value) airline and hotel cards, but I pay much closer attention when a limited-time offer is available for a travel credit card that earns transferable points.

I've recommended the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) to more people than any other credit card. And right now, it has a limited-time welcome bonus that matches the biggest bonus we've ever seen for this card: You can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in purchases in the first three months from account opening. This is an unusually high offer that we've rarely seen in the past.

The Sapphire Preferred recently had a significant overhaul and is now more rewarding for purchases. Plus, it still has an amazing array of travel insurance and purchase protections. While its transfer ratio to World of Hyatt has been reduced to 4:3 (existing cardholders can transfer at 1:1 through Oct. 1, 2026), it still has a strong list of transfer partners.

What makes this such a great card (and amazing offer) is the flexibility. If you want to do a deep dive on how to redeem your points, you can maximize redemptions with Chase's travel partners. Or, you can easily redeem 100,000 Chase points for $1,000 in statement credits. Either way, it's easy to get strong value from this offer.

Business credit cards tend to have bigger welcome offers. Aside from making bookkeeping easier, they're also a great option for giving your rewards balance a boost.

If you think you aren't eligible for a business card because you don't operate a full-time venture, think again. You may qualify for business cards with a side hustle, freelance gig or independent contractor work. And you may even be able to use your Social Security number as a business tax ID.

Right now, there are two no-annual-fee business cards with all-time best welcome bonuses. The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (see rates and fees) and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (see rates and fees) both have offers worth $1,000 cash back after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first four months after account opening.

The welcome bonuses for these cards have never been this high. On top of no annual fee, they both offer an intro APR on purchases to new cardholders, so you may be able to unlock additional savings on top of the bonus cash.

These are similar cash-back business cards with slightly different rewards rates. The Ink Business Unlimited offers a high, flat-rate return of at least 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

Meanwhile, the Ink Business Cash features valuable bonus spending categories. You'll earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services every account anniversary year (then 1% back). It also earns an elevated 2% back at restaurants and gas stations on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year (then 1%).

While both are technically cash-back cards, you earn cash back as Ultimate Rewards® points; 1 point is worth 1 cent in cash back. Since you can combine Ultimate Rewards point balances, this gives you the option to move your rewards to a card that enables point transfers.

So, if you have the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees), Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), you can increase the value of the rewards you earn with these cards by transferring them to travel partners.

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