Q: What is the absolute best sign up bonus being offered right now? I’m in the market for a new credit card but I won’t sign up unless I get a really sweet bonus for doing so

A: I’m right there with you… if you’re going to signup for a new rewards credit card, you might as well choose one that gives you something upfront, too!

There are 3 main types of signup bonuses that credit cards offer. Which type do you prefer?

Cash – This is a cash back bonus which will show up on your account shortly after applying. Usually it can be redeemed in the form of a statement credit or a check. Cash that you can spend on anything you want is the best credit card signup bonus in my personal opinion.

Points – Most reward cards these days operate on a points system. If you apply for a sign up bonus credit card that gives you points, you will probably be able to redeem the points for gift cards, travel, merchandise, and maybe even a statement credit. One drawback with some of the point programs is that you might get screwed, depending on what you redeem your points for. i.e. a gift card may convert on a 1 point = 1 cent basis, but for a statement credit it might be 2 points = 1 cent. So if you go this route pay attention to the conversions with cashing out your points.

Miles – A number of travel rewards credit cards will give you a sign up bonus for airline miles. Some of these offers are definitely lucrative, but one drawback is that the good travel cards usually have annual fees. So you have to weigh the cost of the card’s sign up bonus against the annual fee. Something else to keep in mind is that nowadays it takes a whole lot of miles just to get a round trip ticket.

Is there a limit to how many bonus offers I can get?
If you are applying for different cards from different banks, they are completely separate offers so you can take advantage of all of them.  If you already have the specific card (for example, the Chase Sapphire card) and you want to apply for a second Chase Sapphire to get the bonus, that probably won’t work.

That being said, years ago I did have success signing up for three of the same AmEx Gold cards the same month and getting the promotional points on all of them. But to play it safe, you should probably choose different cards if you want to take advantage of multiple credit card sign up bonuses.

The current best offers (sponsored)
Here is our sponsored listing of the best sign up offers you can get. This list is constantly updated.

You can view more cash back offers here.