- Signing up for a rewards credit card and earning its welcome bonus is the quickest way to earn a ton of points, miles, or cash back.
- While some credit card bonuses stay largely the same, others increase from time to time. Pay extra attention to limited-time offers if you want to earn as many rewards as possible.
- In December, you can score up to 200,000 miles with the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business. And the American Express® Green Card got a significant makeover — it’s a great option for earning Amex points if you don’t want to pay a premium-level annual fee.
- Plus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card‘s offer remains a great way to get started with some of the most valuable points around.
- Read more personal finance coverage.
If you want to earn points and miles, there’s no quicker route than signing up for a rewards credit card and earning its sign-up bonus. This typically requires meeting a minimum spending requirement in the first three months or 90 days, and it’s well worth it — you’ll be rewarded with thousands of points or miles to put toward your next trip, or with a sizeable amount of cash back.
Before you apply for any new cards, make sure you understand how credit card applications affect your credit score. Then, scroll down to check out some of the best sign-up offers available in December.
Keep in mind that we’re focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It’s important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.
1. American Express® Green Card
Welcome offer: 30,000 Amex points after you spend $2,000 in the first three months. Plus, if you apply by January 15, 2020, get up to $100 in statement credits toward eligible purchases made with Away, the luggage company.
Annual fee: $150
Amex just announced a complete makeover of its Green card, and it’s now a very good option for earning Membership Rewards points at a reasonable price point.
The Green card used to be pretty boring and unrewarding, but now it earns 3x points on all eligible travel and at restaurants worldwide. That makes it competitive with other top rewards cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve when it comes to earning points on these two popular spending categories.
The Amex Green card also offers up to $100 in statement credits toward CLEAR membership (it’s an alternative to TSA PreCheck but it also offers expedited security at some stadiums and arenas) and up to $100 in statement credits per year on LoungeBuddy, which lets you book airport lounges.
If you apply by January 15, 2020, you’ll be eligible for an additional $100 in statement credits — in this case, for eligible purchases with Away, the popular luggage company. If you can put these perks and credits to use, the Amex Green card could be a great way to improve your travel and boost your Amex points balance.
Click here to learn more about the Amex Green card.
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred
Welcome offer: 60,000 Chase points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months
Annual fee: $95
If you want a rewards credit card with points that can be used with a variety of travel partners, you can’t go wrong with the Sapphire Preferred. It’s one of the best general credit card picks if you’re new to the world of points and miles or if you don’t want to pay the $450 annual fee of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, as the Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee.
The card has been offering a 60,000-point sign-up bonus for the last several months, and you can use those points to book travel directly through Chase, or you can transfer them to partners like British Airways, Hyatt, Singapore Airlines, and United.
Beyond earning some of the most valuable points around, the Sapphire Preferred offers primary car rental insurance and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
Click here to learn more about the Sapphire Preferred.
3. Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Welcome offer: 50,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in the first three months and 150,000 miles when you spend $50,000 in the first six months
Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
Earning the full 200,000 miles with this elevated sign-up bonus requires spending even more than with the Amex Business Platinum, but if your business can easily (and comfortably) spend and pay off $50,000 in six months, this offer is a great opportunity to rake in the Capital One miles to save on future travel.
If you use 200,000 miles to wipe travel spending from your Spark Miles statement with the Capital One Purchase Eraser feature, you’ll get $2,000 toward travel. And don’t forget that you’ll earn miles on your spending, too, and the Spark Miles for Business earns 2x miles on all spending. So if you hit the $50,000 requirement in the first six months, you’ll earn an addition 100,000 miles, for 300,000 miles total — or $3,000 toward travel.
In addition to redeeming miles to cover travel purchases, you can transfer them to Capital One’s airline transfer partners, including Emirates and Singapore Airlines.
This is a limited-time offer, and we don’t know the end date, so if you’re interested we recommend applying sooner than later so you don’t miss out.
Click here to learn more about the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.
4. Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business
Welcome offer: $500 cash bonus when you spend $5,000 in the first three months, $1,500 when you spend $50,000 in the first six months
Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
Like the Spark Miles for Business, the Spark Cash for Business is currently offering a very valuable sign-up bonus. If your business can spend $50,000 in the first six months, you could earn $2,000 in cash back.
Since this is a cash-back card rather than a miles-earning card, you can only redeem your rewards for statement credits or a check. If your goal is to put money back in your business rather than to earn miles toward travel, the Spark Cash could be the better option for you.
Again, this is a limited-time offer without a public end date, so apply sooner than later if you’re interested.
Click here to learn more about the Capital One Spark Cash for Business.
5. The Platinum Card® from American Express
Welcome offer: 60,000 Amex points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months
Annual fee: $550
If you travel frequently and can put its many, many benefits to use, the Amex Platinum can be an easy decision even with its $550 annual fee. See how Business Insider’s David Slotnick got more than $2,000 in value from the card in his first year for more info.
Some of the card’s top perks include a 5x earning rate on airfare purchased directly from the airline, up to $200 in airline fee credits each calendar year, up to $200 in Uber credits each cardmember year, and up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits each calendar year.
The card also stands out for its airport lounge access benefits. As a card member, you can access Amex Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when you’re flying Delta), Priority Pass lounges, Air Space Lounges, International American Express Lounges, Escape Lounges, and Plaza Premium Lounges.
You can use the Amex Membership Rewards points you’ll earn with this card to book travel with airlines like British Airways, Delta, and Emirates, and with hotel partners including Marriott.
Click here to learn more about the American Express Platinum.
6. United Explorer Card
Welcome bonus: Earn up to 65,000 miles — 40,000 miles after you spend $2,000 in the first three months, and another 25,000 miles after you spend $10,000 total in the first six months
Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
If you fly United a few times a year and you don’t have the Explorer card yet, you can currently score an elevated sign-up bonus. Earning the full 65,000 miles requires spending $10,000 in the first six months, but that works out to just $1,666 per month.
Beyond the bonus miles you can earn with the current sign-up bonus, the Explorer card offers 2x miles on United purchases and at hotels and restaurants (and 1x on everything else). The card has the standard airline card features including a free checked bag (when you pay with your United card) and priority boarding, but it also offers a few valuable extras.
First, you get up to a $100 credit to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and two one-time United Club lounge passes each year. Plus, you get access to additional saver-level United awards compared to non-cardholders, which makes it easier to use your miles.
Click here to learn more about the United Explorer card.
7. Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
Welcome offer: 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months
Annual fee: $95 (waived the first year)
The Venture Rewards card has consistently added benefits over the last year or so. While previously you could only use miles to erase purchases on your statement, you can now transfer them to a variety of airline programs, including Air Canada, Air France/KLM and Etihad. There are occasionally transfer bonuses that help you stretch your miles further, too.
This card offers a strong lineup of benefits considering the reasonable $95 annual fee (that’s waived the first year). You get an application fee credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and earn 10x miles when you book hotels through the hotels.com/venture landing page.
Earning 10 miles per dollar on hotels is hard to beat, and that’s in addition to the free night for every 10 paid nights you book that you’ll earn through the Hotels.com Rewards program. You’ll also earn 2x miles on all non-hotel purchases.
Click here to learn more about the Capital One Venture.
8. Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
Welcome offer: 30,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months
Annual fee: $0
If you prefer earning cash back to points and miles, the Wells Fargo Propel is a great choice. It earns 3 points per dollar on dining, on travel, gas stations, rideshares, and on popular streaming services, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. That’s a strong selection of bonus categories, and it’s even better when you consider that this card has no annual fee.
The Propel Card also includes cell phone protection, and there are no foreign transaction fees.
Click here to learn more about the Wells Fargo Propel Amex.
9. American Express® Gold Card
Welcome offer: 35,000 Amex points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months
Annual fee: $250
If you eat out or buy groceries on a regular basis, the Amex Gold card is made for you. You’ll earn 4 points per dollar at restaurants, and 4 points per dollar on the first $25,000 spent at US supermarkets each year (then 1 point per dollar). The card also offers up to $120 in dining credits each year, split into $10 each month, at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Steak House, or participating Shake Shack locations.
As with the Amex Platinum, you can use the Amex Membership Rewards points earned from this card to book travel with more than 15 airline partners and three hotel programs (Choice, Hilton, and Marriott).
Click here to learn more about the Amex Gold Card.
10. Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Welcome offer: 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months
Annual fee: $95
The Ink Business Preferred card offers the highest sign-up bonus among Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. Plus, it has generous bonus categories — you’ll earn 3 points per dollar in the first $150,000 in combined purchases you make on categories including travel, shipping, and advertising (and 1 point per dollar on everything else).
This card has a $95 annual fee, and it offers benefits like primary rental car insurance when you’re renting a car for business purposes.
Click here to learn more about the Ink Business Preferred.
11. 75k points with the Brex corporate card
Welcome offer: 75,000 points upon sign-up with the Brex Corporate Card for Startups and the Brex Corporate Card for Ecommerce
Annual fee: None
The two versions of the Brex corporate card could be worth a look if you have a small business and are willing to make this your exclusive corporate card. When you do, you can earn up to 7x points on purchases, and you can redeem points with seven airlines, including JetBlue and Singapore Airlines. The Brex Corporate Card for Startups and the Brex Corporate Card for Ecommerce are offering elevated bonuses of 75,000 points to those who sign up by December 31.
Read more:Brex corporate credit card review
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