Getting ahead with travel credit cards is all about timing: Opening a card when the welcome bonus is at its highest is what it's all about. If you're in the market for a new travel credit card, this is the place to start.
Just as we do every month, we've assembled a list of the best credit card offers for May 2024 that are currently available – and everything you need to know if you are thinking about taking advantage. From new, bigger bonuses on two of the best travel cards to massive bonuses on small business credit cards, there's something for everyone right now.
But remember: Credit cards are serious business. You should never apply for a credit card if you're already in debt, and never charge more to a credit card than you can afford to pay off immediately. However many points and miles you can earn, they're not worth it.
For more information on the best current offers, be sure to head to our Top Credit Cards page.
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Current Offer
The *chase sapphire preferred* is currently offering a new, bigger offer: bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *chase sapphire preferred*
Why This Offer Makes the List
While it's not the biggest bonus we've ever seen on this card, earning 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards while only paying a $95 annual fee is still a phenomenal offer – especially if you don't want to pay huge, $550-plus annual fees on premium travel cards. The Sapphire Preferred is one of the best places to get started with points and miles.
Those 75,000 points can be used to book at least $900 in travel through Chase Travel℠, as every point is worth 1.25 cents apiece. But you can easily get double that value (or more) by using Chase transfer partners like United, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or Hyatt. Not bad for a card with an annual fee of only $95, right?
There are some restrictions you'll need to be aware of. First and foremost, there's the Chase 5/24 rule. If you have been approved for five or more cards from any bank (not just Chase) in the last 24 months, you will automatically be declined for any new Chase card. Additionally, if you have earned a bonus on either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve in the past 48 months (four years), you will not be eligible.
Read more: Are You Eligible For the New Chase Sapphire Bonus (Or to Earn it Again)?
2. Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Current Offer
The *chase sapphire reserve* matches the Sapphire Preferred with a brand new, elevated offer: bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee: $550
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
The higher annual fee unlocks a slew of premium travel benefits like an easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit that effectively cuts that annual fee by more than half. You also get airport lounge access via Priority Pass, up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, top-notch travel insurance, car rental coverage, and much more.
The 75,000 points you earn from this card are much more valuable than what you would earn with the Sapphire Preferred. Every point is worth 1.5 cents apiece, with your 75,000 points earned on the Sapphire Reserve being worth a whopping $1,125 when booking travel through Chase Travel℠. Of course, you could get even more outsized value by transferring your points to partner airlines.
Just keep in mind the 5/24 rule and note that you cannot have both the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve at the same time.
Read more: A Full Review of Chase’s Top Travel Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve
3. American Airlines AAdvantage Credit Cards
Current Offer
Most airlines offer co-branded credit cards through just one bank. But American Airlines is different. They have co-branded credit cards with two banks: Citi and Barclays. Because of this unique relationship that the airline has with the two banks, travelers have an easy way to quickly earn 145,000 American Airlines miles by opening both the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®.
AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard from Barclays
- Welcome Bonus Offer: Make a purchase, and pay the card's $99 annual fee within the first 90 days of card ownership to earn 60,000 American Airlines miles. You can earn an additional 10,000 miles by adding an authorized user and having them make a purchase. That makes it possible to earn 70,000 AAdvantage miles by making two purchases and paying the annual fee.
- Annual Fee: $99
Learn more about the Barclays AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard (Full disclosure, this is a personal referral link).
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
- Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 75,000 AAdvantage Miles after spending $3,500 within the first four months of card membership.
- Annual Fee: $99 annual fee (waived for the first year of card membership).
Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (Full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Why This Offer Makes the List
AAdvantage miles are perhaps some of the most valuable frequent flyer miles you can earn, and you can apply for and open credit cards from both banks – and earn the sign-up bonus on each.
While most credit cards require you to spend $3,000 or more in the first few months to unlock a big welcome bonus, that's not the case with the AA Barclay's card. Make two purchases – whether it's a pack of gum, a cup of coffee, a flight, or something else – and you can earn a quick and easy 70,000 miles. These are some of the easiest points and miles you will ever earn.
Put this together with the Citi Platinum card by spending just $3,500 in the first four months. Bam: You've got 145,000 American Airlines miles. That's an easier (and cheaper) path to pile up more than 145,000 miles than you'll find with almost any other airline. AAdvantage miles remain one of the best ways to book a flight in Qatar's incredible Qsuites business class!
Read More: How to Quickly Earn 145K American Airlines Miles (And Why You Should)
4. Chase Ink Business Cash® and Unlimited® Credit Cards
Current Offer
Chase offers two no-annual-fee business cards where you could earn up to 150,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points if you open both cards. Individually, they both have generous welcome bonus offers that could be redeemed through Chase TravelSM or transferred to airlines and hotel programs if you hold a Chase Sapphire card or the *chase ink preferred*.
Chase Ink Business Cash® Crdit Card
- Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 35,000 Ultimate Reward points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months and an additional 40,000 when you spend $6,000 in the first six months after account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0
Learn more about the *chase ink cash*.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- Welcome Bonus Offer: Earn 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0
Learn more about the *chase ink unlimited*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
The *Ink Unlimited* and the *Ink Cash* are two of the best no-annual-fee business credit cards on the market. If you're a small business owner (and trust us, you might be), these cards and their massive bonuses warrant a good hard look for your business.
While these cards technically earn cash back, you can turn that into valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points so long as you hold another Chase card that earns them, including the *chase sapphire preferred*, the *chase sapphire reserve*, or even the *chase ink preferred*. That means those 75,000 points are worth over $900 in travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal or potentially much more by using Chase's transfer partners like Hyatt, United, Southwest Airlines, and more.
Read More: Earn a 75K Bonus With the Chase Ink Unlimited & Cash Cards!
5. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Current Offer
The *capital one venture x* is currently offering 75,000 Venture Miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Considering you earn at least 2x miles for every dollar you spend on the Venture X Card, you'll earn at least 83,000 Venture Miles right off the bat.
Annual Fee: $395
Learn more about the *capital one venture x*
Why This Offer Makes the List
Because it's one of the most exciting travel credit cards to hit the market in years – if ever.
Capital One first unveiled the card back in November 2021. It's a souped-up version of the ever-popular *capital one venture card* that's chock full of extra benefits: Access to Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, a $300 annual travel credit, a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, great travel and rental car insurance protection, and more.
And all that with a price tag of just $395 a year. It's a great alternative to premium competitors like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Platinum Card® from American Express, which cost as much as $695 per year (see rates & fees).
Sure, a $395 annual fee may immediately turn off many travelers. But it's a mirage: In practice, it's actually far cheaper. Consider the fact that you get an automatic $300 credit a year towards travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Then, starting in year two, you get a 10,000-point bonus every year: These points are worth a minimum of $100.
Are you the kind of person who plans to spend $300 a year or more on travel? If so, do the math and you’ll see that in reality, you’re paying $95 a year for this card – or much less when you add in the other perks and welcome bonus.
Read More: Capital One Venture X Card Review: Get 75K Miles, Lounge Access & More
6. Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card
Current Offer
The *freedom unlimited* currently earns a base 5% cashback on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases. This deal is made even sweeter with the recent offer.
Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $0
Learn more about the *freedom unlimited*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
This is a great offer to earn almost twice the amount of rewards you would typically make on your everyday spending on a card that doesn't charge an annual fee. And if you hold it alongside a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points like the Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, that cash back can instantly become points.
Typically, you'll earn the standard 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining (including takeout and eligible delivery service), and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases made with your Freedom Unlimited card.
The additional 1.5% simply makes a great card offer even better.
Read our review of the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card!
7. The Platinum Card® from American Express
Current Offer
There is currently a targeted welcome offer available through creditcards.com's CardMatch tool to earn 175,000 points via CardMatch after spending $8,000 in the first six months
Not targeted through CardMatch? You can also try using an incognito window on your browser and apply directly with American Express. Or see if you can get a referral link for 175,000 points from a friend or family member.
At the very least, you'll earn a welcome offer of 80,000 American Express points after spending $8,000 within the first six months. Just be warned: Amex recently made changes to the terms of the welcome offer, making it more difficult (and costly) for some to earn that big bonus.
Annual Fee: $695 (see rates & fees)
Learn more about *amex platinum*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
The Platinum Card® from American Express got a big refresh a few years ago, bringing on new benefits and an even bigger annual fee.
And while that big annual fee may be hard to stomach, you can still come out way ahead in your first year thanks in part to the record welcome offer currently available (from Cardmatch or a personal referral link). That takes the cake for the best offer we have ever seen on the Platinum Card … and it's not even close.
Check out some of the best ways to use your bonus from the Amex Platinum card!
8. American Express® Gold Card
Current Offer
You can earn at least 60,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership. You'll also get six months to meet that spending requirement, twice as long as card offers from most other banks.
Be sure to check if you're eligible for a 90,000-point offer via a personal referral link!
Annual Fee: $250 (see rates & fees)
Learn more about the *amex gold*
Why This Offer Makes the List
The *amex gold card* is one of our favorite travel rewards cards.
Here's what you need to know: The real value of the Gold card goes far beyond that initial bonus – though a 60,000- to 75,000-point bonus or more sure doesn't hurt.
That's because the Gold Card earns 4x points for every dollar you spend at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually then 1x) and 4x points per dollar spent at restaurants, making it arguably the best card to use at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants.
You'll also get up to $120 in dining credits each year to spend at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations, and up to $120 annually in Uber cash to use at both Uber and Uber Eats. These statement credits are given out in $10 monthly increments and any amount you don't use at the end of the month will be forfeited. Just add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.
Maximizing these two credits alone will cover all but $10 of your $250 annual fee. These credits and bonus categories are a big reason we feel the card is easily worth the $250 annual fee.
Read our full review of the American Express Gold Card.
9. Capital One Venture X Business
Current Offer
The *venture x business* allows new card members to earn 150,000 bonus miles when meeting the card's minimum spending requirement of $30,000 in the first three months of card membership.
Annual Fee: $395
Learn more about the *venture x business*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
Capital One officially launched the Venture X business card to the masses back in September. Previously, you needed to have a relationship with a Capital One business banker to apply for the card, making this card much more difficult to open.
No question: The spending requirement to earn the big welcome offer bonus is bigger than most. But if your business can generate that kind of spending, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better business card offer right now.
The bank essentially hit copy and paste on the personal *venture x* that's chock full of premium travel benefits: Access to Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, a $300 annual travel credit, a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and more.
And all that with a price tag of just $395 a year, automatically making this card a compelling alternative to premium competitors which cost as much as $695 per year.
Sure, a $395 annual fee may still immediately turn off many travelers. But it's a mirage: In practice, it's actually far cheaper. Consider the fact that you get an automatic $300 credit a year towards travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Then, starting in year two, you get a 10,000-point bonus every year: these points are worth a minimum of $100.
Are you the kind of person who plans to spend $300 a year or more on travel? If so, do the math and you’ll see that in reality, you’re paying $95 a year for this card – or much less when you add in the other perks and welcome bonus.
Not to mention, you'll earn 2x Venture Miles for every dollar your business spends.
Read our full review of the Venture X Business Card
10. Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Current Offer
The *chase ink preferred* is currently offering 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 in the first three months of card membership. These points are worth a minimum of $1,250 for future travel – if not much, much more. It's the best offer we have ever seen on this card.
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *chase ink preferred*
Why This Offer Makes the List
If you have a small business (and trust us, you might be eligible for a small business card and not know it), you won't find a better welcome bonus at a lower price point right now than the current offer on the Chase Ink Preferred.
With the current offer, you can earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards after spending $8,000 in the first three months of card membership.
Beyond a stellar welcome bonus, the Ink Business Preferred is one of the best business cards out there. It offers a solid ongoing return on spending and strong travel benefits for small business owners. Best of all, the card has a low annual fee of just $95, making it worth a spot in your wallet for the long run.
Read our review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card!
11. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Current Offer
The *capital one venture card* is currently offering 75,000 Venture Miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Considering you earn at least 2x miles for every dollar you spend on the card, you'll earn a total of at least 83,000 Venture Miles right off the bat.
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *capital one venture card*
Why This Offer Makes the List
Capital One recently increased the welcome offer bonus on the standard Venture Card from 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months to 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months. That now puts the welcome offer bonus on par with the more expensive Venture X card listed above at a much smaller annual fee.
You won't get all the perks you'll get with the Venture X card, but you won't pay $395 out of pocket each year, either. The card also provides a credit of up to $100 every four years to cover the cost of a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership. It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get this benefit from a credit card.
But if it's just the miles you're after, this could make a compelling alternative to Venture X.
Read More: 75K Venture Miles & More Perks: All About the Capital One Venture Card
12. The Business Platinum Card from American Express
Current Offer
Amex just rolled out a bigger bonus offer on *biz platinum*: bonus_miles_full That's up from the previous norm of 120,000 points, though this bigger bonus now requires spending more to earn it.
Bonuses of 200,000 or even 250,000 points have become more and more common – not by applying straight with Amex or through a site like ours, but via referrals, opening links in an incognito, and targeted emails or pop-ups online. And it can get even bigger.
Annual Fee: $695 (see rates & fees)
Learn more about *biz platinum*
Why This Offer Makes the List
Coming with a similar set of perks as the Amex Platinum Card, business owners get the chance to earn a bigger bonus if they are able to hit the minimum spend requirement. That includes Amex Centurion Lounge access and a free pass into Delta Sky Clubs (though keep in mind Sky Club access is changing Feb. 1, 2025); an annual $200 airline incidental credit; a credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry; and more.
But the Business Platinum Card takes things a step further with added credits like up to $400 in annual credits at Dell.com and one of our favorite perks of all: A 35% rebate when using points through Amex Travel to book with the domestic airline of your choice – or any first or business class flight.
Just be sure to look around for the very best offer as welcome bonus offers vary depending on where you look.
13. Citi Premier Card
Current Offer
The *Citi Premier* is out with a great bonus offer: bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *citi premier*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
For such a low $95 annual fee, this card has nearly 20 different airline and hotel transfer partners. And ThankYou points transfer to all of them on a 1:1 basis (except to Choice Hotels which transfer on an even better 1:2 basis). That mean 60,000 Citi points can net you 60,000 airline miles or 120,000 Choice points.
This card is also one of the most well-rounded cards when it comes to category bonus spending as it earns 3x points per dollar spent at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and at hotels on an unlimited amount of spending.
The 60,000-point bonus could be enough to fly Delta's swanky Delta One Suites business class across the pond to Europe for 50,000 points, and if you're able to rack up 10,000 more points, you could score a fantastic Qsuites business class seat for a reasonable 70,000 miles and $100 or so for a one-way flight from the U.S. to the Middle East.
Read More: Citi Premier Card Review: Great Rewards at an Entry-Level Price
Bottom Line
May is yet another big month in terms of elevated credit card offers. While there are plenty of cards and bonuses to choose from, we think these are the best travel rewards card offers currently available.
Be sure to check our Top Credit Cards Page, as offers are always changing.