5 Easiest Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses To Earn In 2023

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a solid cash-back card with an easy-to-earn $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months from account opening. That’s like earning 40% back. It also offers rotating 5% bonus categories on up to $1,500 in combined spending each quarter (then 1%).

Other great perks: Cardholders can take advantage of cell phone protection, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty protection on eligible purchases. Plus, cardholders can save on grocery deliveries with up to $10 back each quarter in Instacart statement credits and three free months of Instacart+ (when activated by July 31, 2024), and enjoy waived delivery fees with free months of DoorDash DashPass (when you activate by Dec. 31, 2024).

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® has what might be the easiest welcome bonus requirements of any rewards credit card. Once you’re approved for the card, you just need to make a single purchase (of any amount) and pay the card’s $99 annual fee within the first 90 days of opening the account to earn 70,000 bonus miles.

Other great perks: This card’s benefits are geared toward American Airlines travelers. Cardholders get the first checked bag free for themselves and up to four companions, preferred boarding and 25% back on inflight food and beverage purchases. There’s also up to $25 in annual credit for inflight Wi-Fi purchases and an annual companion certificate that’s earned after spending $20,000+ on the card within your cardmember year.

The smartest way to use a credit card that has rewards is to use the card responsibly and pay off the balance every month. By doing this, you ensure that you don’t pay interest, which can offset the value of any rewards you earn.

Having a low annual income won’t necessarily prevent you from opening a credit card. If you keep your credit score high and consistently pay your bills on time, you can greatly increase your chances of being approved for the best travel credit cards. And remember, anyone over 21 can include their entire household income on credit card applications as long as they have a “reasonable expectation of access.”

Unfortunately, there are virtually no opportunities to earn credit card rewards without spending money. In rare instances, banks may offer airline miles or credit card reward bonuses for opening an account. However, even in those situations, you may have to complete a certain number of transactions to earn the rewards.

The most common types of credit card rewards you can earn are cash back, airline miles, hotel points and flexible travel rewards points.

Credit card issuers offer welcome bonuses to entice people to sign-up for their credit cards. These bonuses can be quite lucrative and may be worth more than $1,000. However, the higher the welcome bonus, the more difficult it usually is to earn.

But there are rewards credit cards with bonuses that have much lower spending requirements. So if you don’t anticipate being able to meet the bonus requirements for one of the top travel cards, consider opening one of these cards instead.

To determine which cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed over 230 of the most popular credit cards available in the U.S. that are open to anyone and offer welcome bonuses. We narrowed down our picks by only considering those cards that offer welcome bonuses worth at least $200 and require $500 or less in spending to earn. We compared each card on a range of features, including: rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

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