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One of the best aspects of getting a new credit card is earning a big chunk of rewards right at the start from a new customer bonus. These bonus offers alone can often earn you enough points or miles for a round-trip flight or a multi-night stay at the resort of your dreams — all just by being approved for a credit card with a strong offer and meeting the minimum spending requirement.
And if you’ve been on the cusp of applying for a new credit card, right now there are a number of cards offering lucrative welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more. Of course, not every credit card is created equal, so a 100k bonus on one card might actually be worth a lot more than another.
But don’t worry! We’ve gone through all of the biggest bonus offers currently available and picked out the best based on the value of the points, the card’s benefits and who should get it. So take a look at our list of the best credit cards with 100,000 bonus points or more and see which one is right for you.
The best credit cards with 100,000 bonus points or more
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Best for Hilton hotels
IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card: Best for IHG hotels
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: Best for Marriott hotels
British Airways Visa Signature® Card: Best for short domestic flights
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Best elite perks for businesses
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Best travel card for businesses
Let’s dive into the details of each of these cards and see how they compare and how much each bonus offer is actually worth.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card
Best for Hilton hotels
If Hilton is your go-to chain when it comes to hotel stays, the Hilton Honors Surpass Card could be the right credit card for you — especially with its lucrative current welcome offer.
Right now, new card members can earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in purchases on the card in the first six months after opening the account (offer ends 4/5/2023). Based on the point valuations of frequent flyer website The Points Guy, those 150,000 bonus points are worth as much as $900 in travel.
Although the card comes with a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees), there are many valuable perks that will come in handy during your next Hilton stay. For example, just by having the card, you’ll get automatic Hilton Gold elite status, which is one of the best mid-tier statuses available across major hotel chains. Gold status perks include complimentary breakfast, space-available upgrades and late checkout when you stay at a Hilton.
You can also earn a free night reward certificate with the Hilton Surpass Card if you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year. This certificate can be used at any Hilton property as long as a standard room is available.
Other money-saving benefits of the Hilton Surpass Card include a Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership with 10 complimentary visits a year, as well as the ability to earn 12 points for every dollar you spend on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels and resorts, and 6 points per dollar at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations. All other purchases earn 3 points for every dollar you spend on them.
If you are looking for a different Hilton credit card option, however, there are a myriad of other options, with others also offering more than 100,000 points. If you’re not sure which Hilton credit card to get — since they all offer different welcome offers and benefits — you can learn more about all of the Hilton card offers here.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card.
IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card
Best for IHG hotels
The IHG Rewards Premier card is currently offering 175,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months of opening the account. With a low $99 annual fee, this is a credit card that IHG travelers should pay attention to. And although IHG points aren’t worth as much as some other hotel loyalty programs, this welcome offer is still worth up to $875 toward travel based on The Points Guy’s valuations.
But the real reason to have this card — and to keep it year after year — are the benefits. Our favorite benefit by far is the annual night certificate you’ll get starting the second year you have the IHG Rewards Premier card. This certificate allows you to stay for free at any IHG property costing 40,000 points or fewer.
And with last year’s enhancements to the IHG program, you can use points from your IHG account to add points on top of the certificate and use it at any IHG hotel worldwide with no cap. This benefit alone can very quickly make up for the annual fee, especially if used at an expensive property.
On top of that, when you have the IHG Premier card, you’ll receive your fourth night free when you use your points to redeem for a free stay. If you find yourself staying at hotels for more than a few nights at a time, this perk can be invaluable. And don’t forget about the complimentary Platinum elite status that you get with the card — an additional benefit that’s icing on the cake.
Additionally, there are two other IHG credit cards in the chain’s suite that are also offering more than 100,000 bonus points. The business version of the card, the IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, is offering 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on the card within the first three months. The benefits and perks of the card are very similar to that of the personal card, where you’ll receive your fourth night free on an award redemption, a reward night on your account anniversary, platinum elite status and up to a $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Or, if you want to earn IHG points but without an annual fee, the IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card is offering 120,000 after spending $2,000 on the card within the first three months. You’ll earn slightly fewer points every time you swipe your card, but you’ll still receive the fourth night free benefit when redeeming your points.
Learn more about the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card.
Learn more about the IHG Rewards Premier Business Credit Card.
Learn more about the IHG Rewards Traveler Credit Card.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Best for Marriott hotels
For Marriott fans, there’s good news for you. With the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card you can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months after you open the account. Based on the point valuations of The Points Guy, Marriott points are worth 0.84 cents a piece, which makes this bonus worth up to $840.
In addition to the sign-up bonus, there are many other benefits that are extended to Marriott Boundless card holders. You’ll receive complimentary Marriott Silver elite status, which gets you late checkout and a 10% bonus on points earned during your Marriott stays. Although this is Marriott’s lowest-tier elite status, having some sort of status is better than no status at all, and it could potentially even get you a better room during check-in (though improved rooms are not guaranteed).
Or, if you’re looking to earn Marriott Gold elite status — which is one step up from Silver status — the Marriott Boundless card comes with 15 annual elite night credits. Since you typically need 25 nights to achieve Gold status, this benefit brings your annual requirement down to 10 nights — a much more obtainable number.
Of course, you can also use these 15 elite nights toward any level of Marriott status if you stay at Marriotts often enough. Alternatively, you can also earn Marriott Gold elite status by spending $35,000 on the card each account year.
But our favorite benefit of the Marriott Boundless card is its complimentary award certificate. Starting with your first annual account renewal (meaning when you pay your annual fee at the start of the second year) and every year thereafter, you’ll receive a certificate that can be used at any Marriott hotel for one night costing 35,000 points or fewer. Even though Marriott has done away with its award chart, you can add up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points from your account to stay at a property above the 35,000 point cap.
With the Marriott Boundless card carrying only a $95 annual fee, you can easily come out well ahead with all these perks. In fact, if you can use the card’s complimentary award night each year for a room that would otherwise cost $95 or more, you’ll easily make the card worth it.
Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card.
British Airways Visa Signature Card
Best for short domestic flights
Right now, the British Airways Visa Signature Card, which earns British Airways miles known as Avios, is offering a hardy 100,000 bonus Avios in two tiers: 75,000 bonus Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening the account, and an additional 25,000 bonus Avios after you spend a total of $20,000 in the first 12 months.
Even though this card is linked to an international airline, there are many opportunities to use British Airways Avios on its partner airlines, especially American Airlines. In fact, you might find that Avios can be far more valuable than American AAdvantage miles if you’re looking to travel domestically.
Why? Well, British Airways offers a distance-based award chart where the number of Avios required for an award flight is directly tied to the distance you fly. For flights on American Airlines within the United States, British Airways charges the following number of Avios:
- 0-650 flight miles: 7,500 Avios
- 651-1,150 flight miles: 9,000 Avios
- 1,151-2,000 flight miles: 11,000 Avios
- 2,001-3,000 flight miles: 13,000 Avios
That means when it comes to short flights in the US, it can be cheaper to book the same American Airlines flight using Avios rather than AAdvantage miles. However, keep in mind that you’ll have access to less American award inventory when using Avios, and British Airways charges Avios on a per-segment basis. So if you have a route that includes a layover, you’ll have to add up the number of Avios per leg to get your total cost.
Of course, you can always use your Avios on British Airways flights as well as other partner airlines, but you’ll find that the taxes and fees on those flights can be quite high at times — especially on international British Airways flights.
Other benefits of the British Airways Visa include no foreign transaction fees, travel and purchase protection, statement credits for paid tickets booked to London with British Airways and 10% off British Airways flights departing from the US. And with British Airways Avios worth 1.5 cents apiece according to The Points Guy, this card can easily net you $1,500 in value — a great sign-up offer on a card with only a $95 annual fee.
Learn more about the British Airways Visa Signature Card.
The Business Platinum Card from American Express
Best elite perks for businesses
If you’re looking for both a big welcome bonus and VIP perks, the Business Platinum Card from American Express is where it’s at. Right now small-business owners can earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on the card within the first three months of card membership. Based on the point valuations of The Points Guy, Amex Membership Rewards are worth 2 cents apiece, which makes this bonus worth $2,400.
But the welcome bonus is just the start of this card’s numerous features. You’ll get access with the Amex Business Platinum to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including the exclusive American Express Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club lounges (when flying Delta), Priority Pass Select lounges, Escape Lounges and more.
Another one of our favorite money-saving benefits that comes with the Amex Business Platinum is the up to $200 in airline fee credits. Each year you can select one airline to earn up to $200 in annual statement credits for incidental fees with that airline, such as checked bags, change fees and in-flight Wi-Fi, to name just a few. (Enrollment is required for select benefits.)
Outside of travel, the Amex Business Platinum comes with many perks you can use at home. One of the main ones is up to $400 in annual statement credits for U.S. purchases at Dell; it’s split in half, with up to $200 in statement credits between January and June, and up to $200 in statement credits between July and December.
You’ll also receive up to $100 in statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Global Entry allows you to zip through US immigration faster when returning to the United States, while TSA PreCheck gives you fast-track access through TSA airport security lines within the United States. When approved for the Global Entry program, you’re automatically approved for TSA PreCheck, so applying for the former is our recommendation.
Although there’s a $695 annual fee on the Amex Business Platinum (see rates and fees), the statement credits and perks — which add up to at least $700 in 2023 if fully used — can help significantly offset the fee.
Now, if you aren’t eligible for a business credit card, you can instead apply for The Platinum Card® from American Express — offering an inferior 80,000 point bonus offer after making $6,000 in purchases within the first six months of opening the account.
The card also comes with a hefty $695 annual fee (see rates and fees), but similar to the business version, offers many perks. Some of our favorite travel and money-saving perks include complimentary elite status at select hotels and car rental agencies, airport lounge access, annual $200 airline incidental statement credit and monthly Uber Cash money.
Learn more about the Business Platinum Card from American Express.
Ink Business Preferred
Best travel card for businesses
If you’re in the market for a flexible business travel credit card, look no further than the Ink Business Preferred. With the card’s current welcome offer of 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months after you open the account, you could be looking at $2,000 in travel value based on The Points Guy’s valuations.
The Ink Business Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points — similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® — and you can use these points in a few different ways. You can redeem them for cash back at 1 cent apiece, or redeem them for travel through Chase’s travel portal at 1.25 cents apiece.
But to get the most value for them, you’d want to do some homework and learn about Chase’s 14 airline and hotel travel partners, since you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to any of these partners at a 1-to-1 ratio. Transferring points is the best way to get premium redemptions like first- or business-class flights, but it does take some time and effort to find the best awards.
Another perk of the Ink Business Preferred — and possibly the best reason to be a card holder — is its cell phone protection benefit. When you pay your cell phone bill with the card, you and all your employees on your phone plan are covered if a phone is stolen or damaged. This can potentially save your business a lot of money, all while earning 3 points for every dollar you spend on your phone bill.
Other desirable perks of the Ink Business Preferred include purchase protection, trip insurance, trip delay protection and primary car rental insurance. But the one downside to this offer is its high minimum spend — $15,000 in the first three months after you open the account. However, for many businesses, putting $5,000 per month in business expenses on a credit card may not be very challenging.
Learn more about the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
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