With record-high welcome bonuses and the holiday shopping season approaching, now is the perfect time to apply for a new rewards credit card
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- Earning a credit card bonus is the easiest way to boost your points, miles, or cash-back balances.
- Most welcome bonuses require meeting a minimum spending requirement in a certain timeframe.
- If you apply now, you can put your holiday spending toward this requirement to earn maximum rewards.
- Read Insider’s guide to the best rewards credit cards.
There haven’t been many opportunities to describe anything as “perfect” in 2021, but there is one silver lining to this incredibly turbulent year: credit cards have never been more rewarding.
This might sound surprising. If you’ve been paying attention to the credit card landscape, you’ve probably heard that during the pandemic, banks increased requirements for approval and slashed credit limits on existing cards. While banks still have tighter restrictions to avoid riskier customers, they are always looking to attract low-risk, high-earning customers.
And right now, they are using some very tempting offers to catch attention, including some that are only available for a limited time.
Here are three reasons why you should consider taking advantage of these offers sooner than later, followed by a look at some of the best welcome bonuses available now.
If you act now, your holiday shopping will give you a gift, too
What feels better than putting a smile on someone’s face when they unwrap your gift? Putting a smile on your face at the same time with a bunch of reward points or cash back.
Read more: The best credit cards for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping
What did you spend on gifts for your family, friends, and colleagues last year? Take a look back at that spending activity from last year, and think about what you have in store for shopping this year. By opening a new rewards credit card, you can put every holiday purchase on it to fast-track your way to one of these impressive bonus opportunities.
When you can think about taking a trip, you just might feel happier
2021 has included plenty of reasons to feel sad, and if you’re still working from home, you may worry that you’ll be stuck in a pixelated Zoom window forever.
Fear not — travel will return. As you start earning points, you can start thinking about where you’ll use those points to go for free. According to all the scientific studies listed in this National Geographic piece, the act of simply planning a trip is enough to make a positive impact on your mental health. And let’s face it: We can all use something to smile about right now.
A new card can help your credit score — if you’re responsible
Earning welcome bonuses and putting trip itineraries on your horizon are short-term benefits. What will applying for a new rewards card for you now do in the long run?
As long as you pay your balance in full each month, a new credit card can have a big impact on your credit score. A higher credit limit across all cards can improve your credit utilization ratio, which is a key factor in determining your overall financial health.
Read more: 5 ways opening a credit card and using it responsibly can boost your credit score
So, when you’re applying for a bigger life-changing financial product like a mortgage or a car loan, the additional credit from your new rewards card may be able to help you in securing another reward: a lower interest rate.
Several credit cards are offering excellent welcome bonuses
If your credit score is excellent, take a look at some of the huge credit card welcome bonus opportunities that are available right now. A welcome bonus is the quickest and easiest way to earn more points, miles, or cash back, so they’re a key element to any award traveler’s strategy.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card : Earn 80,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months
The
Read more: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card review
The welcome bonus is
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card : Earn Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Those “What’s in your wallet?” Capital One commercials feel especially relevant now that the bank’s brand-new
Read more: Capital One Venture X credit card review
This is a premium credit card, but it’s priced lower than most similar cards at
Citi Premier℠ Card : Earn Citi Premier® Card
The
Read more: Citi Premier credit card review
Cardholders earn 3x points on air travel, gas stations, restaurants, supermarkets, and hotels, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Citi ThankYou points are worth 1 cent each when you redeem them for travel through the Citi Travel Portal, merchandise, gift cards, or cash back. But it’s possible to get even more value when you transfer rewards to one of Citi’s airline and hotel partners.
A smaller spend can still rack up a sizable bonus now
If you’re aiming to avoid annual fees or you’re worried about having to spend a big chunk of money to meet a minimum spending requirement, you can still cash in on the uptick in rewards activity with the
Both cards have a welcome bonus of a
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