Best Credit Card Welcome Bonuses for 2023

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If you’re in the market for a new credit card in 2023, you may be hoping to cash in on the hundreds of dollars in sign-up bonuses offered to new customers.

Welcome bonuses and offers are a marketing tool that credit card issuers use to lure new customers: They offer the chance to score extra rewards points or get cash back for a limited time. Some are easy to get if you spend a relatively small amount on your new card. Others offer a greater cash reward but may carry an annual fee and require that you spend heavily right away.


Top Sign-Up Bonus Credit Cards Right Now

Money expert Clark Howard cautions against making a long-term decision for a short-term reward.

“I never want people to be so enamored with the sign-up bonus that they end up with a card that over time will ultimately under-reward,” Clark says. “The credit card issuers are making an assumption that you’re going to be really profitable over time for them. So often the bonus will be really generous, but the card itself will be pretty rotten.”

In this article, I’ll identify some of the top credit card welcome bonuses available right now. This list of cards is updated frequently as offers change.

There are some caveats to shopping for cards with welcome offers. Here are four things to consider before picking your favorite from the list below:

  1. I considered only those cards that carry an annual fee of $100 or less. While there are some great welcome bonuses for credit cards with annual fees that can be as high as $700, Clark believes most consumers are best served by avoiding large annual fees.
  2. The welcome bonus offers are listed from most valuable to least. In the case of rewards points bonuses, note that there sometimes is no cash value. And the cash-equivalent value of those points can fluctuate based on how you redeem them.
  3. You may get a welcome bonus offer for a card that’s different from the offer listed in this article. Welcome bonuses can vary based on a number of factors, such as date and location. I checked these offers in various web browsers over multiple days to get the most recent and accurate information possible, but please note that your results may vary.
  4. Clark’s philosophy is that you should never carry a balance on a rewards credit card. All welcome bonus advice issued here is given with the assumption that you’ll pay your bill in full each month as part of following Clark’s seven rules for using credit cards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


Citi Premier® Card


Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card


Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express


Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card


Wells Fargo Autograph Card


Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card


Final Thoughts

Money expert Clark Howard acknowledges that shrewd credit card customers can “game the system” by jumping from one welcome bonus offer to another, but he believes that most consumers are going to find themselves unable to keep up.

“If you’re the kind of person who will get hooked by a signing bonus but won’t do anything about switching credit cards later — you’ve got to make sure that moving forward the card is still a good deal for you,” Clark says.

Bottom Line: A welcome bonus can be a great way to pocket a few hundred bucks during your honeymoon period with a new card. But it’s important to remember there are many other factors that determine whether a credit card is the right long-term fit for you. Clark believes you should focus on long-term factors: your APR, annual fees and rewards programs.

To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees.

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Welcome bonuses can be a great way to boost the value of a credit card. Best Credit Card Welcome Bonuses for 2023 - If you're in the market for a new credit card in 2023, you may be hoping to cash in on the hundreds of dollars in sign-up bonuses offered to new customers. Welcome bonuses and offers are a marketing tool that…