Each month, I recap the best credit card offers currently available. There are a lot of credit cards out there offering generous signup bonuses. Some bonuses are better than others. Hopefully, this post will give you some ideas if you’re looking for your next credit card.
It’s important to note that this post is not intended to be an exhaustive list and there may be cards that I haven’t listed that are better for you. If you want personalized advice for your situation, consider filling out my free credit card consultation form and I’ll get back to you with specific advice for your situation.
Before you get started, be sure you understand the Chase 5/24 Rule. This is an important rule that will impact your long-term strategy when it comes to credit card rewards. Also, if you have a side hustle or anything that can qualify as a business, consider taking advantage of business credit cards. These are a great way to earn even more points and miles.
With all that said, here are the current best credit card offers for January 2022:
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve normally offers 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in 3 months. However, there’s currently a 70,000 point offer if you use a special link. It’s not clear why this link offers this bonus, but if you’re eligible for the bonus, I recommend grabbing it while it’s available. You can find the link for the 70,000 point offer here (this is not a referral link).
Note that the above link requires you to log into your Chase account, so you’ll only be able to see this offer if you have a Chase account. If you don’t have any Chase cards, you might want to consider opening a Chase bank account just to gain access to this offer.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in 3 months.
If you’re thinking about getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll need to remember a few rules. The first is the Chase 5/24 rule, which states that you are not eligible for a new Chase credit card if you’ve opened five (5) or more credit cards in the past 24 months from any bank. This only includes cards that appear on your credit report, so most business cards won’t count towards your 5/24 number. I have an in-depth post that explains how the Chase 5/24 Rule works that you can read here.
The second rule you need to know is the Chase One Sapphire Rule. Chase only allows you to earn the bonus on one Sapphire branded card every 48 months. Thus, if you’ve earned the bonus on either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve in the last 48 months, you won’t be eligible for this bonus.
The 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth a minimum of $750 if redeemed in the Chase travel portal. Note that the card does come with a $95 annual fee that is not waived in the first year, but the annual fee is easily justified by the signup bonus. After a year, you can product change your card to a Chase Sapphire Reserve, assuming you want the benefits that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve or if you don’t need the card, then product change to a no-fee card like the Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Flex.
American Express Platinum Card
The American Express Platinum Card is offering 125,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. This is currently the best American Express card offer available. The card is also offering 15x points on small business and restaurant spending, which gives a lot of opportunities to earn more points. In theory, you could earn up to 375,000 Membership Rewards points if you could max out the 15x categories.
You can only get this offer via Resy, which is a restaurant reservation company owned by American Express. Here’s the link for the Resy American Express Platinum offer. This isn’t an affiliate link, so I don’t get anything from recommending this card.
The one downside to this offer is that the American Express Platinum Card comes with a hefty $695 annual fee. The value of the points plus the credits that come with the card more than make up for the annual fee in the first year, but I know it can be daunting for many people when you see a fee like that. Make sure to do your research to understand how to get the full value of this card. After the Chase Sapphire Prefered, this is the card I’d recommend getting.
Chase Business Cards (75k Offers)
At the beginning of the pandemic, Chase tightened up their business card applications, making it essentially impossible to open a new business card. Since then, Chase has loosened these restrictions, making it possible for most people with a side hustle or business to open a Chase business card. I recently opened a new Chase Ink Unlimited card after a year of staying away from Chase business cards.
The Chase Ink Cash and the Chase Ink Unlimited are both offering 75,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points after spending $7,500 within the first three months. These cards both have no annual fees. The $7,500 spending requirement is a bit steep, but if you have large expenses coming up or have some other way to hit the spending requirements, these two offers are very appealing (paying taxes is a great way to hit a large minimum spend requirement).
The Chase Ink Preferred has a 100,000 point signup bonus after spending $15,000 within the first three months. This is also an appealing offer, but of course, the $15,000 spending requirement is going to be out of reach for many people. It’s worth getting if you have some large expenses to pay, so consider planning this card around those expenses (think tax payments, home renovations, etc).
More Credit Card Offers
For more credit card offers or to apply for any of the cards I discuss here, check out my best credit cards page, where you can check out more credit card offers and apply for cards not listed here.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message.
Additional Resources
- Chase 5/24 Rule – Maximize Your Travel Hacking
- What You Need To Know About The Chase One Sapphire Rule
- Business Credit Cards: The Ultimate Tool For Travel Hackers
- The “Other” Business Cards That Aren’t From Chase Or American Express
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($50) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $50 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (1 free stock) – Webull also gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$1,400 if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Yieldstreet ($100) – Yieldstreet is a free investing app that allows users to invest in alternative asset classes. They’re on a push to get new users, so right now they are offering a $100 bonus for each person you refer to Yieldstreet. The person you refer doesn’t have to do anything other than use your link and open a free Yieldstreet account. They don’t have to put any money into the account or do anything with it either for you to earn your bonus – all you have to do is refer them. That makes Yieldstreet worth opening solely to refer people. I go over everything you need to know to earn your Yieldstreet referral bonus in this guide.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- SoFi Money ($25) - SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Brex ($250) – Brex is a free business cash management account that is offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements. It’s an easy bonus to earn and well worth doing. Here is my Brex Card Referral Bonus Step By Step Guide.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Nearside ($90) - Nearside is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 signup bonus and a $50 referral bonus if you open a Nearside business checking account using a referral link. Filling out the application should only take you a few minutes. And the bonus terms are easy to meet. Check out my Nearside signup and referral bonus guide here.
- Lili ($100) – Lili is offering new users a $100 bonus if you open a free Lili account using a referral link and meet certain requirements. I think it’s worthwhile to take advantage of this easy offer, assuming you have a side hustle or some other business activity that makes you eligible for the account. You can read my Lili review if you’re looking for more info. I also have a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Lili referral bonus.
- One Finance ($50) – One Finance is a fintech bank that’s currently offering a $50 signup bonus if you open an account using a One Finance referral link and have a direct deposit of $250 or more. This is a completely free bank account with no minimum balance requirement, so if you can meet the requirements, it’s worth doing. Check out my One Finance referral bonus guide here.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20 + 6% Interest Savings Account) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the sharing economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the sharing economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link.
- Brex. Brex is a free business cash management account that is currently offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $50 for opening an account.
- Lili Account. Lili is a free online business checking account geared towards freelancers and sole proprietors. Lili is currently offering new users a $100 bonus if you open a free Lili account using a referral link.
- Albert. A great free app I use to track my finances and save more money. You can also earn a $150 signup bonus if you open a free Albert cash account.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Hi! Love your card bonus updates. I got a great Ink bonus using your link. 🙂 Can you get a Sapphire Preferred card bonus if you currently have an active Reserve card?
You’d need to downgrade the Chase Sapphire Reserve to a Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited, then open the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
But remember, you can only get the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus if you haven’t gotten a bonus on either the Chase Sapphire Prefered or Chase Sapphire Reserve in the past 48 months. So once every 4 years.
Looks like the Southwest offer has changed. I’m seeing 40,000 points and there’s an annual fee, even for the Plus card.
Oh yeah, that offer ended earlier this month. Need to update the post.
If you’re looking for Southwest Companion Pass, then I’d recommend getting the Southwest biz cards right now.