The Best Travel Credit Card Welcome Bonus Offers Right Now

There are a number of travel rewards credit cards with boosted welcome bonus offers to have on your radar.

Here’s a look at some of the best travel credit card offers out there right now, based on the value of the welcome bonus offers, which were calculated using NerdWallet's valuations of credit card and loyalty program points.

This is the shortlist of the best travel card deals of 2023.

New travel card offers

» Learn more: Should I get more than one travel credit card?

A closer look

Here are some of the best travel credit card offers rights now:

Aeroplan® Credit Card

Earn up to 100,000 bonus points – 75,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 25,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months.

• Annual fee: $95.

• Value of welcome offer: Up to $1,400. NerdWallet values Air Canada miles at 1.9 cents each.

• Why you should get it: This is a particularly high-value welcome offer for an airline card. That, plus the 500 bonus points cardholders get for every $2,000 in monthly spending (up to 1,500 points) make this card a free flights powerhouse.

• Who should get it: Aeroplan loyalists who can reliably cover the annual fee through spending and fly Air Canada or its Star Alliance partners with regularity. The automatic Aeroplan 25k elite status that comes with the card means you can enjoy elite benefits on Air Canada and any other airlines in the Star Alliance network.

• Who should skip it: Flyers who don't often fly with Air Canada. While Air Canada has plenty of transfer partners, United is the only U.S. airline it partners with, so this card doesn't offer much flexibility for U.S. travelers.

World of Hyatt Business Credit Card

60,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Additionally, earn 15K Bonus Points after you spend $12,000 in the first 6 months.

• Annual fee: $199.

• Value of welcome offer: $1,380. NerdWallet values Hyatt points at 2.3 cents each.

• Why you should get it: This card just got a two-part sign-up bonus, and the additional 15,000 points are noteworthy. Not to mention, Hyatt points are the most valuable hotel points by far.

• Who should get it: Big business spenders who have a big purchases coming up. Find out whether you qualify for a business credit card.

• Who should skip it: People who don't own a business can earn Hyatt points with the consumer Hyatt credit card or one of the Chase Sapphire cards (which earn points that can transfer to Hyatt).

IHG® One Rewards Premier Credit Card

• Annual fee: $99

• Value of welcome offer: $1,220. NerdWallet values IHG points at 0.8 cent each.

• Why you should get it: The welcome bonus comes with the added bonus of up to $100 statement credit on IHG purchases in the first 12 months, which already covers the first year's annual fee.

• Who should get it: Anyone who stays at IHG properties at least once a year and wants to collect points in the IHG One Rewards program can probably benefit from holding this card.

• Who should skip it: If you don't frequent IHG's brands, you might want to consider a travel card with more redemption options across different hotel companies.

• Learn more: Is the IHG® One Rewards Premier Credit Card worth its annual fee?

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

• Annual fee: $550.

• Value of welcome bonus: $900 - $1,560. You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® earned on this card for about 1.5 cents each when you book travel through the Chase travel portal, but points could be worth even more if you take advantage of travel transfer partners.

• Why you should get it: This is one of the highest welcome offers we've ever seen on this card, and while it might not be the most exciting premium travel card out there, there are a few key ways it still stands out. The 1.5 cent value in the travel portal still beats its AmEx and Capital One competitors, which usually only offer a value of 1 cent if you book in the issuer's travel portal. Also, there are fewer restrictions on how to use the $300 annual travel statement credit, which can be applied to any travel even if you didn't book through the portal or you didn't pay for "airline fees" like checked bags.

• Who should get it: People who collect Chase Ultimate Rewards® points and want premium travel card benefits, like lounge access. Some travelers can get the most value transferring the points to favorable transfer partners, but if redeeming the points in the Chase travel portal also isn't a bad option.

• Who should skip it: If you've already got a premium travel card, there's probably no need to get overlapping benefits. People with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card currently are also ineligible to hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

• Learn more: Find out whether the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is worth its annual fee.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

• Annual fee: $0.

• Value of welcome bonus: $300. But it could be as much as $440 based on the other Chase Sapphire cards you might have and whether you take advantage of your the Sapphire card's transfer partners. More on how that works below.

• Why you should get it: With this welcome offer, you'll get an excellent rewards rate on your everyday spending: 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). Compare that to the usual 1% people get back on most purchases.

• Who should get it: If you have a Sapphire card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a must-have, especially while this offer is available. The secret is the Chase Freedom Unlimited® actually rewards Chase Ultimate Rewards® points that you can redeem for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. But if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can transfer your points from your Chase Freedom Unlimited® to your Sapphire card to be able to redeem them at a rate of 1.25 cents or 1.5 cents each in the travel portal. Or better yet, you could transfer those points to airline and hotel partners where you might find even more value.

• Who should skip it: If you're looking to add a huge chunk of points to your reserves for an upcoming trip, this card probably won't do the trick since it's based on spending for an entire year (or the first $20,000 you spend, whatever comes first). Look into some of the other best travel cards to top off your account instead.

• Learn more: Find out whether the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is worth its annual fee.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

• Annual fee: $95.

• Value of welcome bonus offer: $750 - $1,050. Capital One miles can be redeemed for 1 cent each in the Capital One Travel portal, but NerdWallet values Capital One miles at 1.4 cents each if you take advantage of transfer partners.

• Why you should get it: The welcome offer is 15,000 miles higher than before and now matches the offer on the more expensive Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. If you're just trying to collect Capital One miles, this is a much cheaper entry point.

• Who should get it: Beginner travel credit card users, or really anyone who doesn't want to keep track of a lot of bonus categories and statement credits. This card gets an excellent 2x on all spending, and 5x on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal. More advanced travel credit cardholders will love the access to transfer partners like Turkish Airlines and Finnair, which aren't available through Chase Ultimate Rewards® or American Express Membership Rewards.

• Who should skip it: If you want a lot of lounge access, it's worth spending the extra $300 on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which can be offset by the $300 back in statement credits annually toward bookings made through Capital One Travel. While this card comes with two complimentary visits to Capital One lounges or more than 100 Plaza Premium lounges per year, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card's lounge access extends further to unlimited visits to those same lounges plus Priority Pass lounges and select Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses. Also, Capital One has limited options if you're trying to transfer your points to hotel programs, so people earning points for award stays might have more options with a different travel or hotel card.

• Learn more: Find out whether the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is worth its annual fee.

Citi Premier® Card

• Annual fee: $95.

• Value of welcome bonus offer: $600 - $780. Citi ThankYou points can be redeemed for 1 cent each when booking travel directly, but NerdWallet values Citi ThankYou points at 1.5 cents each if you take advantage of transfer partners.

• Why you should get it: Since the Citi Prestige® Card is no longer taking new applications, the Citi Premier® Card is one of the few options if you'd like to start collecting Citi ThankYou points.

• Who should get it: Travel rewards enthusiasts who want access to some of the best transfer partners around. Citi is one of the only transferrable currencies to partner with Turkish Airlines' Miles&Smiles program, which has some great sweet spots in the U.S. and beyond.

• Who should skip it: If you're more of a travel rewards beginner that'll mostly book travel in the travel portal, you'll get more value out of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which earns points that worth more when booking through the travel portal (about 1.25 cents each). The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns bonus points on more purchases, too, because it has a wider definition of travel.

• Learn more: Find out how to get the most from the Citi Premier® Card.

The information related to Citi Prestige® Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.