Free Bonus Miles & Points for Applying for Credit Cards (Updated!)
Tip It!As a followup to my previous posts that talked about cashing in on business credit card signup bonuses and taking advantage of 0% balance transfer offers, I thought I’d highlight the bonus miles promotions that I’ve run across when looking at frequent flyer credit cards. While miles aren’t necessarily as flexible as cash, these bonuses can be a great way of jump starting your frequent flyer account, or rounding out a ticket or upgrade.
Without further ado, here’s the list…
Free Credit Card Bonus Points & Miles
Discover Miles Card
Airline: Good for any airline
Bonus Points/Miles: 12k
Annual Fee: $0
Notes: Earn 1 mile for every dollar spent. For the first $3,000, earn double miles when you use your card in combined travel and restaurant purchases each year..
Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express
Airline: Good for flights on more than 350 airlines through SPG Flights, all with no blackout dates.
Bonus Points/Miles: 10k Starpoints with first purchase, earn an additional 15,000 Starpoints when you spend $5,000 in six months
Annual Fee: $0 for the first year at a savings of $65
Notes: No blackout dates, Receive up to 5 Starpoints for every eligible dollar spent at participating SPG hotels and resorts.
Discover Escape Card
Airline: Good for any airline
Bonus Points/Miles: 25k
Annual Fee: $60
Notes: 1,000 Miles each month you make a purchase for the first 25 months
Chase Sapphire Card
Airline: Good for any airline
Bonus Points/Miles: 25k after $3,000 in purchases in the first three months
Annual Fee: $0
Notes: n/a
Platinum Delta SkyMiles from AmEx
Airline: Delta & Northwest
Bonus Points/Miles: 25k
Annual Fee: $150
Notes: Earn 20,000 bonus miles with your first purchase, 5,000 bonus miles when you add two Additional Cardmembers to your account.
Delta Reserve Credit Card
Airline: Delta & Northwest
Bonus Points/Miles: Earn up to 20,000 bonus miles with first purchase of which 10,000 are Medallion Qualification Miles. Earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when you sign up for two additional cards.
Annual Fee: $450
Notes: None
Business Credit Card Bonus Points & Miles
Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from AmEx Open
Airline: Good for flights on more than 350 airlines through SPG Flights, all with no blackout dates.
Bonus Points/Miles: Earn up to 25,000 Starpoints(R)- Receive 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase, and another 15,000 bonus Starpoints when you spend $5,000 in 6 months.
Annual Fee: $0 for the first year a savings of $65
Notes: Voted Best Affinity Credit Card by frequent travelers as awarded in the 19th Annual Freddie Awards.
Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card from AmEx Open
Airline: Delta & Northwest
Bonus Points/Miles: Get 30,000 miles when you spend $500 in 3 months
Annual Fee: $0 for the first year a savings of $95
Notes: No limit to the number of miles you can earn, and miles do not expire as long as you use the Card. No seat restrictions or blackout dates on Delta & Northwest flights by using the Pay with Miles feature
JetBlue Business Card from AmEx Open
Airline: JetBlue
Bonus Points/Miles: 10k TrueBlue points upon first purchase, up to 8 TrueBlue points for every eligible dollar spent at jetblue.com
Annual Fee: $40
Notes: No blackout dates on flights operated by JetBlue
Published on January 9th, 2007 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Credit Cards, Frugality, Travel
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in 3 months of Card membership.
Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel when you spend $500 on the Card in the first three months from account opening. Receive double miles on Delta purchases.
Earn up to 5% cash back* in categories that change and enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 15 months on Balance Transfers and 15 months on Purchases.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
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January 11th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Hello Nickel, good info about flyer credit cards and bonus. I liked your idea of (1) setting up a separate bank account, and (2) opening up a business credit card. in your previous post Signup Bonuses for Business Credit Cards (Anyone can apply)
April 1st, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I am a Canadian resident. Are there any US Credit cards I can apply from Canada with Canadian address
May 6th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
There is also a US Airways card
August 17th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Hi, How often can these cards be applied for? For instance can I apply for a card, fulfill the criteria for the bonus in 2 months, get the bonus two months later, then cancel the card and repeat? Or will further attempts for bonuses not be credited? Thanks.
December 10th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Some readers might be interested in Amtrak miles. You can sign up for their Master Card and quickly earn reward miles toward train travel and other merchandise. For many trips the train is as fast and more convenient when you count time spent standing barefoot in long lines. And the Train is so much Greener! When I signed up they were offering no fee, plus several months without interest on any balance and several thousand bonus miles to join. Great deal!