THE TOP CREDIT CARD BONUSES OF 2014
Hello 2014 and free travel! Stick with me here at Miles Momma and I’ll show you how to make your dreams of travel a reality. I love free stuff and I love travel; put them together and you got one excited Momma! I scour the internet to find all the hottest deals and bring them to you. So stay tuned to earn more this year than you ever have before.
One of the most lucrative ways to earn huge amounts of “free travel” every year is by using rewards credit cards as creative tools for earning. Every year I comply a list of what I feel are the top credit card bonuses currently available. I keep it updated all throughout the year as offers come and go. Here is my updated list for 2014. You can always find it here under the “Credit Card ” heading at the top of the Miles Momma site. I reference it myself all the time throughout the year.
I feel these are the best credit card bonuses currently available worth considering. There are so many others rewards credit cards not listed which may benefit you as well. I just can’t list and keep updated every rewards credit card available as the offers are so many and constantly changing.
My suggestions before you apply for any cards is to have a travel plan. Where do you want to go? How many miles do you need on what airline. Where do you want to stay. How many nights. How many points do you need from which programs. Build a miles and points budget and then see which credit cards could help you move towards your goal. That being said, sometimes there will be extremely lucrative bonus offers that you don’t know exactly what you’ll use them for but you just grab the miles/points and figure it out later. If you’d like, you can check out my most recent trip budget spreadsheet which is quite extensive. I used this template spreadsheet to budget for our trips. This was my spreadsheet for the month we spent traveling around the United Kingdom which was paid for 100% with miles and points.
If you do decide to start using credit card bonuses to secure free travel for your family be sure to keep good records. I keep an extensive running spreadsheet of all my credit cards opened and closed in the last 2 years. If you would like to access a copy, please email me for the link. I’m always available to answer questions and no question is too silly. I was once a newbie and some kind more experienced collector helped me learn.
If you are concerned about the effect of applying for credit cards on your credit history, then just dabble and monitor it. You will see that each application drops your score 2 -3 points which is nothing significant. You will probably see that as you add credit cards and that your credit scores actually will begin to rise and get even better. The top two free sources I recommend for long-term credit monitoring are Credit Sesame and Credit Karama. I use both of these services personally and they are completely free and do not require a credit card. They do not give you your full credit report which I do recommend you get at least every 6 months. There are some good services to obtain your credit report here my site.
So start now to plan for your next adventures and the years to come. I have always told myself, “Dream big or it will never happen!” I’m living proof that an average middle class family can travel the world. Join me this year and learn the hobby of collecting miles and points. I’ll teach you many ways to secure “free travel” but the most lucractive way is creatively using credit cards bonuses and spending strategies to earn thousands and millions of miles/points. If you use these financial tools wisely you can experience some incredible adventures with your loved ones. If I can ever help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to email me. Remember no question is too small or silly! .
TOP CREDIT CARD BONUSES OF 2014
|
CREDIT CARD |
REVIEW |
BONUS |
BONUS |
MINIMUM SPEND |
MINIMUM |
ANNUAL FEES |
ANNUAL FEES |
|
REWARDS CREDIT CARDS |
|||||||
| Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard |
100,000 miles |
200,000 miles |
$10,000 |
$20,000 |
$450 |
$900 |
|
| Citi AAdvantage Platinum Personal Mastercard |
50,000 miles |
100,000 miles |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| Citi AAdvantage Business Mastercard |
50,000 miles |
100,000 miles |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Card |
 |
50,000 |
100,000 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
$99 |
$198 |
| Ink Bold Business Card |
|
50,000 |
100,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
| Ink Plus Business Card |
|
50,000 |
100,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
| British Airways Visa Signature® Card |
50,000 |
100,000 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| Citi Thank You Premier |
50,000 |
100,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
$125 |
$250 |
|
| Mercedes Benz Platinum Card from American Express |
50,000 |
100,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
$475 |
$950 |
|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred SM Card |
|
45,000 |
90,000 |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express |
30,000 |
60,000 |
$500 |
$1000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN |
30,000 |
60,000 |
$500 |
$1000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| The US Airways Premier World MasterCard |
40,000 |
80,000 |
First Use |
First Use |
$89 |
$178 |
|
Barclaycard Arrival World Mastercard |
40,000 |
80,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
First year waived ($89 value) |
First year waived ($89 value) |
|
United MileagePlus Explorer Card |
|
30,000 |
60,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
| Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® |
30,000 |
60,000 |
$1,000 |
2,000 |
$95, waived for first 12 months |
$190 |
|
| CitiBusiness Advantage World MasterCard |
30,000 |
60,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
$95, waived for first 12 months |
$190 |
|
| The Enhanced Business Gold Rewards Card |
30,000 |
60,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
$175, waived for first 12 months |
$350 |
|
Business Platinum Card from American Express |
25,000 |
50,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
$450 |
$900 |
|
| Ink Cash Business Card |
|
20,000 |
40,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
None |
None |
American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card |
25,000 |
50,000 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
$175 |
$350 ($175 x 2) |
|
Lufthansa Miles & More |
20,000 |
40,000 |
First purchase |
First purchase |
$79 |
$158 |
|
|
HOTEL CREDIT CARDS |
|||||||
| Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa |
85,000 |
170,000 |
$2,500 |
$5,000 |
$75 |
$150 |
|
| IHG Rewards Visa (Priority Club) | 80,000 points |
160,000 points |
$1,000 | $2,000 | First year waived | First year waived | |
| Hilton Honors Surpass Card | 75,000 points |
150,000 points |
$3,000 | $6,000 | $75 | $150 ($75 x 2) |
|
| Hilton Honors Credit Card | 40,000 points |
80,000 points |
$750 | $1,500 | None | None | |
| Marriott Premier Rewards Card |
|
70,000 points |
140,000 points |
$1,000 | $2,000 | First year waived | First year waived |
| Citi Hilton Honors |
40,000 |
80,000 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
None |
None |
|
| Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express |
25,000 |
50,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN |
25,000 |
50,000 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
First year waived |
First year waived |
|
| Chase Hyatt Credit Card |
2 free weekend nights |
4 free weekend nights |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
$75 |
$150 |
|
| Citi Hilton HHonors TM Reserve Card |
2 free weekend nights -select properties |
4 free nights – select properties |
$2,500 |
$5,000 |
$95 |
$190 |
|
Terms Definitions: Family Bonus:Combined bonus where both husband & wife apply for credit card. Family Minimum Spend: Minimum spend required for both husband and wife to meet to receive bonus points/miles. Family Annual Fees: Annual fees due for both husband and wive’s credit card accounts.
APPLY FOR REWARDS CARDS BY CLICKING ON THE BANNER BELOW
Disclaimer: If you sign up using a banner or a link on the Miles Momma site, I appreciate your support and do receive a commission with some affiliate links. You can know that you are supporting the “little gal next door” and not giving more back to the big lenders. If there’s a better deal available, I will directly link to it, and I will not receive a commission. My goal is to bring you the best offers available online so that Miles Momma site will be your top mile and point resource.
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Faith, I am so thankful for your very precise and easy-to-read compilation chart of current cc bonuses. Nice work!
Kim
Thanks Kim. I try to keep it updated and as accurate as possible. It’s very helpful to me too throughout the year.
You say that the British Airways card has fee waived for first year, when I click thru to creditkarma, I see no mention of the fee being waived.
@Mark – Thanks for catching my error. You are correct the British Airways Visa offer has changed and currently the fee IS NOT waived. I will update my spreadsheet. Thanks again! Maybe they will bring it back or at least bring back a 100k offer.