The 11 Best Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses With No Annual Fees 2022

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is the best no annual fee credit card with a sign-up bonus. You’ll earn a flat $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. 

But you’ll also earn 5% cash back (on up to $12,000 spent) in grocery store purchases during your first year (Walmart and Target excluded). That’s another $600 bonus that you can earn. Plus, the Chase Freedom Unlimited doles out a $100 bonus for every referral, up to $500 a year.

Chase Freedom Unlimited also rewards cardholders for booking travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards. Use Chase Ultimate Rewards for airfare, hotels and rental cars to take 5% off all your major travel expenses. On top of the Chase Ultimate Rewards deal, you’ll earn variable cash back for other eligible purchases:

• 3% cash back on dining (restaurants, takeout and delivery)
• 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
• 1.5% on all other eligible purchases

Though there’s no annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited does have a high regular APR (up to 26.74%). But for the first 15 months, you won’t earn interest on outstanding balances — and that applies to qualifying balance transfers as well. (You will pay a 3% intro balance transfer fee, however.)

Despite offering great travel perks through Chase Ultimate Rewards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited falls short as a true travel card: It charges a 3% foreign transaction fee when you swipe abroad.

To understand the Discover it Cash Back’s sign-up bonus, you’ve first got to know how you earn cash rewards with th. Each quarter, Discover changes the special cash back category; you’ll earn 5% cash back for every purchase in that category, up to $1,500 spent. That’s $75 every three months if you reach the $1,500 threshold. Plus, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

For 2022, the 5% cash back program breaks down as follows:

• January to March: 5% cash back at grocery stores, as well as fitness clubs and gyms
• April to June: 5% cash back at Target and gas stations
• July to September: 5% cash back at restaurants and on purchase made via PayPal
• October to December: 5% cash back on purchases made on Amazon and via digital wallet

The sign-up bonus comes at the end of your first year. Whatever you earned in cash back, Discover doubles. So if you maxed out your cash back potential from the rotating bonus categories, you’d have earned $300, meaning you’d get an additional $300 bonus. On top of that, you could have earned unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases, which means your doubled bonus could be even greater.

Discover doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee, which makes this card great for travel. Balance transfer fees are 3% during the 15-month introductory period (when you also won’t pay interest), but after that, a regular APR of 14.99% to 25.99% kicks in.

Choosing between the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited (which tops our list of the best no annual fee credit cards with sign-up bonuses) really comes down to preference. With the Chase Freedom Unlimited, you’ll always earn 5% on travel purchases in Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining and drugstores and 1.5% on everything else.

Rewards with Chase Freedom Flex are more variable. For some, this offers more opportunity. Here’s how it works:

• Earn 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Earn 5% cash back on a select bonus category (changes each quarter)
• Earn 3% cash back on dining (restaurants, takeout and delivery)
• Earn 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
• Earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

For 2022, the rotating 5% cash back bonus categories are:

• January to March: Grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart)
• April to June: Amazon and select streaming services
• July to September: Gas stations, car rentals, movie theaters and select live entertainment
• October to December: Walmart and PayPal

For those who may not spend much in some of these bonus categories, the 1.5% unlimited cash back of the Chase Freedom Unlimited may be more compelling. But if your regular budget includes items from these categories, you may earn more cash rewards with the Chase Freedom Flex.

While you shouldn’t depend on the Chase Freedom Flex for travel abroad (there’s a 3% foreign transaction fee), it’s a decent card for traveling domestically: It offers trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance.

Similarly, Chase Freedom Flex isn’t our favorite balance transfer card (check out our list of the best balance transfer credit cards for our top recommendation), but it’s not a bad deal: 3% intro balance transfer fee and 15 months of no interest.

As far as bonus amounts go, you can earn more from some of the other credit cards with no annual fee on our list. The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card pays out just $200. But this welcome offer is relatively easy to earn: Just spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

The Active Cash Card is great if you don’t like the hassle of tracking rotating bonus categories or calculating how points and miles translate to cash. Instead, you’ll earn a flat 2% cash back rate no matter the purchase.

This no-frills credit card also offers $600 in cell phone protection and a decent 15-month 0% intro APR period for new customers, including qualifying balance transfers (though you’ll pay a 3% balance transfer fee). Just don’t rely on this card when traveling abroad; you’ll pay a 3% foreign transaction fee for every swipe.

Like all options featured on this list, there is no annual fee for the Capital One SavorOne card. Its easy-to-earn bonus makes it one of the best no annual fee credit cards with a sign-up bonus. Just spend $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening to claim your $200 welcome offer.

Consumers who like to treat themselves will benefit most from this card, which has special rewards rates for entertainment, travel and dining. Here’s the full cash back breakdown:

• 8% cash back on purchases made through Capital One Entertainment and Vivid Seats
• 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 3% cash back on dining, groceries, popular streaming services and other entertainment
• 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

The Capital One SavorOne is appealing for travelers. There isn’t a foreign transaction fee, and you’ll get 24-hour travel assistance and travel accident insurance. Like other cards on our list, Capital One assesses a 3% balance transfer fee during the introductory period — but after that period, there’s no fee at all. But watch the APR after the intro period; it can climb as high as 27.99%.

If you can afford the $95 annual fee, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card makes a more compelling offer (it topped our list of the best cashback credit cards). But if you refuse to pay an annual fee for a credit card, you’ll still get a lot of mileage out of the American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card. It pays out 3% cash back on gas, groceries and online retail purchases — up to $6,000 in purchases for each category (and in the U.S. only). You’ll earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

The sign-up bonus isn’t great: $100 after you spend $2,000 in the first six months from account opening. You can get a lot more for a lot less with a Capital One credit card, for example. But right now, new cardholders can earn a bonus 20% cash back on all PayPal purchases in the first six months from account opening, up to $150 cash back.

Another reason to open the American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card? You’ll get an annual $84 statement credit for the Disney+ Bunde. That’s $7 each month toward your Disney+ streaming service.

Don’t take this card with you overseas; you’ll pay a 2.7% foreign transaction fee with every swipe, and finding merchants that take Amex abroad is hit or miss. The Blue Cash Everyday Card isn’t a bad choice for balance transfers; just pay a 3% balance transfer fee, and you’ll have 15 months of 0% APR to pay down the debt.

If you don’t like tracking rotating bonus categories or converting miles or points into rewards you can easily understand, the Capital One Quicksilver could be right for you. It doesn’t have the highest cash back earning potential, but the unlimited 1.5% cash back is a solid offer. Plus, you can earn 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

The sign-up bonus is one of the easiest to earn. Just spend $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, and you’ll earn a $200 bonus as a statement credit or cash back.

With the Capital One Quicksilver in your wallet, you won’t have to worry about paying a foreign transaction fee when traveling abroad. You’ll also get the luxury of travel accident insurance and 24-hour travel assistance services. That makes this a great travel credit card with no annual fee — but if you’re willing to pay an annual fee, you can find a credit card with significantly better travel perks.

To earn the $900 sign-up bonus, you’ll need to use the Ink Business Unlimited credit card for $6,000 in purchases in the first three months from account opening. If your business generates a lot of expenses, this should be an easy threshold to hit.

But this credit card, which doesn’t charge any annual fee, is worth more than its upfront bonus. Business owners will continue to see savings roll in with unlimited 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases.

If you travel for business, you’ll have access to Chase Ultimate Rewards for booking flights, hotels and rental cars. However, the Ink Business Unlimited card does charge a foreign transaction fee, so you’ll only want to use this card for domestic business trips.

If your employees need access to the line of credit, you can order cards for them at no additional cost — and even set individual spending limits.

With the Citi Double Cash Card, you won’t pay any annual fees and can earn a $200 sign-up bonus just for spending $1,500 in the first six months of account opening. That makes it one of the easier bonuses to earn.

We like this card for beginners because of how it pays out cash back. You’ll earn 1% cash back on every dollar you spend, but you’ll earn an additional 1% cash back when you pay off that balance. Thus, novice credit card users are learning good credit habits by positive reinforcement.

The Double Cash Card is also a top credit card for qualifying balance transfers. Though you’ll pay a 3% balance transfer fee during the introductory period, you’ll have 18 months of 0% APR to pay down the balance.

The Citi Double Cash Card falls short when it comes to foreign transaction fees (you’ll pay 3%) and perks. It’s a no-frills card for beginners, but if you’re a credit card power user, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

The Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great no fee option that still pays out a sizable bonus: $200 when you spend at least $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening.

You’ll also earn 3% cash back in a category of your choice (gas, online shopping, travel, drugstores, home improvement/furnishings or dining) on the first $2,500 spent per quarter — plus 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (also on the first $2,500 spent each quarter). You’ll earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

It’s certainly not the best cash back card on our list, but it’s an appealing offer for borrowers with high-interest credit card debt on another card that they want to transfer over. That’s because the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 18 months of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, and balance transfer fees are only 3%.

Rounding out our ranking of the best credits with no annual fee that still offer sign-up bonuses is the Chase Freedom Student card. Students hoping to make some extra cash from a credit card sign-up bonus will be served well by Chase Freedom Student: It pays out $50 after you make a single purchase within the first three months from account opening.

And students who responsibly manage the card with on-time payments can expect a $20 good standing bonus on each account anniversary for up to five years. Speaking of responsible card management, students can also earn a credit limit increase after they make five monthly payments on time within the first 10 months from account opening.

While students who can qualify for higher-tier credit cards can earn better bonuses and cash back elsewhere, the Chase Freedom Student’s 1% cash back on all purchases is still a nice touch.