Which Airlines Offer The Largest Credit Card Welcome Bonus In September?

When one is deciding whether to apply for and open a new account with an airline-cobranded

credit card

, there are undoubtedly numerous different considerations. Across the board, airline-cobranded credit cards can be an excellent value and will offer you impressive rewards for spending that you would likely be doing anyway.

However, there are dozens of different credit cards on the market, and even individual airlines will often have complete commercial lineups with multiple award categories and ultra-premium cards. Furthermore, navigating annual fees can also be challenging, as one of the most important considerations for one opening a new credit card is whether they will be able to recoup the investment in their annual fee.

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Welcome bonuses are one of the first places to look to gauge whether you will be able to recoup the upfront costs of investing in an airline-cobranded credit card. The welcome bonus (also referred to as a sign-on bonus) is typically offered as a one-time benefit in the form of bonus miles, elite status points, or some other reward. To achieve these bonuses, a cardholder will typically need to clear a spending threshold within the first few months, a number which usually rises in tandem with the size of a bonus on a card.

The best welcome bonuses for standard cards

All major US airlines offer multiple kinds of credit cards, but almost all will be sure to offer a standard airline-certified credit card. This is the kind of credit card that often comes along with a relatively low annual fee (likely around $100) and offers some convenient flight benefits.

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For example, these may include priority boarding and free checked bags. However, they will almost always lack access to premium amenities which typically come along with higher-fee cards.

Therefore, the welcome bonuses for these kinds of cards will often provide a decent value, allowing one to use the bonus miles received for a domestic vacation. However, they rarely provide enough miles for a major international journey. Three key factors must be analyzed when determining the attractivity of a cobranded card’s welcome bonus, and they are:

• The card’s annual fee and whether it is waived the first year
• The number of bonus miles (and potentially other rewards on offer)
• The minimum spend required to receive these miles

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After careful analysis, we were able to determine some cards that offer the best bang for your buck when it comes to signup bonuses. The following cards are our picks for standard airline credit cards that offer the best welcome bonuses:

Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard

With an annual fee of just $99 that is waived for the first year, the AAdvantage Platinum card undeniably provides one of the best values in American Airlines’ complex scheme that includes two lines of cobranded cards. The current welcome bonus for the Platinum Select card is 75,000 AAdvantage bonus miles, which will be transferred to a cardholder after $3,500 in qualifying purchases are made within the first four months of the account being open.

United MileagePlus Explorer Card

The Explorer Card is likely the most popular within United’s commercial lineup and comes along with a modest annual fee of just $95, which is waived during the first year. While not as large as the AAdvantage Platinum card’s welcome bonus, the Explorer Card offers an impressive 50,000 bonus miles for new cardholders, which will be transferred to a cardholder’s MileagePlus account after just $3,000 is spent within the first three months.

Photo: United Airlines

JetBlue Plus Card

Among our picks for the most valuable welcome bonus for any standard co-branded card is the JetBlue Plus card, which comes along with a low annual fee of just $99. For this card, an impressive 50,000 bonus points are offered to new card members who spend just $1,000 within the first 90 days.

Photo: JetBlue Airways

Premium credit cards

Premium airline credit cards are those that offer elevated flight benefits and more advanced award schemes. Such credit cards often come along with multi-hundred dollar annual fees, but also provide amenities like lounge access, complimentary cabin upgrades, and much more.

While signup bonuses likely play a significantly smaller role in determining the overall attraction of such a credit card, they are still important factors for consideration. Often, sign-up bonuses for premium credit cards are much larger than those for standard cobranded ones, and can even provide enough miles for a full international roundtrip. That being said, here are some of our picks for the premium cobranded credit cards with the best signup bonuses this fall:

Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Credit Card

Despite a high annual fee of $650, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card offers an impressive set of benefits, including access to not just Delta’s Sky Clubs but also to the American Express Centurion Lounge network. This card also comes along with a healthy annual bonus, which, according to the Delta website, currently totals 90,000 SkyMiles. It is important to note that $5,000 in new purchases are required within the first six months for the bonus miles to be transferred.

Photo: American Express

United Club Infinite Card

Despite a hefty annual fee of $525, the United Club Infinite card offers an impressive slew of benefits, including unlimited access to the airline’s lounge system. Among these benefits is also a healthy signup bonus, which offers 80,000 bonus miles after $5,000 is made in qualifying purchases within the first three months of an account being opened. It is important to note, however, that these bonus miles are not offered to those who upgrade to the Club card from a different MileagePlus credit card.