Getting a giant welcome bonus can be a great incentive to get a new credit card, but what if you want a welcome bonus with minimal hassle and spending? Here’s our list of the easiest credit card welcome bonuses available.
What makes an easy bonus?
In our view, an easy credit card bonus offers a large enough bonus to be worth our attention, doesn’t require a large amount of spending, and is offered on a card with no annual fee. Here’s what a card needs to offer to make it onto this list.
- Welcome bonus of $200 or more of cash back.
- Spend $1,000 or less to earn the bonus.
- $0 annual fee.
- Three months or more to meet spending requirements.
Overview of the best easy welcome bonuses
Here is our overview of the best easy welcome bonuses. Click on each of the cards to learn more about the bonus and apply for the card.
| Card | Bonus Amount | Spending Requirement | Full Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
 Chase Freedom Flex | $200+ | $500 within 3 months | Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.) Learn more and get the welcome bonus. |
 Chase Freedom Unlimited® | $200+ | $500 within 3 months | Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.) Learn more and get the welcome bonus. |
 Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card | $200 | $500 within 3 months | Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Learn more and get the welcome bonus. |
 Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card | $200 | $500 within 3 months | Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. |
 Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card | $200 | $1,000 within 90 days | Earn a $200 Online Cash Rewards Bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening |
 Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card | $200 | $1,000 within 90 days | Earn a $200 Online Cash Rewards Bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening |
| U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card | $200 | $1,000 within 90 days | Earn 20,000 bonus points. Just spend $1,000 in the first 90 days. That’s a $200 value redeemable towards merchandise, gift cards, cash back, travel and more. |
 U.S Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card | $200 | $1,000 within 120 days | Earn a $200 rewards bonus after you apply online and spend $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening. |
My take on these welcome bonuses
While all of these welcome bonuses meet our criteria for this list, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited® welcome bonuses stand above the rest. Those cards both currently offer a $200 bonus after spending $500 or more on the card and an extra offer. Currently, you can get five percent cash back rewards on up to $12,000 of spending on gas and groceries in your first year. That makes these cards among the best cards for gas and groceries during the first year that you have them.
More about these cards
Here’s a bit more about each one of these cards.
The Chase Freedom Flex℠: 5% in rotating categories
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is Chase’s take on the 5% rotating category card, offering increased rewards in limited-time categories that are announced quarterly. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ has no annual fee.
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers 5% back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter in rotating bonus quarterly categories. Categories have historically included purchases at grocery stores, Amazon.com, gas stations and big box retailers. In addition, the card offers 3% cash back on restaurants and drugstore purchases and 1% cash back on everything else. All rewards are earned as Ultimate Rewards points, but can be redeemed for cash back.
In addition to cash back rewards, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers a generous suite of benefits for a card with no annual fee. The card protects your purchases with Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty Protection, and Cell Phone Protection and it offers protection for your travels with secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
Learn more about the card from our card overview of the Chase Freedom Flex℠.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®: 1.5% cash back everywhere, with great benefits
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers cardmembers 1.5% rewards on all purchases. It is the essential “everywhere else card” in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem.
Although the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is marketed as a “1.5% everywhere” card, it offers plenty of bonus spending categories. You get 5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% on dining at restaurants including eligible takeout and delivery, and 3% on drugstore purchases. Although rewards are marketed as cash back, the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points behind the scenes, which can be transferred to a premium Ultimate Rewards® card and redeemed for greater value.
For a card with no annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® comes with a healthy set of benefits, including purchase protection, extended warranty, secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
Learn more about the card from our card overview of the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card Rewards Card: 1.5% everywhere and unexpectedly good benefits
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card offers no-nonsense cash back rewards on every purchase with no annual fee.
When you make purchases on your Quicksilver card, you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase with no maximum on the amount of cash back you can earn. If you purchase hotels or rental cars through Capital One Travel, you’ll earn 5% rewards
Like all Capital One cards, the Quicksilver Cash Rewards card has no foreign transaction fee. It is issued as a World Elite Mastercard and also offers extended warranty and travel accident insurance.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card welcome bonus:
Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Click here to learn more and apply.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One. 1.5% other purchases.
Benefits: Purchase protection. Extended warranty. Price protection. MasterRental. Trip cancellation/interruption. Baggage delay. Lost/damaged luggage.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: 2% everywhere
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers simple, unlimited 2% cash back with no annual fee. This alone puts this card in a small group of similar cards.
You’ll earn 2% cash back on every purchase with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. The only catch is that you must redeem your rewards on $25 increments by phone or online. You can also redeem your rewards in $20 increments at a Wells Fargo ATM when you have a checking or savings account with a Wells Fargo ATM or debit card.
But what makes the card stand above the rest is that it offers up to $600 of cell phone protection. Cell phone protection covers damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card. And the deductible for this benefit is only $25. This feature is uncommon on cards without an annual fee. While the coverage amount is lower, the deductible is one of the lowest among any card that offers this benefit.
