3 Credit Cards That Can Earn You Over $1,000 in Rewards by the New Year
Earning $1,000 in rewards on a credit card can take time, not to mention require a lot of money spent. Even if your credit card lineup is earning 5% back on nearly every purchase, you would still need to spend $20,000 to get $1,000 in cash back. That might be possible over a long period. But if we narrow the timeline to before 2025, two months of spending likely won’t yield $1,000 in rewards.
It’s not an impossible task. Certain new credit cards come with welcome bonuses that give you up to $1,000 when you hit a certain spending threshold. If getting a Christmas bonus of $850 to $1,000 sounds good to you, here are three top-rated cash back credit cards that will help you get there.
1. Chase Ink Business Unlimited
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a business credit card with an unbelievably high welcome offer, especially for a card with a $0 annual fee. You can earn $750 in bonus cash back when you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. That’s higher than the typical welcome offer on a no-fee card ($200).
I really like this card’s flat cash back rate of 1.5%. With this no-frills rate, you won’t have to worry about managing bonus categories or fiddling around for the “right” credit card at checkout. Earning 1.5% back on every purchase means you’ll earn $90 in cash back on $6,000 spent. With another $667 of spending, you’ll earn $10 and get $850 in total cash back. It might not be $1,000, but it’s not too shabby.
2. Ink Business Premier
The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card is one of few credit cards that offers a $1,000 cash back bonus. This bonus is yours when you spend $10,000 on purchases within the card’s first 3 months.
The card also earns 2.5% total cash back on every purchase of $5,000 or more, plus an unlimited 2% total cash back on all other business purchases.
That said, the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card has a hefty annual fee of $195. To offset this fee, you could make one big purchase of at least $7,800, earning you $195 with the card’s 2.5% rate. Smaller purchases that add up to $9,750 (2% in total cash back) could also earn you $195.
3. Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a travel credit card with a great welcome bonus. Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travelâ„ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
The card has a $95 annual fee, which effectively reduces your bonus-in-pocket to about $955. That said, the fee can be offset in your first year by a complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription ($96/year value). The card also earns 3X points per $1 on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ ; and 2X points on all other travel.
Keep in mind that this limited-time offer ends Nov. 14, and it’s valid specifically via the “Apply Now” link above.
Honorable mention
Another credit card that could help you earn $1,000 in cash back is the Discover it® Cash Back (see rates and fees). Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. If you earn $500 in cash back in your first year, Discover will give you another $500 as a welcome bonus, pushing your total to $1,000. You won’t be able to get this bonus before 2025, but if you start now, you could get it before 2026.
Each of these cards gives you an opportunity to earn a hefty amount of cash back or rewards within the first few months of card ownership. But they’re not the only ones that can net $1,000 in rewards in a few months. Check out our curated list of the best rewards credit cards to see which card will net you the most rewards for your spending.