Credit Cards with the Best Sign-up/Welcome Bonus

Welcome benefits on a credit card make it more enticing and you should definitely consider them when looking for a new credit card. However, refrain from deciding on a card solely based on its welcome benefits. Compare other features on the card along with the sign-up bonus and then choose the right card. Below we have listed top credit cards that offer lucrative sign-up bonuses or welcome benefits.

Credit Cards with the Best Sign-up/Welcome Bonus in 2022

* Annual Fee Waiver is provided on spending a certain amount in an anniversary year

SBI Elite Credit Card

SBI Elite credit card is a premium credit card that is of great benefit to the frequent international traveller.

Annual Fee: Rs 4,999 | Renewal Fee: Rs.4999 Welcome Benefit: E-gift voucher worth Rs. 5,000 from brands such as Yatra, Hush Puppies/Bata, Pantaloons, Aditya Birla Fashion and Shoppers Stop.

Other Features and Benefits

Club Vistara Membership –

• Complimentary Club Vistara Silver membership
• Get 1 complimentary upgraded voucher
• Earn 9 Club Vistara Points per Rs. 100 spent on Vistara Flights.

Concierge Service – Use the service to make gift delivery, movie/hotel reservations and get suggestions for holiday itineraries.

Trident Privilege Membership – Complimentary Trident Privilege Red Tier membership ,1,500 Bonus Points on your first stay & additional Rs.1,000 hotel credit on extended night stay.

Lounge Access –

• 6 complimentary Airport Lounge visits per calendar year (outside India)
• 2 complimentary Domestic Airport Lounge visits every quarter (within India)
• Complimentary membership to the Priority Pass Program worth $99.

Spend Milestone Reward – The Milestone benefits are given in the following manner:

Besides this, you get an annual fee waiver on spending Rs. 10 lakh in an anniversary year.

Reward Program –

• 5X Reward Points on Dining, Departmental stores and Grocery Spends
• 2 Reward Points per Rs.100 on all other spends (except fuel)

Movie Offer – Free movie tickets worth up to Rs. 6,000 in a year. Minimum 2 tickets need to be booked. Maximum discount offered is Rs. 250 per ticket for 2 tickets.

Consider Reading: SBI Elite Credit Card Review

Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME

Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME is a premium card launched by SBI Card in association with Vistara Airlines. The card is best suited for people who travel frequently and prefer flying with Vistara Airlines.

Annual Fee: Rs. 2,999 | Renewal Fee: Rs. 2,999 Welcome Benefit:  1 Premium Economy ticket E-Gift Voucher on payment of annual fee

Other Features and Benefits

 Rewards Program – 4 Club Vistara (CV) Points per Rs. 200 spent across all categories.

Milestone Benefits – 1 Hotel E-Voucher from Yatra worth Rs.10,000 on reaching annual spends of Rs. 8 lakh.

Lounge Access –

• 8 free visits to domestic lounges per year
• Free Priority Pass Membership along with 4 free visits
• Priority Pass access is limited to two visits per quarter

Insurance Cover – Following insurance benefits are provider:

• Air accident cover up to Rs. 1 Crore
• 6 flight cancellation covers, each up to Rs. 3,500
• Lost check-in baggage cover up to Rs. 72,000
• Lost travel documents cover up to Rs. 12,500
• Delay of check-in baggage Rs. 7,500
• Lost card liability up to Rs. 1 lakh
• Baggage Damage cover up to Rs. 5000

Network Benefits-  Up to 10% off on Hertz Rental & 5% discount on Rentalcars.com and 50% off on Destination Programs in Japan, Korea, Macau, Singapore.

Also Read: Latest Review of Club Vistara SBI Cards

HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card 

HDFC Diners Club Black credit card is a premium credit card that offers a variety of lifestyle and travel benefits. This card is best suited for those who love to play golf and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle.

Annual Fee: Rs.10,000 Welcome Benefits: Complimentary annual memberships from Forbes Digital subscription, Club Marriott, Zomato Gold, MakeMyTrip Double Black, Amazon Prime and Times Prime

Other Features and Benefits

Reward Points – 5 Reward points per Rs. 150 on every retail spent. Bonus Reward Points are also earned on select categories. Reward Points can be converted into Airmiles with select airlines in 1:1 ratio.

Foreign Currency Mark-up Fee – Mark up of just 1.99% on foreign currency spends.

Milestone Benefits – The benefits that you get on reaching specific spend milestones are:

• Monthly Milestone Rewards – Spend Rs. 80,000 in a calendar month and get 2 vouchers from a choice of Ola Select membership, BookMyShow or TataCLiQ. Vouchers are worth Rs. 500
• Annual Milestone Rewards – Complimentary annual memberships on achieving annual spend milestone of Rs 8 Lakhs at the time of Card Anniversary

 Golf Offers – 6 complimentary golf games per quarter at finest courses in the world.

Insurance –

• Air accident death cover worth Rs 2 crore
• Medical emergency insurance cover up to Rs 50 lakh
• Travel insurance cover of Rs. 55,000 for baggage delay or loss
• Credit Liability Cover of up to Rs. 9 lakh

Wellness Benefits- Discounts at leading spas, salons, gyms, etc.

Want to Know more about HDFC Diners Club Black Credit Card? Readout detail review here.

Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum Credit Card

Standard Chartered Manhattan Platinum Credit Card is an entertainment and cashback credit card. It offers cashbacks at supermarkets, 3x rewards and much more.

Annual Fee: Rs. 999 | Renewal Fee: Rs. 999 Welcome Benefits: BookMyShow vouchers worth Rs. 2,000 after the first transaction within 90 days of card activation.

Other Features and Benefits

Good Life Program – Discounts and other offers on dining, shopping, travel and other categories via the Standard Chartered Good Life programme

Loyalty Benefits – 5% cashback at Supermarkets and 3x reward points on other expenses

Annual Fee Waiver – Annual fee is waived if transactions on the card cross Rs. 1.20 lakh

Paytm Flight Offer – 10% cashback (up to Rs. 2,500) on booking flights via Paytm.

ICICI Intermiles Sapphiro Credit Card

ICICI InterMiles Sapphiro Credit Card is a travel credit card that rewards the user in the form of InterMiles. These InterMiles can be redeemed against flight tickets, hotel reservations, rewards stores, and so on.

Joining Fee: Rs. 5,000 | Annual Fee: Rs. 5,000 Welcome Benefit: 10,000 InterMiles as a joining bonus and a discount code worth Rs. 750.

Other Features and Benefits

DragonPass Membership – 2 free airport lounge accesses across DragonPass partner lounges every year. Also, get 2 free spa visits across the lounges in a year

Renewal Benefit- 5,000 renewal bonus InterMiles and a complimentary discount code every year on renewal

InterMiles Plan – Up to 10 InterMiles per Rs. 100 spent on everyday spends. Accelerated InterMiles are rewarded when booking tickets via intermiles website

Movie Offer – Rs. 500 off on the second ticket when purchasing two tickets via BookMyShow.

Dining Benefits – Minimum 15% discount when dining at ICICI partner restaurants.

Golf Benefits- Complimentary Golf Round / Lesson for every Rs. 50,000 retail spend in the previous calendar month (maximum of up to 4 rounds every month).

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card

MakeMyTrip ICICI Bank Signature Credit Card is best suited for frequent travellers who prefer MakeMyTrip for flights, hotels and holiday bookings.

Joining Fee: Rs. 2,500 | Annual Fee: Nil Welcome Benefits:  1,500 as My Cash (Cash amount in MakeMyTrip wallet) MMTDOUBLEBLACK membership worth Rs 1,499 Auto-enrolment into MMTBLACK Lemon Tree Hotel Vouchers worth Rs. 2,500

Other Features and Benefits

My Cash Offers – Up to Rs. 4 per Rs. 200 spent on bookings via MakeMyTrip

Milestone Spend Benefits – The milestone spend benefits are given in the following manner:

1 My Cash = Re 1

Do note the amount needs to be spent within an anniversary year.

Lounge Access – 2 free lounge accesses per quarter at Visa partner lounges by spending Rs 5,000 in a calendar quarter on your card

Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card

Axis Bank, in association with Flipkart, has launched an unlimited cashback credit card called Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card. The card is an excellent choice for those who love to shop online especially on Flipkart.

Joining Fee: Rs. 500 | Annual Fee: Rs. 500 Welcome Benefits:  Flipkart voucher worth Rs. 500 after using the card for the first time Discount on select brands as listed below

Offers

Urban Clap Offer – 20% instant discount.up to Rs. 400 for new customers.

Gaana Offer – Gaana Plus membership for 6 months. 50% off for the next 6 months subscription

Goibibo Offer – Rs. 500 off when transaction amount for domestic hotel booking is at least Rs. 2,000

MakeMyTrip Offer – Rs. 500 off when transaction amount reaches Rs. 2000.

Myntra Offer – 15% cashback on first transaction through the card at Myntra. Maximum discount is Rs. 500.

Other Features and Benefits

Lounge Access –  Get 4 airport lounge accesses at select airport lounges within India.

Cashback Offers – Get cashback in the following manner:

• 5% on Flipkart, Myntra & 2GUD
• 4% on preferred merchants
• 1.5% on all other categories

Dining Offer – Up to 20% off at partner restaurants.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver: 1% waiver on fuel purchases at all fuel stations across India

Consider Reading: Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card Review

Citi® PremierMiles Credit Card 

Citi® PremierMiles Credit Card is a premium credit card designed for the frequent traveller. Users are rewarded in the form of miles on using the credit card. 

Annual Fee: Rs. 3,000 Welcome Benefit:  10,000 Miles on spending Rs. 1,000 or more on your within 60 days of card issuance.

Other Features and Benefits

Rewards Program –

• Earn 10 Miles per Rs. 100 spent via the Citi® PremierMiles Credit Card on the PremierMiles Web Portal
• Earn 4 Miles per Rs. 100 spent on all spends-online and in-store
• Earned Miles never expire
• Redeem earned Miles against partner airlines and hotel chains which include: Air India, British Airways, Taj Hotels and more

Lounge Access –  Free access to select lounges in India

Insurance – Air Accident cover of up to Rs. 1 crore and lost card liability cover of Rs. 10.00 lakh

Renewal Benefit- 3,000 bonus miles on card renewal.

Entertainment Benefit: 3 months Free Trial of Gaana Plus

Dining Privileges: Up to 20% off across participating restaurants.