Credit Card Signup Bonuses – What Are They Really Worth?

Competition between credit cards often leads to some great signup bonuses, but sometimes they sound too good to be true.

With so many different factors to consider in the search for a new credit card, signup offers can make it even more difficult to decide on a credit card. This is especially true if flight rewards are a priority, because many signup bonuses will offer additional points as an incentive to choose a particular credit card.

Some of the offers will actually earn enough to book free tickets right away, like the Virgin Flyer and Virgin High Flyer cards, which offer a bonus 20,000 Velocity as part of the sign up conditions. That is enough to fly from Sydney to most Australian locations, or overseas to New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu, so it is definitely an offer than can be taken advantage of.

When considering signing up to a credit card for airfare deals, these kinds of offers can make all the difference. But they do come and go throughout the year, so keep checking websites and the specific conditions to make sure signing up is timed to get the biggest bonus possible.

Some people may want a bit more variety with credit card rewards, so opting for a credit card that is linked to a bank’s rewards program may be a better choice.

A 50,000-point signup bonus for the Bank of Queensland Platinum credit card gives cardholders access to a range of Q rewards, with categories including travel, home, money and electronics.

Some examples of items that could be claimed by taking advantage of these 50,000 Q points include:

• A 2GB Apple iPod shuffle, a $50 iTunes card and an Apple USB power adaptor
• Beckham Signature Story 75ml perfume, a Crabtree and Evelyn essentials gift pack and an electronic bathroom scale; or
• A Caribee essential travellers pack and a Palm Beach pop up shelter

Plus many more different options to mix and match on the Q rewards website. Normally two Q points are awarded for every $1 spent on the card, so this signup bonus is a big head start.

The benefits of signup bonuses are clear, but it is important to carefully consider all the other features of a credit card before making a decision. Signing up to a card purely for a bonus that will be gone after a while is never a good idea because it does not factor in how manageable the card will be and could leave you struggling to meet monthly payments.

Similarly, rushing to apply for a card and purchase something so that the bonus rewards are available overlooks the planning that can be useful to avoid credit debt.

But when credit card comparisons are becoming a struggle and it is hard to decide between a few options, looking at any signup bonuses could end up being the tiebreaker. That will help you make your decision and get rewards in the process.