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Best Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses for Summer Travel

One of the best ways to make this year's summer vacation easier on the bank account is to take advantage of some lucrative credit card sign-up bonuses. By simply signing up for a new credit card and meeting a reasonable spending threshold within the first few months, consumers with good credit scores could rack up more than $500 in free travel awards to use this summer! Not sure where to start searching? Don't worry, because we've already reviewed hundreds of card offers this year in order to find the very best travel rewards credit cards with the most generous sign-up bonuses. Check out our top 5 credit cards for summer travel below and start planning your next free vacation today.

(Note: Some of the information below may be outdated. Click on the links below for updated information regarding card details.)

Top 5 Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses for Summer Travel

1.) Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

2.) Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

  • 25,000 bonus points (worth over $400 in "Wanna Get Away" fares) after making your first purchase
  • You can redeem bonus rewards at a rate of 60 points per $1 in "Wanna Get Away" fares instead of the usual 100 points per dollar
  • Annual fee is only $69

3.) British Airways Visa Signature Card

  • 50,000 Avios points for new cardholders after their first purchase
  • Additional 50,000 bonus points can be earned after spending $20,000 during year one
  • The $95 annual fee isn't waived for the first year

4.) Capital One® Venture(SM) Rewards Credit Card

  • 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 in free travel on any airline) after spending $1,000 during the first 3 months
  • Sign-up bonuses have been much bigger in the past, but miles will rack up fast since you earn 2 for every dollar spent
  • $59 annual fee is waived for the first year

5.) United MileagePlus® Explorer Card

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Joshua Heckathorn's picture

Joshua Heckathorn is a credit expert and has been featured on CNNMoney, FOX Business, Yahoo Finance, The Street, and many other national publications during the past twenty years.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Management (Finance) from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business and earned his MBA from Seattle University.

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