As the Black Friday sales event closes in, it's worth noting that concentrating most or all of your holiday purchase firepower on one credit card can net a nice bounty over the next couple months.
If you sign up for the Capital One Venture Rewards card online, for example, you need only spend $1,000 on the card within the first 3 months to earn 10,000 bonus miles, which is equal to $100 in travel on any airline or toward any travel expense.
For those who plan to spend even more this holiday season during the Black Friday rush and afterward, I'd recommend taking a look at the current bonus offered by the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express—their Starpoints® bonus offer allows you to earn up to 25,000 bonus points; 10,000 points with your first purchase and another 15,000 when you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of having your card. That's enough points "for a weekend getaway to a Category 4 hotel like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa."
A third popular option is the Virgin America Credit Card—this Visa Signature card offers a limited time bonus of up to 25,000 bonus points (it's normally up to 15,000, but the 25,000 offer is active when you click through on the app link over at Outlaw). You'll get 20,000 bonus points with your first purchase on the card, plus "up to 5,000 Bonus Points with a balance transfer in the first 30 days." In our experience, a cross-country flight from New York to Los Angeles starts at around 7,600 points, so this is definitely a good deal for Virgin air travel fans. More details and online app link here.
Remember to pay off your credit card balance in full after your Black Friday department store plundering, or you might end up paying more in bank interest charges over time than you would gain from these promotional bonuses. Happy hunting, er, shopping!
David blogs about personal finance and credit at Credit Card Outlaw. A version of this article originally appeared on Outlaw's deals vertical.
Disclosures: Outlaw is a credit card promotions site, and as such we maintain financial relationships with numerous banks and financial institutions, including the offers and cards mentioned or featured herein. Information is believed to be accurate at time of publication, but no warranties or guarantees are provided. Visit the issuer's web site for updated terms, rates, and conditions.
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