Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards with a Welcome Bonus

We all know that credit card bonuses are the absolute best. If you have a good credit score, you can reward yourself with a load of bonus miles or points in return for using a bank’s credit card. Turn those into flights, hotel stays, and you have yourself a nice little paid vacation.

And while many of these cards offer huge welcome bonuses, some have some nice perks too.

The trick is finding the right cards. One factor that can turn you off to this is that many of the best card offers also have an annual fee. They may give you 100,000 miles but then tack on a $95 or $295 annual fee.

If you like the card or you use their partner a lot, as can be the case with airlines or hotels, then keeping the card can make a lot of sense. Maybe the card gives you a higher status with the airline or hotel. Maybe it just gets you to the front of the line at check-in.

But what if you’re simply anti-annual fee? I know a lot of people who are against paying a fee out of principle. I get that 100%.

Well, if you’re looking for a credit card with a great bonus and no annual fee, this is the list you want to see:

Table of Contents

1. Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card – 50,000 Bonus Points
2. Hilton Honors American Express Card – 70,000 Hilton Honors Points plus a Free Night Reward
3. Wells Fargo Active Cash Card – $200
4. U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card – 20,000 bonus points (worth $200)
5. Chase Freedom Flex – $200
6. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – $200 Cash Back
7. TD Bank Cash Card – $150 cash back
8. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards – $200 Cash Back*
9. Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express – $200
10. Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express – $300 statement credit*

NOTE: The cards at the beginning of this list do not charge an annual fee. Some of the cards near the end of the list (with asterisks in the heading) offer no annual fee for the first year but do charge one afterwards. I wanted to include them on the list because the offers are strong but I put them towards the end because only the first year is without a fee.

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card – 50,000 Bonus Points

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card has a great bonus of after spending $1,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

You also get bonus categories where you earn more than the standard 1X – earn up to 14X total points for every $1 spent at 7,000+ hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy and 2X points on other travel purchases.

Best of all, the annual fee is $0. It’s rare to see a travel card that doesn’t offer a promotional annual fee that gets upped in year 2. Great offer.

👉 Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Bold

Hilton Honors American Express Card – 70,000 Hilton Honors Points plus a Free Night Reward

If you stay at Hiltons (or associated properties), then you’ll want to check out the Hilton Honors American Express Card. You can earn 70,000 Hilton Honors Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

The annual fee is $0 and the card gives you complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status. If you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on the card in a calendar year, you get Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next year. (See Rates and Fees)

This is on top of this cashback schedule – 7X points per dollar spent at a hotel or resort in the Hilton Portfolio, 65 at restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations in the United States; and 3X on all other eligible purchases

Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Card

Wells Fargo Active Cash Card – $200

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is a pretty straightforward cash back card that offers a bonus that isn’t difficult to achieve – get $200 after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

The best part about it is that this card has all the makings of an every day use card too because you get unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with no limit.

As is the case with others on this list, $0 annual fee.

Learn more about this card (and others)

U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card – 20,000 bonus points (worth $200)

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card has a welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus points (worth $200) spend $1,000 in the first 90 days.

You also get 4X points on dining, takeout, and restaurant delivery; 2X points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, streaming services, gas stations and EV charging stations; plus 1X on all other eligible purchases. Finally, there’s even a $15 credit for annual streaming service purchases (Netflix, Apple TV+, Spotify, etc.).

Not bad for a card with a $0 annual fee.

Learn more about this card (and others)

Chase Freedom Flex – $200

The Chase Freedom Flex card is offering $200 after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

This is on top of a generous cashback schedule – you earn 1% on all other purchases.

Also, you get 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter (must be activated), and 5% on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining and drugstores.

All this is available to you with $0 annual fee. Can’t beat that price.

👉 Learn more about Chase Freedom Flex

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – $200 Cash Back

The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card has a $200 Cash Back after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

If you’re wondering if this card is one you’ll keep using after the bonus – the answer is probably yes.

This is because you also get 1.5% cashback on every purchase, with no limit, which is solid for a daily user. Best of all, there are no rotating categories to remember to activate, no having to pick which card to use, just a solid rate from the jump.

As you’d expect, $0 annual fee.

>> Learn more about this card (and others)

TD Bank Cash Card – $150 cash back

The TD Bank Cash Card offers $150 cash back when you spend $500 within 90 days of opening the account. It’s rare that you get such a large bonus when you spend only $500.

It also offers 3% cashback on dining, 2% cash back at grocery stores, and 1% on everything else[ – so it’s a strong daily use card.

It has a $0 annual fee.

Learn more about TD Bank Cash Card

Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards – $200 Cash Back*

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards is meant for people who enjoy dining out so the cashback schedule favors that type of spending. But first, you can get $200 Cash Back after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months.

In terms of cash back, you can earn an unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment as well as 2% at grocery stores. You earn an unlimited 1% on everything else – nothing to activate too, you get this all year.

This is a card that has a $0 annual fee, waived for the first year.

Learn more about this card and others

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express – $200

The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express is a $0 annual fee card that offers $200 after you spend $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.

Also, you earn a generous cashback of 3% at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000/year, then 1%), 2% at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores, then 1% on other purchases.. You earn the cash back as “Reward Dollars” that can be redeemed for statement credits.

Learn more about Blue Cash Everyday from American Express

Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express – $300 statement credit*

The Blue Cash Preferred from American Express has a great offer – earn $300 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months.

The card also has a great cashback reward structure – 6% on supermarkets, 3% at gas stations with no limit and 1% on everything else.

There is a $95, $0 introductory annual fee for one year. That’s why such a good offer is listed near the end.

(See Rates and Fees)

Learn more about Blue Cash Preferred from American Express

To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: Hilton Honors American Express Card: See Rates and Fees. Blue Cash Everyday(R) Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees. Blue Cash Preferred(R) Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees.