8 of the best credit card offers in May, from up to 100,000 points with Southwest to the best beginner rewards card

• Signing up for a rewards credit card and earning its welcome bonus is the quickest way to earn a ton of points, miles, or cash back.
• Pay extra attention to limited-time offers if you want to earn as many rewards as possible. While some credit card bonuses stay largely the same, others increase from time to time.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's offer remains a great way to get started with some of the most valuable points around.
• Even though no one is traveling right now, it could be worth opening a travel rewards credit card due to the limited-time benefits banks are adding, such as new opportunities to earn bonus points on groceries.
• See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards »

If you want to earn points and miles, the quickest option is signing up for a rewards credit card and earning its intro bonus. This typically requires meeting a minimum spending requirement in the first three months or 90 days, and it's well worth it — you'll be rewarded with thousands of points or miles to put toward your next trip, or with a sizeable amount of cash back. And, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, many issuers are extending the time you have to earn a welcome bonus— in most cases, from three to six months.

Given that travel is on hold during the COVID-19, now may seem like an odd time to open a travel rewards credit card, but earning a sign-up bonus could actually put you in a great position to use points and miles for your next vacation. Plus, in addition to allowing extra time to earn a welcome bonus, issuers like American Express and Capital One are offering additional benefits tailored to life in quarantine, including new bonus categories for earning rewards and the option touse Capital One miles to cover food delivery and streaming services.

Before you apply for a new credit card, make sure you understand how credit card applications affect your credit score. Also make sure you treat your credit cards like debit cards, only spending what you can afford to pay back each month. If you carry a balance to earn rewards, you'll be putting yourself in a bad financial position — and the interest fees you'll rack up will easily outweigh any points or miles you earn.

The best credit card welcome offers available now:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card: Earn up to 100,000 points (Elevated offer)
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card : 75k points after you spend $3,000 in first 3 months of account opening
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 60k Chase points after you spend $4k in the first 3 months of account opening
• Platinum Card® from American Express: 60k Amex points after you spend $5k in the first 3 months of account opening
• Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card: 50k Capital One miles after you spend $3k in the first 3 months of account opening
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: 100k points after you spend $15k in the first 3 months of account opening
• Citi Premier Card: 60k Citi points after you spend $4k in the first 3 months of account opening
• American Express® Green Card: 30k Amex points after you spend $2k in the first 3 months of account opening

1. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Welcome offer: 70,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months from account opening, another 30,000 points after you spend $25,000 in the first six months from account opening

Annual fee: $199

Southwest's premium business card just launched an elevated bonus, and if you can earn the full 100,000 points, you'll have plenty of rewards for booking flights — and you'll earn the Southwest Companion Pass.

The Companion Pass gets you two-for-one travel (your companion only has to pay taxes and fees), and you need to earn 125,000 qualifying points in a year to earn it. You'll meet that requirement if you earn the full 100,000-point bonus (since you'll earn at least 1 point per dollar on the $25,000 in required spending), so this offer could potentially be a great deal.

The Southwest Performance Business card offers an application fee credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, plus four upgraded boardings on Southwest per year and in-flight Wi-Fi credits. 

This is an elevated sign-up bonus, so it won't be around forever.

2. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card

Welcome offer: 75,000 points if you spend $3,000 in first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $450

Marriott's premium credit card offers a welcome bonus of 75,000 points (after you spend $3,000 in the first three months).

If you stay at Marriott hotels several times a year, this card could be worth it thanks to up to $300 in annual statement credits for purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, and an annual free night reward for properties that cost up to 50,000 points per night. 

3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Welcome offer: 60,000 Chase points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $95

If you want a rewards credit card with points that can be used with a variety of travel partners, you can't go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It's one of the best general credit card picks if you're new to the world of points and miles or if you don't want to pay the $550 annual fee of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, as the Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee.

The card has been offering a 60,000-point sign-up bonus for the last several months, and you can use those points to book travel directly through Chase, or you can transfer them to partners like British Airways, Hyatt, Singapore Airlines, and United.

Beyond earning some of the most valuable points around, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers primary car rental insurance and doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.

4. Platinum Card® from American Express

Welcome offer: 60,000 Amex points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $550

If you travel frequently and can put its many, many benefits to use, the Amex Platinum can be an easy decision even with its $550 annual fee. See how Business Insider's David Slotnick got more than $2,000 in value from the card in his first year for more info.

Of course, no one's traveling right now due to the coronavirus, but it could still be worth getting the Platinum Card, especially because American Express has added some limited-time benefits to its cards, including up to $320 in statement credits for select streaming services and wireless telephone services purchased directly from US service providers (up to $20 each month from May to December) on the Amex Platinum. If you can take advantage of this perk, it could still make sense to add the card to your wallet when you can't travel in the immediate future.

Some of the card's top perks include a 5x earning rate on airfare purchased directly from the airline, up to $200 in airline fee credits each calendar year, up to $200 in Uber credits each cardmember year, and up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits each calendar year. 

The card also stands out for its airport lounge access benefits. As a card member, you can access Amex Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when you're flying Delta), Priority Pass lounges, Air Space Lounges, International American Express Lounges, Escape Lounges, and Plaza Premium Lounges.

You can use the Amex Membership Rewards points you'll earn with this card to book travel with airlines like British Airways, Delta, and Emirates, and with hotel partners including Marriott.

5. Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

Welcome offer: 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $95 

The Venture Rewards card has consistently added benefits over the last year or so. While previously you could only use miles to erase purchases on your statement, you can now transfer them to a variety of airline programs, including Air Canada, Air France/KLM and Etihad. There are occasionally transfer bonuses that help you stretch your miles further, too.

This card offers a strong lineup of benefits considering the reasonable $95 annual fee (that's waived the first year). You get an application fee credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and earn 2x miles on all purchases.

6. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Welcome offer: 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 in the first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $95

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers the highest sign-up bonus among Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. Plus, it has generous bonus categories — you'll earn 3 points per dollar in the first $150,000 in combined purchases you make on categories including travel, shipping, and advertising (and 1 point per dollar on everything else).

This card has a $95 annual fee, and it offers benefits like primary rental car insurance when you're renting a car for business purposes.

7. Citi Premier Card

Welcome offer: 60,000 Citi ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $95

In addition to offering a very solid sign-up bonus, the Citi Premier Card stands out for its recently added bonus categories, which have actually yet to take effect. Starting on August 23, you'll earn 3 points per dollar at restaurants and supermarkets. This makes the card a great option for maximizing your everyday purchases, because everyone has to eat.

Also on August 23, the Citi Premier Card will add a hotel savings benefit. This annual perk will save you $100 when book a hotel stay of $100 or more through thankyou.com.

8. American Express® Green Card

Welcome offer: 30,000 Amex points after you spend $2,000 in the first three months from account opening

Annual fee: $150

Amex recently announced a complete makeover of its Green card, and it's now a very good option for earning Membership Rewards points at a reasonable price point. 

The American Express® Green Card used to be pretty boring and unrewarding, but now it earns 3x points on all eligible travel and at restaurants worldwide. That makes it competitive with other top rewards cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®when it comes to earning points on these two popular spending categories. 

The American Express® Green Card also offers up to $100 in statement credits toward CLEAR membership (it's an alternative to TSA PreCheck but it also offers expedited security at some stadiums and arenas) and up to $100 in statement credits per year on LoungeBuddy, which lets you book airport lounges. If you can put these perks and credits to use, the Amex Green card could be a great way to improve your travel and boost your Amex points balance.

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