These are the most compelling offers available right now, in my personal opinion. If you’re not planning on earning the Southwest Companion Pass this fall and need to get a new card to earn another welcome bonus, here are my best recommendations.

Capital One Venture X. This is the highest offer that’s been available for this card since it initially launched a few years ago: 90,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months after approval. This card is my all-around favorite card because it gets you lounge access, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, 2x on every purchase, and a 10,000-point bonus for every card anniversary. The $395 annual fee might make you think twice, but it shouldn’t—it’s almost completely offset by the $300 annual credit for any travel you book in the Capital One travel portal. (And they have a price match, too, so you know you’re getting a good rate.) Between the anniversary points and the travel credit, this card is actually making you $5 every year, in addition to all the points you earn and the free food and drinks you can enjoy with lounge access. The math works, guys. This is not only a fantastic card to get in general, but it’s 100% worth keeping after you’ve earned the bonus in the first year. I have big heart-eyes for this card. me –> 😍

Chase Ink Cash. 90,000 “cash back” points that can be transferred to a premium Chase card (either the Sapphire Preferred, the Sapphire Reserve, or the Ink Preferred) to be turned into Ultimate Rewards points, which are The Very Best type of points (according to me). You can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt, United, Southwest, Singapore, Flying Blue, Aeroplan, and a bunch of other great travel partners to get incredibly outsized value out of your points! This card earns 5x at office-supply stores and on cell phone, internet, and cable bills, 1x on everything else, and there’s no annual fee. The required spending to unlock the bonus is $6,000 within the first three months after approval. If you don’t already have at least one of these, you need this one! Just cashing in the 90,000 points is worth $900, but if you use these points as Ultimate Rewards points, they can be worth much more! This is the best-ever offer for this card and I have absolutely no idea how long it will be around.

Chase Ink Unlimited. Same as above in every way except this card earns 1.5x on every purchase instead of 5x in certain categories. If you want a good card to use for everyday spending that earns Ultimate Rewards points, this is a great option. Same amazing 90,000-point bonus, same spending requirement, etc. You can have both types of Inks; you don’t have to choose one or the other.

Chase Ink Preferred. This card has an amazingly high 100,000-point welcome bonus and a newly lowered spending requirement: it used to be $15,000 within the first three months and now it’s down to $8,000, making it much more attainable for most people. With this card you earn 3x on travel, shipping, cable, internet, phone, and business advertising (up to $150k per year). Having an Ink Preferred, a Sapphire Preferred, or a Sapphire Reserve is how you earn Ultimate Rewards points and also are able to transfer “cash back points” from other Chase cards and make those points Ultimate Rewards points, too. This is a great card with a great bonus and a low annual fee ($95). Definitely worth a look. 100,000 points can go a LONG way!

Capital One Venture Rewards. This is the original (and the Venture X, mentioned above, is the fancier version) and definitely a great option if you want 75,000 valuable points with a low annual fee ($95). You can transfer your points to travel partners just like you can with the points you earn from the Venture X, or you can use the points you earn to “erase” travel purchases from your statement. If you’re unsure about the details of how to travel for almost free using miles and points but want a no-brainer card to get started with while you learn, this is the perfect option. And the current 75,000-point bonus is high! It’s usually 50,000 points.

I’ll pretty much always recommend cards with transferable-point bonuses over cards that only earn one airline or hotel program’s miles or points, so you won’t usually see a recommendation for a program-specific card here unless it’s offering a significantly higher welcome bonus than usual. And there aren’t any great ones right now.

Questions about these or any other cards on my Best Offers page? Let me know!