Updated August 13, 2026

You don't necessarily have to pay a large annual fee to earn a substantial pile of airline miles, hotel points, or useful travel benefits.

There are several travel rewards credit cards currently offering strong sign-up bonuses with either no annual fee at all or an annual fee that is waived for the first year. That makes these cards particularly attractive for travelers who want to build their points and miles balances without immediately paying for the privilege.

For cards with an annual fee waived for the first year, I generally recommend keeping the card for at least a full year. If you decide the card isn't worth keeping, wait until the second-year annual fee posts and then evaluate whether to cancel, downgrade, or keep it.

Once airline miles or hotel points have transferred into the associated loyalty program, closing the credit card generally does not remove those rewards. However, card-specific benefits such as free checked bags, elite status, and lounge passes normally disappear when the card is closed.

Here are some of the best current opportunities.

U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature

Annual Fee: $0

Welcome Bonus: Earn 20,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days of account opening.

View the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Offer

This remains one of my favorite overlooked no-annual-fee travel cards because it includes benefits normally associated with cards costing $95 or more per year.

Benefits

• 0% introductory APR for the first 15 billing cycles on purchases and qualifying balance transfers.
• Four complimentary Priority Pass visits each membership year.
• Up to $100 toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Complimentary GigSky international mobile data benefits.
• 5X points on prepaid hotels and rental cars booked through the U.S. Bank Travel Center.
• 4X points on travel.
• 4X points at gas stations and EV charging stations on the first $1,000 spent in those categories each quarter.
• 2X points on dining, streaming services, and grocery stores.

Getting four Priority Pass visits plus a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit on a card with no annual fee is pretty remarkable.

Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard

Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year; $99 thereafter

Limited-Time Welcome Bonus: Earn 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $3,500 within the first four months of account opening.

View the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Offer

This is an unusually strong bonus for a card that costs nothing during the first year.

Benefits

• First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same reservation.
• Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights.
• 2X AAdvantage miles at restaurants.
• 2X miles at gas stations.
• 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• 25% savings on eligible American Airlines inflight food and beverage purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.

With an 80,000-mile bonus and no first-year annual fee, this is currently one of the strongest offers on this list.

Citi / AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard

Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year; $99 thereafter

Welcome Bonus: Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $4,000 within the first four months of account opening.

View the Citi AAdvantage Business Offer

Business owners can essentially repeat the American Airlines opportunity with the Citi AAdvantage Business card.

Benefits

• First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the cardholder and eligible companions.
• Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights.
• 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• 2X miles at gas stations and eligible car rental merchants.
• 2X miles on telecommunications, cable, and satellite providers.
• 25% savings on eligible American Airlines inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases.

If you qualify for both personal and business cards, the two welcome bonuses provide the opportunity to earn 145,000 AAdvantage miles before considering the additional miles earned from the required spending.

Chase United Explorer Card

Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year; $150 thereafter

Current Welcome Offer: Earn up to 60,000 United MileagePlus miles:

• 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 within the first three months.
• 10,000 additional miles after adding an authorized user within the first three months.

View the United Explorer Offer

Benefits

• Free first checked bag for the primary cardholder and one companion traveling on the same reservation, subject to United's payment and reservation requirements.
• Two United Club one-time passes each year.
• Priority boarding.
• Access to discounted United award flights available to eligible cardmembers.
• Up to $120 toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS every four years.
• 25% back on eligible United inflight food, beverages, and Wi-Fi purchases.
• Additional travel and lifestyle credits.

Even though the welcome bonus has dropped from some previous offers, the waived first-year annual fee makes the Explorer particularly attractive if you can use the checked-bag benefit and United Club passes.

United Gateway Card

Annual Fee: $0

Welcome Offer: Earn up to 40,000 United MileagePlus miles:

• 30,000 miles after spending $1,000 within the first three months.
• 10,000 additional miles after adding an authorized user within the first three months.

View the United Gateway Offer

Important: No Automatic Free Checked Bag

The United Gateway card does not include the automatic free checked-bag benefit offered by the United Explorer card.

Instead, cardholders can earn checked-bag certificates after meeting qualifying annual spending requirements.

Additional Benefits

• 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 12 months.
• 2X miles on eligible United purchases.
• 2X miles at gas stations.
• 2X miles on local transit and commuting.
• 25% back on eligible United inflight purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.

The Gateway remains attractive because you can potentially earn 40,000 United miles without ever paying an annual fee.

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card

Annual Fee: $0

Current Welcome Bonus: Earn 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of account opening.

View the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Offer

The previous two-free-night welcome offer has ended, but the Bold remains useful for travelers who want to keep a Marriott credit card without paying an annual fee.

Pay Yourself Back

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold offers access to Chase's Pay Yourself Back feature for qualifying travel purchases made directly with airlines and participating Marriott hotels.

Points can be redeemed at $100 for every 12,500 Marriott points, which works out to 0.8 cents per point.

You can redeem up to $750 per year through this benefit.

Additional Benefits

• 3X Marriott points on eligible Marriott hotel purchases.
• 2X points at grocery stores.
• 2X points on rideshare and select food delivery purchases.
• 2X points on select streaming, internet, cable, and phone services.
• Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
• Five Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Marriott Silver isn't terribly exciting, but the five elite nights and Pay Yourself Back feature add real value to a card with no annual fee.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

Annual Fee: $0

Welcome Bonus: Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $2,000 within the first six months of Card Membership.

View the Hilton Honors American Express Offer

Benefits

• 7X Hilton Honors points on eligible purchases directly with Hilton hotels and resorts.
• 5X points at U.S. restaurants.
• 5X points at U.S. supermarkets.
• 5X points at U.S. gas stations.
• 3X points on other eligible purchases.
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status.
• Ability to earn Hilton Honors Gold status after meeting qualifying annual spending requirements.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Hilton points aren't worth as much individually as some airline currencies, but 80,000 points for a no-annual-fee card is still a respectable offer.

IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card

Annual Fee: $0

Current Welcome Offer: Earn up to 90,000 IHG One Rewards points:

• 80,000 points after spending $2,000 within the first three months.
• 10,000 additional points after adding an authorized user within the first three months.

View the IHG One Rewards Traveler Offer

Fourth Reward Night Free

One of the card's best benefits is the Fourth Reward Night Free.

When you redeem IHG points for a consecutive four-night award stay, you pay points for only three nights. That can effectively provide a 25% discount on a four-night award stay.

Additional Benefits

• Automatic IHG One Rewards Silver Elite status.
• Up to 17X total points at IHG properties when combining card earnings with IHG member and elite-status earnings.
• 3X points at gas stations.
• 3X points on dining.
• 3X points on utilities and select streaming services.
• 2X points on other eligible purchases.
• 10,000 additional bonus points after spending $10,000 during a calendar year.
• No foreign transaction fees.

For a no-annual-fee hotel card, the fourth-night-free benefit is outstanding.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Card

Annual Fee: $0

Limited-Time Welcome Offer: Earn up to 75,000 Wyndham Rewards points:

• Earn 30,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days.
• Earn an additional 45,000 points after spending $500 at Hotels by Wyndham within the first 180 days.

View the Wyndham Rewards Earner Offer

There is an important distinction with this offer: the first 30,000 points can be earned through normal everyday spending, but the additional 45,000 points require $500 of actual spending at Hotels by Wyndham.

If you already have a Wyndham stay planned, that's an outstanding additional bonus. I wouldn't manufacture $500 in hotel spending solely to earn it.

Benefits

• 5X points at Hotels by Wyndham.
• 3X points on eligible dining, grocery, and gas purchases.
• Automatic Wyndham Rewards Gold status.
• Cardholder booking discounts at participating Wyndham properties.
• 10% discount on Wyndham free-night award redemptions.
• Anniversary bonus opportunity after meeting qualifying annual spending requirements.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Wyndham Free Night awards are typically priced at 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points per bedroom, per night at participating properties.

Because Earner cardholders receive a 10% points discount on eligible award bookings, those prices can effectively fall to 6,750, 13,500, or 27,000 points.

That means the full 75,000-point welcome offer can stretch surprisingly far at lower-priced Wyndham properties.

Which Offers Are Best?

If I were ranking these opportunities strictly on the combination of welcome bonus and zero first-year annual fee, a few stand out.

The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select is probably the headline offer with 80,000 American Airlines miles and no annual fee during the first year.

The Citi AAdvantage Business adds another 65,000 miles for qualifying business owners.

The Wyndham Rewards Earner is extremely attractive if you already have $500 in Wyndham hotel spending planned because the total bonus rises to 75,000 points.

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect doesn't have the largest welcome bonus, but it may have the most impressive collection of permanent travel benefits for a card that never charges an annual fee.

And the United Explorer remains an excellent first-year proposition for United flyers because the annual fee is waived while you still receive United Club passes, checked-bag benefits, and a Trusted Traveler Program credit.

Conclusion

Credit card sign-up bonuses remain one of the easiest ways to dramatically reduce the cost of travel.

By strategically opening cards with no annual fee or a waived first-year annual fee, meeting the required spending through purchases you would have made anyway, and paying the balance in full, you can accumulate hundreds of thousands of airline miles and hotel points without paying hundreds of dollars in annual fees.

Remember that award flights generally still require you to pay government taxes and fees, and hotel awards can occasionally have resort fees or other charges that aren't covered with points.

Also, don't open cards simply because the bonuses look attractive. Pay attention to issuer application restrictions, your credit profile, and whether you can comfortably meet the minimum spending requirement without carrying a balance. Paying credit card interest defeats the entire purpose of earning free travel.

Finally, I highly recommend using the Travel Freely app to keep track of your credit card applications, minimum-spending deadlines, and annual-fee dates. My sanity is somewhat dependent on this application.

Offers change frequently, so always verify the welcome bonus and terms on the card issuer's application page before applying.