Best credit card bonuses and deals this week: Improved benefits on the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex and a brand-new card that earns up to 5% cash back

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Whether you're looking to earn cash back on your spending to offset expenses or you're planning a trip, now's a great time to open a new rewards credit card. 

Chase, American Express, and Citi are currently offering elevated bonuses, and there are dozens of other lucrative offers available. These include increased bonuses and even brand-new cards from major card issuers.

Many of these credit cards are offering record-high welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more — but some are only available for a limited time.

Credit card news this week

The long-awaited Instacart Mastercard® was finally unveiled last week, and it's an interesting option if you're a frequent Instacart customer looking for a no-annual-fee card to earn rewards on your spending. The welcome bonus offer is unusual: The Instacart Mastercard®.

Cardholders can earn 5% cash back on Instacart purchases and on travel booked through the Chase Travel Center, 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on select streaming services, and 1% back on all other purchases. Here's a closer look at the Instacart Mastercard with all the details.

There was also good news for Marriott fans: Amex rolled out positive changes to the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, including an elevated welcome offer of Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. New benefits include a 7% discount on standard room rates at Marriott Bonvoy hotels, automatic Gold elite status, and 4x points at restaurants worldwide. You can find out more in our roundup of the Marriott Bonvoy Business card changes.

Here are some of the best credit card offers to consider this week.

Flexible rewards credit card bonuses

Transferable credit card points are best if you value flexibility because there are so many ways to redeem them. With programs like American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Capital One Rewards, you've got options that include:

• Transferring points to airline and hotel partners
• Redeeming points directly for travel at a fixed rate
• Turning points into cash back or statement credits
• Cashing in points for gift cards, merchandise, and more

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has long been one of the most popular travel rewards cards. New cardholders can earn Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card — an excellent value for a modest Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card annual fee. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with outstanding travel and purchase protections, along with useful perks that include up to $50 in annual credits toward hotels booked through Chase and a 10% points bonus on your account anniversary. Here's our full Chase Sapphire Preferred review for all the details.

However, if you're looking for a premium card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is worth considering with its lucrative new offer to earn Chase Sapphire Reserve®. You can find out more in our Chase Sapphire Reserve review.

If you missed out on the 100,000-mile Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card bonus that ended recently, there's still good reason to consider the card. The new offer to earn Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is worth Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card in travel when you redeem miles at a rate of 1 cent each to erase eligible travel bookings. But you could potentially get even more value when you transfer Capital One miles to airline and hotel partners for award travel.

Our favorite under-the-radar card is the Citi Premier® Card. It offers excellent earnings in categories that fit well whether you're sticking close to home or on the road — 3x points on air travel, gas stations, restaurants, supermarkets, and hotels, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Right now it's offering a record-high bonus of Citi Premier® Card (worth Citi Premier® Card based on Insider's valuations).

Another excellent deal is one of the best cards with premium travel and shopping benefits, The Platinum Card® from American Express. You can currently earn The Platinum Card® from American Express — here's our Amex Platinum card review to learn more.

Small-business credit card bonuses

If you're a small-business owner, opening a small-business credit card can offer a lot of benefits. Keeping your business and personal expenses separate makes it easier to keep track of expenses, and many cards offer bonus points, miles, or cash back in popular business spending categories.

You don't have to own a full-time business or make millions to be eligible to apply — even if you're a freelancer or have a side gig, you could qualify for a small-business card. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card are both offering six-figure bonuses after meeting minimum spending requirements, and, depending on how you redeem them, you could get a value of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express for the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card for the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

Cash-back credit card bonuses

Our top pick for the best cash-back credit card overall, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, is a good choice if you prefer a strong 2% cash rewards rate on your purchases. Other excellent options, like the Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, aren't exclusively cash-back cards (though they're marketed that way) — and they, too, are worth considering.

But right now, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has an elevated welcome bonus offer that can help you offset some of your upcoming expenses. New cardholders can earn a Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. 

You'll also earn 6% cash back on your first $6,000 in U.S. supermarket spending each year (then 1% back), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services, 3% back on U.S. gas stations and transit, and 1% back on all other eligible purchases (cash back is earned in the form of Rewards Dollars). 

Airline credit card bonuses

A whopping six Delta credit cards are offering excellent elevated welcome bonus offers for a limited time. Delta miles don't expire, so even if you don't have immediate travel plans, it's a good time to stock up:

• Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card — Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card 
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card — Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card 
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card — Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card 
• Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card — Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card 
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card — Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card 
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card — Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

If you fly United often, the new offer on the United Quest℠ Card is worth considering: United Quest℠ Card. The United℠ Explorer Card and its elevated welcome bonus offer are also a great deal for casual and frequent United travelers. This card comes with a free checked bag on United flights (when you use the card to pay for your ticket), priority boarding, two one-time United Club passes each year, and excellent travel and purchase protections. 

The Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card isn't just for Air Canada flyers — along with a hefty welcome bonus offer, it comes with great bonus categories, spending bonuses, and will soon offer the unique ability to redeem up to 50,000 Aeroplan points per year at a rate of 1.25 cents apiece toward any travel purchase through Chase Pay Yourself Back.

Hotel credit card bonuses

IHG fans now have three co-branded credit cards to choose from, and they're all offering excellent bonuses:

• IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card — IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card (elevated offer)
• IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card — IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card
• IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card — IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (new card)

Keep in mind that most hotel chains, including Marriott and Hilton, have temporarily paused points expiration due to the pandemic, so there's no harm in earning points now for a vacation down the road. Additionally, Hilton permanently extended its points expiration window to 24 months (from 15 months).