Recently, I was very excited to see credited to my Chase Credit Card account $200 in Freedom Award Dollars worth a $250 check. I’m not sure why they have a hokey system where X real dollars translates into Y Freedom Dollars which translate into a Z Cash reward.  In any case, I was quite concerned that Chase was going to deem me ineligible for the award (given for a new sign up and first purchase) since I had another Chase card already.  I’m glad my worries proved unfounded, and much props to Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity for alerting the world to the promotion.  Chase apparently has run this promotion periodically but it’s currently dead.

I have to admit this was one the easiest sign up bonuses that I’ve ever earned.  Credit card applications are a snap, the card was delivered quickly and the reward posted in a little over month after the first purchase.  Yes I imagine I took a bit of hit on my credit score, but given that I’m not looking actively to take out any loans my score should recuperate by the time I do.  So this got me to thinking about other sign up bonuses in general. Have they been worth it?

The following are all accounts I signed up for the bonus, and on the most part it’s been worth the trouble.

  • Chase Freedom - $250
  • Orbitz MasterCard – $100 (effectively)
  • ING Savings - $25
  • E*trade Bank - $150

I’m sure there are others that I can’t remember, and others that I’ve ignored.  However these are the ones I’ve been happiest with.

I judge a signup bonus on the following criteria:

  1. Was I looking for this Service?
  2. Is it easy to qualify for?
  3. Is it worth a good dollar amount?
  4. Will it be quickly delivered?
  5. Does it cost anything (financial or otherwise)?
  6. Is it easy to cancel?

For that reason the Chase Sign Up bonus has one of the best rewards I’ve ever received.  I was looking for a new rewards card.  I was using an Orbitz Mastercard as my primary rewards card, but since they decreased the payout ratio, I’ve been passively looking for a replacement.

Banks, and credit cards are the institutions most likely to run sign-up promotions.  I tend to favor the credit card promotions over bank account promotions.  Why? Bank accounts just seem much harder to close, and more likely to incur fees (minimum account balance) than credit cards, at least for me.  I’ve often felt like I had to jump though hoops to get a bank account closed.  Also Banks will also  sometimes stipulate to  get the reward that the account have direct deposit.  I find switching direct deposit painful as it’s not a function of just me but my company as well.

I’ll keep my eyes out for other bonuses, but I don’t think I’ll find the same pot of easy money as I did with Chase anytime soon.