Sign-Up Bonuses Galore
This is the February 1, 2026 edition of the LazyPoints Weekly newsletter. It goes out by email every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. Pacific–unless I oversleep–and is archived here on the blog. Want it straight to your inbox each week? Sign up here.
It’s a great time to be in the market for a new credit card. Every week in this newsletter, I highlight the most exciting welcome offers—but this week there’s just too much going on to keep it brief. So I’m giving these deals a little more real estate.
First off, if you want a premium card to anchor your credit card strategy, your options are unusually strong right now:
The Bilt Palladium is launching with a bonus of 50,000 Bilt points, $300 in Bilt Cash, and Bilt Gold status (this and all other offers after qualifying spending — check the terms and conditions) 🔥🔥🔥🔥
The (LazyPoints-favorite) Atmos Summit is reportedly available with 100,000 points and a 25,000-point companion award discount, matching its best-ever offer from its launch (although the public offer is lower) 🔥🔥🔥🔥
The Citi Strata Elite currently offers 100,000 Thank You points, matching its best-ever public offer 🔥🔥🔥
The Chase Sapphire Reserve (referral link; we earn points if you apply via this link) currently offers 125,000 points, arguably its best-ever offer 🔥🔥🔥
The Amex Platinum can be had with “up to” 175,000 points, the best-ever public offer
Only the Capital One Venture X doesn’t have an elevated offer, although it has had very few such offers since launch, usually sticking to the current 75,000-point offer
But this week also saw the arrival of some other interesting and exciting bonus offers.
First up, Amex’s Delta co-branded credit cards. They are offering bonuses of up to:
90,000 SkyMiles on the Gold
100,000 SkyMiles on the Platinum
125,000 SkyMiles on the Reserve
I’m a big fan of the Platinum, and both the Platinum and Reserve match their best-ever offers, but the Gold card is what really excites me. Starting with the Gold has a lot of advantages. The $150 fee is waived for the first year, but you still get the $100 hotel credit toward a Delta-booked stay. That’s essentially getting paid to try out a lazy favorite card for a year, with enough points to book a lot of travel (see the Thrifty Traveler section below). Plus, if you get the Gold first, you can get more points if you upgrade later, without having to worry about Amex’s application rules that can cost you if you start with more-premium products. 🔥🔥🔥
Next, the IHG Premier has a best-ever offer: 175,000 points. I love this card. I’m currently undergoing a rethink of this card, since all of my non-IHG use cases for it (e.g. 5x IHG points on bridge tolls, gas) are going to get displaced by the Bilt Palladium card. But it’s still my favorite hotel card, offering a manageable fee ($99), a free night annually, and great rewards and perks when staying at IHG properties like the Holiday Inn. 🔥🔥🔥
If you prefer a no-fee hotel card, the Choice Privileges card currently offers 60,000 points. I think Choice points are underrated: they have some great uses, especially in Japan. This card also comes with pretty impressive benefits and Gold status with Choice. 🔥
If that’s not enough for you, United launched elevated offers on their co-branded Chase cards, offering 70-90k miles. These aren’t the best I’ve seen, but they are meaningfully better than the standard offer. (But note that I usually see the best offers on United cards targeted via mail or in my United app.) The Flying Blue card also had a bit of a refresh and is offering 70,000 miles, which is roughly in line with the typical offer on that card.
Lazy take 🦥
There are always great offers available on one great card or another, so don’t feel pressured to run out and apply for a credit card you don’t need. But if you’re looking to expand your portfolio, there are some great opportunities out there right now.
This week on the blog 📝
Today is Rent Day, so I took a look at Bilt’s headline benefit this month: a big transfer bonus to Accor Live Limitless. (Rent Day Double points are sticking around for at least another year, FYI.)
Quick Points of the Week ⚡
Major news 🚨
Bilt 2.0 annual fees waived for Active Duty military? Reports from Military Money Manual and Reddit suggest that annual fees will be waived for Military Lending Act-eligible borrowers.
It’s here: assigned seating on Southwest. It’s the end of an era. And the rollout could have been smoother. (View From the Wing)
Last chance ⏳
Have a Bilt card and haven’t chosen a Bilt 2.0 card? Bilt extended the deadline until 11:59 PST tonight, February 1st. (TPG)
Venture X lounge access changing today. No more free guests at Capital One or Priority Pass lounges, and if you want lounge access for authorized users, that will cost $125 per card. (Thrifty Traveler)
Devaluations 📉
Starbucks revamps its loyalty program. There’s some good news for heavy spenders, but you’ll soon lose the ability to earn 2 “stars” per $1 on Starbucks card reloads, a hit for those using those reloads to earn Delta Miles. (TPG)
More lounge restrictions for Amex. Starting in the summer, layover visits will be limited to 5 hours before the departing flight, while guests will need to be traveling on the same flight to be admitted. (Upgraded Points)
Warning ⚠️
No REAL ID? It can cost you. Starting today, fees of $45+ may now apply if you show up to airport security without REAL ID–compliant identification. (CNBC)
Recommended 👍
Get extra rewards on Uber trips abroad. Frequent Miler has a compilation of loyalty programs that can be linked with Uber in certain countries.
Other great sign-up bonuses this week
80k miles on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select (our take: 🔥🔥)
5 free nights + airline credits on the Marriott Boundless (our take: 🔥🔥)
75k points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred (our take: 🔥)
75k points + $250 travel credit on the Capital One Venture Rewards (our take: 🔥)
✅ Lazy Pick (Affiliate)
This week, Thrifty Traveler sent me a jaw-dropping points deal: round-trip to Taipei on Delta for under 35k SkyMiles — under 29k if you have a Delta co-branded card. Fees were under $50. That’s basic economy; an extra 15–25k SkyMiles got you a fully refundable Main Cabin ticket. Availability was wide open in September as of yesterday morning, with the same pricing from dozens of airports, including many on the East Coast.
I’m very much a Bilt/Atmos convert these days, but I still have SkyMiles — and Thrifty Traveler is my go-to to use them to travel abroad while using as few as possible. I actually flew back on Friday from a trip I booked thanks to a Thrifty Traveler alert.
If this kind of thing sounds useful to you, you can read more here.
Enjoy the weekend! 🦥
Almost made it through an issue without a Bilt 2.0 reference; so close. 🤏