Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for October

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of October! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the sign up bonus, but when most or all of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when not taking into account insurance packages and other non-reward benefits. In fact all of the cards on this list for October are first year free so you can try them all at no cost, get over $800 in rewards and decide later on if the card is right for you. All the while earning the sign up bonus which can be used to subsidize your travels!  Just ensure you drop any cards you don't like before your 1st year anniversary.
   
This month we once again go with an all no fee in the first year or ever selection of cards. The only change is the drop of the BMO AIR MILES MasterCard (still 800 miles and free so it is a good offer) for the MBNA Best Western Rewards MasterCard new 40,000 point offer. 

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for October (in alphabetical order)

American Express Gold Rewards Card - 25,000 Points (Apply here)
A mainstay offer here on Rewards Canada, the American Express Gold Rewards card has its first year fee of $150 waived and will award you 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you complete $1,500 in spending in the first three months. That 25,000 points is worth a $250 travel credit via Amex's TripFlex feature or can be converted to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles (1 Round trip Economy Award ticket within North America) or 25,000 British Airways Executive Club Avios (as much a 3 one way Economy Award tickets in North America, see this article for details.)


American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card - 2,000 Reward Miles (Apply here)
Despite all the rough press surrounding AIR MILES and their expiry rules the program can still have its advantages especially with free miles. The American Express Air Miles Platinum card comes first year free and comes with a 2,000 Reward Miles sign up bonus when you complete $500 in spending in the first three months. That 2,000 Miles is worth anywhere from $220 to $300 in flight value when you get around to redeeming them.

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa - 30,000 Points  (Apply here)
The best no foreign transaction fee card in Canada makes it to this list due to a very strong acquisition offer. I mean who can complain with 30,000 to 50,000 points awarded on approval all at no cost as the card has the annual fee waived in the first year! They also give you a 15 night credit into the mix which automatically provides you with Marriott Rewards Silver Elite status. Please note there is a 50,000 point offer floating around that is specific for Marriott Elite members and some people are reporting that they getting the points while some others are not. YMMV but no matter what you should get at least 30K.



mbna Best Western Rewards MasterCard (Apply here)
Right now there is an offer for 40,000 Bonus Western Rewards points with this card! With no annual fee to boot! We detail the offer in this post that shows just how much value you can pull out of the card with this 40K bonus!



mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard (Apply here)
Also a newcomer to our Top 5 sign up offers, the mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard doesn't have a terribly high sign up bonus, only 10,000 points worth $100 but it is first year free ($89 after that) so you are getting those $100 for free. It is also a straight 2% back card for travel OR cashback. Definitely a card for those really just wanting to earn a lot of points.


If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with over $800 in travel credits and hotel free nights but even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly at no cost other than regular credit card spend