 TITLE: What Is a Sign-Up Bonus on a Credit Card? CONTENT: Credit card sign-up bonuses are pretty straightforward. When you open a new card, you usually have to spend some money on it in your first few months to earn the sign-up bonus. The size of the bonus you're offered, as well as how much you have to spend to get it and in what time period, will all depend on the specific card you apply for.\nIf you want to earn tens of thousands of points, you usually have to use your new card to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars' worth of purchases in a short amount of time. But these terms and requirements can vary a lot.\nSome cards, for example, may offer a tiered sign-up bonus where you earn a certain number of miles after a minimum spend in the first three months and an additional number of bonus miles if you hit a larger spending target in the first six months with the card.\nFinally, some rewards cards do not even have a set spending requirement to keep track of. Barclays' AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® is offering new cardmembers 60,000 bonus American Airlines AAdvantage miles just for making their first purchase within the first 90 days of account opening and paying the card's $99 annual fee in full.\nAs you can see, not only do sign-up bonuses vary in terms of their size, but the hoops you have to jump through to earn them can also be very different from card to card. END