Best card for rewards
Shakasa Must charge full price of bike in one transaction. Shipping available in the contiguous U. Enrollment Required. Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
Terms Apply. Best for occasional travel. Citi Premier® Card Citi Premier® Card. Apply now Lock on Citi's secure site.
Pros Its restaurant, supermarket and gas station rewards categories can outperform rival flat-rate travel cards, making it easy for the average spender to offset the annual fee. You can pair it with other Citi ThankYou cards for optimal travel rewards value. You can also redeem points for cash back at the same value as for travel — an option that typically requires sacrificing reward value.
Unless you plan to leverage travel transfer partners, your point value is stuck at only 1 cent per point. com No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases.
BEST FOR SAVERS. Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card. Apply now Lock on Bank of America's secure site. The current welcome offer could cover the cost of a quick trip, depending on your airline of choice.
To get the most out of this card, you need to have eligible savings or investment accounts with Bank of America or Merrill Lynch.
No limit to the points you can earn and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open. That means you could earn 2. Redeem for cash back as a statement credit, deposit into eligible Bank of America® accounts, credit to eligible Merrill® accounts, or gift cards or purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center.
Travel Insurance protections to assist with trip delays, cancellations and interruptions, baggage delays and lost luggage. No foreign transaction fees. This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center.
You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now. Best for groceries. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
Pros The card also offers unlimited 6 percent back on select U. streaming subscriptions — one of the best rates available in that category. Few premium cards offer intro APR periods, but this card provides an intro APR on purchases and balance transfers — handy for chipping away at the cost of large expenses over time.
Cons Your only redemption options are statement credits, gift cards or merchandise. Purchases at wholesale clubs, superstores like Walmart , and specialty stores bakeries, farmers markets, etc. supermarket bonus category and only earn 1 percent back. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.
After that, your APR will be a variable APR of Variable APRs will not exceed Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon. com checkout. com with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card.
Best starter travel card. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Apply now Lock on Chase's secure site. Rewards details Caret Down 5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® 3x 3x on dining 2x 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
Pros Its annual hotel statement credits and anniversary points bonus can carry enough value to easily justify the annual fee. Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable rewards out there: You can redeem for cash back at a value of 1 cent per point, transfer to an airline or hotel partner or book with Chase to get a percent boost to your point value.
The card's grocery rewards rate only applies to eligible online grocery purchases, which could limit its appeal as a standalone option for everyday rewards. Member FDIC. Best for affordable travel perks. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Rewards details Caret Down 10 Miles 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5 Miles 5 Miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2 Miles 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. Best for category variety. Discover it® Cash Back Discover it® Cash Back.
Apply now Lock on Discover's secure site. Its rotating bonus category variety is nearly unmatched, typically including everything from groceries to online shopping.
Cons You must activate and track your bonus categories each quarter, which could make the card too high-maintenance for some applicants. The card carries hardly any additional features like travel insurance or other credits beyond its rewards and low rates and fees.
It has a quarterly spending cap for bonus categories. Redeem your rewards for cash at any time. Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data.
Then No annual fee. Terms and conditions apply. Best starter rewards card. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Rating: 3. Terms apply 1. You can earn rewards with minimal effort before graduating to a higher-maintenance card that offers better rewards rates. Cons Even compared to other cash back cards available with no annual fee, its perks are limited. Some rival cards offer unlimited 2 percent cash back on all purchases while still charging no annual fee.
Best no annual fee travel card. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. Rewards details Caret Down 5 Miles 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 1.
Pros You can transfer miles to airline and hotel partners — a rare perk for a no-annual-fee travel card. If you usually fly within the U. Best for gas. Citi Custom Cash® Card Citi Custom Cash® Card. Pros Since you aren't locked into year-round or quarterly bonus categories, you can enjoy more flexibility in how you earn top rewards.
For a no-annual fee card, it offers attractive additional perks if you receive it with World Elite Mastercard status, such as partner offers with Lyft and DoorDash. This could hold you back if you spend heavily in one category or share the account among multiple households. After that, the variable APR will be No rotating bonus categories to sign up for — as your spending changes each billing cycle, your earn adjusts automatically when you spend in any of the eligible categories.
No Annual Fee Citi will only issue one Citi Custom Cash® Card account per person. BEST FOR PAYING RENT. Bilt Mastercard® Bilt Mastercard®. Rewards details Caret Down 3X Points 3x points on dining 2X Points 2x points on travel 1X Points 1x points on other purchases 1X Points Earn up to 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to , points each calendar year.
It carries a solid set of perks for a no-annual-fee card, including travel and purchase protections and ongoing credits for DoorDash and Lyft. If you are looking to build credit, this is one of the few cards that lets you earn rewards and build credit too. Your main options are redeeming to cover rent, a home down payment or travel.
You have to make at least five transactions with the card before rewards rates apply. Earn up to 1x points on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to , points each calendar year.
Earn points when you make 5 transactions that post each statement period. Best for food and travel. American Express® Gold Card American Express® Gold Card. Rewards details Caret Down 4X Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.
Pros Transferring points to partner airline or hotel loyalty programs, which include popular brands like Delta and Hilton, can get you more value. You can earn additional rewards by enrolling in Amex Offers. Cons You'll need to use the annual credits or transfer points for travel frequently to offset the annual fee.
com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Experience credit varies by property. Choose the color that suits your style. Gold or Rose Gold. No Foreign Transaction Fees.
Best rewards value. Chase Sapphire Reserve® Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Rewards details Caret Down 10x Earn 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. It pairs incredibly well with other Chase rewards cards since you can pool points across multiple cards and boost your point value by 50 percent when you redeem for Ultimate Rewards travel bookings.
BEST FOR SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS. American Express® Business Gold Card American Express® Business Gold Card. Rewards details Caret Down 4X Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle from 6 eligible categories.
Pros Earns bonus rewards in several key small-business spending categories, making it a versatile option as both a standalone and supplementary rewards card. Offers a flexible spending limit via its Pay Over Time feature, which could help you free up cash flow or finance large business purchases.
purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. Your Card — Your Choice. Choose from Gold or Rose Gold. BEST FOR ONLINE SHOPPING. Prime Visa Prime Visa. Apply now Lock on Amazon's secure site. Unlocks exclusive pay-over-time financing on eligible Amazon purchases, giving you a chance to chip away at large expenses without stressing over interest charges terms apply.
For a no-annual-fee general rewards card, Prime Visa offers significant travel benefits like no foreign transaction fees, lost luggage reimbursement and travel accident insurance. Redeem daily rewards at Amazon. com as soon as the next day Member FDIC.
Card name Our pick for Rewards highlights Annual fee. Unsorted Caret Caret Up Caret Down. Bankrate review score. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. The Platinum Card® from American Express. Citi Premier® Card. Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. gas station and transit purchases.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Discover it® Cash Back. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. Citi Custom Cash® Card. Bilt Mastercard®. Bilt Rent Day doubles all rewards rates on the first day of each month for 2X points to 6X points on non-rent purchases, up to 10, points.
American Express® Gold Card. Chase Sapphire Reserve®. American Express® Business Gold Card. Prime Visa. com, Whole Foods Market and Chase Travel purchases. American Express® Green Card. My GM Rewards® Mastercard®. Show 16 more rows.
On This Page What to know about rewards credit cards Tips for choosing the best rewards card for you What people are saying about rewards credit cards Expert advice for rewards cards How we assess the best rewards credit cards Frequently asked questions Ask the experts.
What to know about rewards credit cards. From our experts Based on the most recent J. Arrow Right. Looking for a particular type of cash-back credit card? Best cards for groceries. Best cards for restaurants. Best cards for gas. Checkmark Rewards: Your typical spending habits can help you save money by earning rewards on purchases.
Checkmark Perks: Many cards feature additional benefits, like airport lounge access, hotel upgrades and certain travel or shopping protections. When a rewards card is a good idea A rewards card might be most beneficial in these situations: You travel often or prefer to redeem rewards mainly for travel: Whether you're already a frequent flyer or want to earn points and miles on everyday purchases as an occasional traveler, a travel card can help cut costs for your next trip.
Plus, the best travel credit cards usually offer sign-up bonuses worth several hundred dollars toward travel. You own a small business : Freelancers and owners of "brick-and-mortar" stores can use a business credit card to earn valuable rewards and boost their bottom line.
Business credit cards often feature bonus categories tailored to small businesses, such as internet services, office supplies, travel and dining. You manage credit responsibly : Since some of the best rewards credit cards require a good-to-excellent credit score , someone with a great credit score who pays their balances in full each month can get a lot of bang for their buck with a rewards card.
Getting one of these cards and using it responsibly can go a long way toward your goals:. Credit cards for fair credit are intended for those with credit scores roughly in the range of , sometimes also referred to as "average" credit.
See our best credit cards for fair credit of Credit cards for bad credit are intended for people with scores of less than The best credit cards for bad credit are secured cards, which require you to put down a cash deposit which is refunded to you if you upgrade or close the card in good standing.
There are "unsecured" cards for bad credit that don't require a deposit, but they tend to charge high fees. See our best credit cards for bad credit of Secured credit cards, as mentioned above, require a refundable security deposit, which is usually equal to your credit limit.
The more you deposit, the higher your credit limit. The deposit protects the issuer in case the cardholder doesn't pay their bill, so these cards are usually easier for people with lower credit scores to qualify for.
Be aware that some secured cards are available to people with no credit or a thin credit history but not to people with damaged credit.
See our best secured credit cards of Rather than rely solely on credit scores and other traditional methods of determining creditworthiness, the companies behind these cards may look at the applicant's income, assets, even their educational background and job category.
See the best alternative cards for no credit for If you're a beginner to credit cards, see our step-by-step guide to choosing a credit card.
It starts by helping you figure out what cards you can qualify for, then walks you through deciding what kind of card best fits your needs.
The process in short:. Check your credit. The higher your credit score, the more likely you are to qualify for the best cards. NerdWallet offers free access to credit scores. Decide on a broad card type. If your credit score needs work, get a card designed for building or mending credit.
Otherwise, choose between a card that will give you rewards for your spending or one that will save you money on interest. Narrow your choices. If you want a rewards card, do you prefer cash back or points, and how much effort are you willing to put into managing your rewards?
Do you need to do a balance transfer? Are you a student or a business owner who could benefit from a specialized card? Apply for a card that gives you the best overall value. Every credit card delivers value in its own way, through its own unique combination of features.
And there are trade-offs involved. If you want rewards, for example, you'll probably have to accept a higher interest rate. If you want high-value perks, you'll likely pay an annual fee.
If you want a low interest rate and no fees, you shouldn't expect much else from the card. Here are the main points of comparison when looking at credit cards. Some people are dead-set against paying a fee just for the privilege of carrying a credit card. But paying an annual fee is worth it in certain circumstances.
For example:. To earn significantly better rewards rates. To unlock valuable perks, such as airport lounge access or free checked bags. To get a card when you might not otherwise be able to, such as by avoiding a credit check. With any annual fee, the math comes down to whether the value you get from the card exceeds the dollar amount you pay.
Still determined not to pay? See our best credit cards with no annual fee of Depending on what you plan to do with the card, you'll want to take these other fees into account:. Balance transfer fee. This is a charge you pay to move debt from one card to another. See our best credit cards with no balance transfer fee of Foreign transaction fee.
If you travel internationally, getting a card that doesn't charge this fee is a must. See our best credit cards with no foreign transaction fee of Cash advance fee. Using your credit card to get cash is expensive. You'll usually pay an upfront fee, the interest rate for cash advances is often higher than for purchases, and in many cases, grace periods don't apply to cash advances, so you start paying interest on them immediately.
A few cards don't charge a fee for cash advances. Some cards don't allow advances at all. Late fees and returned-payment fees. These fees can be steep, but they are avoidable.
Most cards charge them, but some do not. Credit card companies drum up business by offering people with good credit a low introductory interest rate. The ongoing rate is what you pay after any introductory rate expires. Some cards charge a single rate for all cardholders; others allow for a range of rates depending on your creditworthiness.
In general, the better your credit, the more likely you are to qualify for a low rate. That said, if you pay your balance in full every month, your interest rate doesn't actually matter because you're never charged interest.
Ongoing credit card interest rates are usually identified as "variable. Most rates are tied to the prime rate, which is the rate that big banks charge their best customers. When the prime rate goes up or down , so will your card's rate.
What's the lowest interest rate on any credit card? Still, some cards offer a rate just a few points above prime. For super-low ongoing rates, your best bet is a credit union. Cash-back cards refund a certain percentage of the purchase price.
Other cards give you a certain number of points or miles per dollar spent. Every card sets its own rewards structure, so apples-to-apples comparisons can be difficult. But when comparing rewards programs, think in terms of:.
Earn rate. What do you get for every dollar spent? Redemption value. How much do you get for your rewards when it comes time to use them? Redemption options. How much flexibility do you have in using your rewards? The purpose is to get you in the habit of using the card.
The bonuses on many travel cards are often big enough to cover the card's annual fee for the first few years. See our best credit card sign-up bonuses of Unlike rewards, which are what you receive for using a credit card, perks are benefits you get just for carrying a card.
With some cards, particularly travel credit cards, it may be the perks that provide the bulk of the value. Airline credit cards and hotel credit cards can easily pay for their annual fee with their perks. A full list of potential perks would be too long to include here, but common examples include:.
Lounge access. Free checked bags. Priority boarding. Elite status. Hotel benefits. Free nights. Automatic room upgrades. Free amenities. Statement credits.
Automatic credit for such things as travel expenses, purchases from selected merchants or the application fee for trusted traveler programs such as TSA PreCheck and Global Entry.
Purchase protections. Extended warranties. Protection in case of theft or damage. Price protection which refunds the difference if you find the same item cheaper elsewhere.
Return guarantees. Rental car coverage. Supplemental coverage on top of your own auto insurance policy, or even primary coverage in place of your own policy. Learn about credit card rental coverage and see our best cards for rental car coverage.
Cell phone insurance. Coverage in case of loss or damage. You usually have to pay for your service with your card to qualify. See our best cards for cell phone insurance. Credit tracking and security. Free credit score. Credit monitoring services. Ability to "lock" your card.
When you're looking to build or restore credit, several features are more important for you than for people who already have good credit. Reporting to credit bureaus. If you're using your card responsibly, you want your credit score to reflect that. Make sure that your card reports payment activity to all three credit bureaus, the companies that assemble credit reports.
Deposit requirements. If you're getting a secured credit card, you'll need money for a security deposit. Upgrade opportunities. As your credit improves, it's nice to be able to upgrade your account to a better card.
Incentives for responsible behavior. Some cards might boost your rewards rate if you pay on time, or give you access to a higher credit line. When you put in an application for a credit card, the card issuer makes its decision based on how risky it believes it would be to lend money to you.
The issuer doesn't know you, of course, so it goes by information you provide about your employment, income and assets and information contained in your credit report.
The basic application process works like this:. You fill out an application for a card. Nowadays, this is usually done online, but paper application forms still exist.
The application typically asks for:. Your name, address, phone number and email address. Financial information, including your employment status and annual income. The application may also ask about your assets such as bank accounts or investments and your other obligations, such as your rent or debt payments.
Your birthdate and Social Security number. The issuer needs these to access your credit report. The issuer checks your credit.
Many people think of their credit only in terms of their credit score. But that three-digit number is really nothing but a summary of the information in your credit report. It's the report that issuers are interested in.
You could have a great score but still be rejected for a credit card because the issuer thinks you've applied for too many new cards in the recent past, or because your debt obligations are too big relative to your income. If you meet the issuer's requirements, your application is approved.
With online applications, approvals are usually possible within minutes. If your application is rejected , you can usually expect to receive a written explanation by mail in about a week to 10 days. Your new card comes in the mail. This typically happens within 10 business days.
You activate your card. Do this by calling a phone number or going online. Once it's activated, you can use it. Approval for a credit card is never guaranteed. Even if you have an excellent credit score, an issuer could still decline your application because you don't have enough income, or because you've opened several other cards recently, or for some other reason.
Plus, "easy" is a relative term. Someone with excellent credit and a good income will usually qualify for most cards. Someone with a middling credit score might struggle to get approved even with ample income.
In general, the lower the risk to the credit card issuer, the easier it is to get approved. That's why secured credit cards are a recommended starting point for people working to build or mend credit: The security deposit requirement reduces the risk.
If you've begun to build credit and have a score in the mids, look at credit cards for fair credit. These provide more benefits but don't require a top-tier credit score. Store credit cards are also generally easier to qualify for than bank cards.
They tend to have low credit limits and high interest rates, but they're a viable credit-building tool provided you keep your balances low relative to the limit and pay them off each month.
See our best store credit cards of Just as there is no single best credit card for everyone, there is no perfect number of credit cards to have. It depends on your needs and how much effort you want to put into managing your credit cards. Some people carry one card and put everything on it.
Others have literally dozens of cards, and for each purchase they use the card best suited for that transaction. When deciding how many is right for you, keep in mind:. There's no limit to how many cards you can have. Each lender evaluates your credit on its own term, but there's no hard limit where you have "too many cards.
You don't need to have multiple cards to maintain good credit score. Credit scoring formulas tend to reward you for having different types of accounts — credit cards, mortgages, loans, etc.
One credit card, responsibly managed, is enough. Maximizing rewards: One card may pay you a higher rewards rate on groceries. Another may reward you handsomely at restaurants , or on gas purchases, or for spending on travel.
Having multiple cards allows you to maximize your total rewards. Flexibility: Some cards are more widely accepted than others. Additionally, if a card is lost, stolen or compromised, you'll have another option while you wait for a replacement. More available credit: A key factor in your credit score is your credit utilization , or how much of your available credit you're using.
Missing a payment: Multiple due dates increase the risk of missing a payment, which can trigger a late fee or if it's late enough even damage your credit. As you search for the best credit card for your needs, it will help to familiarize yourself with the different types of companies in the industry.
That way, you'll know not only what to look for in a credit card but also where to look for it. Every credit card has an issuer and a network.
Many of them also have co-brand partners. Each of these provides different kinds of benefits. The issuer is the bank that maintains your credit card account. It could be a huge bank like Chase, Capital One or Wells Fargo, or it could be your local bank or credit union.
The issuer takes your credit card application and decides whether you qualify for the card. It sets your interest rate and charges any account fees. The issuer sends your statement every month and collects your payments. When you make a purchase on a credit card, you're borrowing money from the issuer, and when you pay off your card, you're paying back the issuer.
Benefits that come from the issuer: Rewards for your spending — cash back, points or miles per dollar spent — are typically paid to you by the issuer. The issuer may also provide perks benefits you receive just for carrying the card, regardless of whether you use it.
The payment network acts as a go-between for credit card transactions. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover are payment networks. The network determines where you can use your card. When you pay for something with a credit card, the network makes sure that the transaction gets reported back to the issuer so it shows up on your statement and that the merchant gets paid by your issuer.
American Express and Discover are special in that they are both issuers and networks. Benefits that come from the network: Network-provided benefits tend to be protections and perks, like rental car coverage or travel insurance.
In some cases, networks make certain benefits available on their cards, but it's up to the issuer to decide whether a card will actually include them.
The partner is a store, airline, hotel or other brand whose name appears on the card and whose loyalty rewards program is tied to the card. Not all credit cards have co-brand partners.
The partner administers the loyalty program linked to the card. For example, if you have an American Airlines credit card, you earn miles with your purchases. American operates the frequent-flyer program where you would use those miles. Benefits that come from the co-brand partner: The co-brand partner lets you redeem the rewards earned on the card and often provides additional perks to cardholders, such as free checked bags for an airline card, automatic room upgrades for a hotel card or discounts for a store card.
You can see how it works by taking a look at a few popular credit cards:. Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card.
This is one of the most common questions about credit card companies. Just about every place that takes credit cards takes both Visa and Mastercard, with only a couple of exceptions such as Visa-only Costco , so consumers are left wondering whether there's a difference at all. The most important thing to remember is that neither Visa nor Mastercard issues credit cards.
These companies are just payment networks that process transactions. Most of the benefits that come with a card are provided by the card issuer, not the network. And since their acceptance rates are nearly identical, you're better off focusing on the features of individual cards rather than which network they operate on.
Read more about Visa vs. Just as there is no single best credit card for everyone, consumers have widely different opinions about the best and worst credit card issuers. One person could get the runaround from customer service and rate a bank zero stars as a result, while another has nothing but positive experiences and gives it five stars across the board.
Still, some trends emerge in customer satisfaction surveys. Several general travel cards will reimburse hundreds of dollars a year in travel expenses. This might apply to any travel purchase, or to specific expenses such as airline fees or Uber rides.
Learn more about travel credits. Reimbursement for TSA Precheck and Global Entry. More and more cards are paying you back for the application fee for these trusted traveler programs, which help you get through airport security and customs more quickly.
Learn more about trusted traveler programs , and see which cards offer reimbursement. Airport lounge access. The biggest airlines American, Delta, United all offer high-end, high-annual-fee credit cards that get you into their airport lounges when you travel, and some lower-fee airline cards offer discounted or limited access.
Several general travel cards get you into lounges in worldwide networks such as Priority Pass. American Express even has its own lounge network. Learn more about cards with lounge access. Free checked bags and priority boarding. Exclusive to airline cards, these perks make travel a lot easier because you don't have to stuff everything into a carry-on to avoid a bag fee, and you don't have to fight for overhead-bin space because you're among the first to board the plane.
The checked-bag perk alone can easily pay the annual fee on some cards. Learn more about free checked bags. Free nights and other amenities. Credit cards issued by hotel chains offer perks that general travel cards can't match.
Some of them give you one free night a year, which can make up the cost of the card immediately. Other benefits include free breakfast, free internet and early check-in or late check-out.
Rewards cards make purchases work harder for you. Earning rewards on every dollar you spend is like finding change in your couch cushions every day. They allow you to travel more often, or more luxuriously, at a discount. Travel rewards credit cards can make it possible to sit in first class, upgrade to a suite or skip the long security line.
They can help protect you if your vacation falls apart. Many travel cards will compensate you if your bags get lost, your flight gets significantly delayed or canceled, or you have to cut your trip short because of a family emergency or illness.
Many also offer coverage for your rental car. This all comes at no additional cost to you. Rewards cards typically have higher APRs. That means credit card debt will cost you more over time. Annual fees add up, especially if you carry multiple rewards cards. They require a fair amount of mental energy.
Some people relish the challenge of maximizing every purchase and piecing together a complicated, yet heavily subsidized, vacation itinerary. Others have zero interest in memorizing which card to use at gas stations, which to use at grocery stores, and which to use at restaurants.
If you want rewards with little effort, a flat-rate cash back card or a travel card with a straightforward rewards program no fancy transfers to airline partners or complicated redemptions will make jumping into the pool of rewards cards warm and inviting. Put all your ordinary expenses on the card , including monthly bills, to rack up rewards more quickly.
Be careful to never overspend just for rewards. Consider using complementary cards to extract maximum rewards for your spending. For example, one card might offer high rewards for restaurant spending, while an airline card gives you free checked bags and a third card gives you a nice rate on all other spending.
If you have a card with a sign-up bonus, consolidate spending on that card until you earn that bonus. Redeem your rewards in the way that delivers maximum value.
With travel cards, you usually get a better redemption rate when you redeem for travel expenses than you would if you opted for cash back.
Cash-back cards, meanwhile, may give you the highest redemption rate for statement credit, but a lower rate if you redeem points for gift cards.
Some rewards can be transferred to travel partners, such as airlines and hotels, at a valuable rate. Learn what the options are and what your rewards are worth.
Access to airport lounges means free snacks and a more relaxing space in which to wait for your flight. Rewards cards come in a variety of flavors to fit different consumer preferences and spending patterns.
This roundup highlights the best cards in each particular category, but there may be a better card for you. Find other great cards in our specialized roundups:.
Best cash-back credit cards. Best general travel credit cards. Best airline credit cards. Best hotel credit cards. Best premium credit cards. Best cards for restaurant rewards. Best cards for grocery rewards. Best cards for gas rewards. To view rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, see this page.
NerdWallet's Credit Cards team selects the best rewards credit cards based on overall consumer value, as evidenced by star ratings, as well as their suitability for specific kinds of consumers, including both those seeking cash-back rewards and those interested in travel rewards.
Factors in our evaluation include annual and other fees, rewards rates, the earning structure for example, flat-rate rewards versus bonus categories , redemption options, bonus offers for new cardholders, introductory and ongoing APRs, and other noteworthy features such as airline or hotel perks or the ability to transfer points.
Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards. For example, if your card earns 1. How you use the points or miles depends on the card. Common redemption options include travel, gift cards and merchandise. With most rewards cards, you can see your accumulated earnings on your monthly statement or through your online account portal, and you can decide when and how to redeem them.
You may also be able to have your rewards deposited into a bank account or sent as a check. For cards that carry the name of an airline or hotel brand, you typically use your rewards for free travel or upgrades. Some bank-branded credit cards let you transfer their points into airline or hotel programs.
In most cases, there is no limit to how many points or miles or how much cash back you can earn with a credit card. Some cards do limit how much spending is eligible for bonus rewards — that is, higher rewards offered in specific categories — but after you hit that limit, you still earn rewards at the base rate.
How much each point or mile is worth depends on the card that issued it and how you redeem it. In some programs, points are worth 1 cent apiece regardless of how you redeem. In others, you might get 1 cent per point when redeeming for travel and 0.
Airline miles could be worth anywhere from less than 1 cent to more than 5 cents apiece depending on how many miles you need to earn a free flight and how much that flight would have cost if you were paying cash. Hotel points are similarly variable in value.
The best rewards credit cards typically require good to excellent credit for approval. Good credit is generally defined as a credit score of or better.
However, there are some decent rewards-bearing cards for people with fair credit and even bad credit. Keep in mind that credit scores are only one factor in your application. Every issuer has its own criteria for approval. Typically, credit card rewards are not taxable. That's because the IRS generally considers credit card rewards as discounts or rebates, not income.
CREDIT CARDS CREDIT CARDS BEST REWARDS CREDIT CARDS OF FEBRUARY Advertiser disclosure BEST OF 16 Best Rewards Credit Cards of February By NerdWallet.
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.
However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money. Show summary. Best Rewards Credit Cards From Our Partners. Credit card.
NerdWallet rating. Find the right credit card for you. Get Started. Take Quiz. Our pick for Travel rewards — flat-rate rewards. Our pick for Travel rewards — bonus categories. Our pick for Cash back — families groceries, gas, commuting, streaming.
Our pick for Cash back — high flat rate. Our pick for College students. Our pick for Cash back — maximum customization potential. Our pick for Hotel credit card. Our pick for Rewards on rent payments.
Our top recommendations for the best rewards credit card · Best for beginners: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card · Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card · Chase Sapphire Best Rewards Credit Cards · Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for Earning Ultimate Rewards · Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Best 17 best rewards credit cards of February · Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for beginner travelers · Capital One Venture Rewards Credit
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/LoanCostRatio_final-868418a3086541ebaee40f1bc15a9c91.png "PP Real Estate Financing")
