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* Advertiser Disclosure: How to Money has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. How to Money and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Lastly, the site does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
Credit cards can be a powerful tool in your hands. If you use them wisely, that is.
Welcome offers can earn you hundreds of dollars in rewards travel. Or even just hundreds of dollars in cash! These credit cards can also be beneficial for folks that seek to earn cashback or accrue free travel rewards on their everyday purchases. On top of all that, many credit cards also offer incredible secondary benefits, like car rental insurance, extended warranty coverage, travel insurance, and more.
So we figured we should put together a list of our favorite credit cards. And because we all spend on credit cards differently, we listed our favorites based on the different ways people use them. If you are travel obsessed and want to score points to travel for free – there are some great credit cards for travelers. If you just want to maximize your cashback benefits – we got you covered. Best credit cards for consultants and side hustles? No problem! Or if you are feeding a big family and you spend a whole lot at the grocery store every month there are even specific cards that will reward you for that.
HTM Favorite Credit Cards for Travel Rewards
On top of that, Chase allows you to move your rewards points to other loyalty programs like JetBlue, British Airways, United Airlines, and Hyatt. One of the other major perks of this card is the ability to use it for primary rental car coverage. That’s a rare find. And if you rent cars frequently that alone makes this card incredibly valuable.
card_name Card – This is the cousin card of the Sapphire Preferred® that we mentioned above. This card is for folks who travel frequently and don’t mind paying an annual fee to do so in style. So what’s the annual fee? annual_fees. You might be thinking, “yikes!” But as an avid traveler, the first $300 you spend on travel every year is reimbursed thanks to the annual travel credit that this card offers. The card_name Card also has some great travel perks like lounge access and reimbursement for fees when you join Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
The annual fee is also much lower at $95. Miles earned on this card never expire and there’s no cap on how many miles you can earn. Capital One also makes it pretty easy to redeem the rewards that you earn. That’s because the points you earn are redeemed as statement credits.
Because of the flexible travel options, this makes the Venture card one of the best credit cards for traveling sales reps.
card_name – If Southwest has a major presence in the airport closest to you, getting the Southwest credit card makes a whole lot of sense. The welcome offer alone can be enough for you to book a few round-trip flights. Like any good travel reward card, you won’t have foreign transaction fees when using this card overseas. Airline-specific cards often come with a bevvy of points up front. But those points can be hard to redeem. But Southwest has the easiest rewards redemption out there. So if you fly Southwest frequently, this card is a winner.
HTM Favorite Credit Cards for 2% Cash Back on Everything
Fidelity Rewards Visa – This card is one that I have been using for years. And this card can also be an amazing help in investing more too. That’s because you get 2% cash back when you deposit it into an eligible Fidelity account. So open up a 529 account for your child or a Roth IRA for yourself and start investing the credit card rewards you earn. Some additional benefits are auto rental collision damage waiver, travel accident insurance, roadside dispatch, and lost luggage reimbursement. There is no annual fee for using this card.
Learn more and compare the best cash back credit cards at CardRatings.com
HTM Favorite Credit Cards for People with Bad Credit
While points, rewards, and welcome offers are nice, it’s way more important to focus on the basics when you have poor credit. Secured credit cards are the best place to start!
Best Credit Card for High Grocery Spending
Matt and I both use this card regularly as our growing families spend a lot of money at Aldi and Costco!
Best Credit Card for High Gas Spending
But, other Costco membership perks make this card a great get for Costco members. You will get 3% cash back on dining and travel. And you will also get 2% cash back on all Costco and Costco.com purchases. Your rewards can only be redeemed once a year and must be done at a Costco store.
Insider tip: You can opt to redeem your reward certificate for cash. You do not have to spend it on merchandise at the store. Here are some other sneaky Costco hacks most people don’t know about!
Psst! Other warehouse clubs might be more worth it signing up for their CCs too. Executive membership at Costco is usually worth it, too!
Best Credit Cards for Balance Transfers
This card offers both a $0 annual fee, and 0% intro rate on purchases and balance transfers for a whopping 21 months!
Before you jump into opening a balance transfer card, be sure to read our full post on how using a 0% APR card strategy works to help you pay off credit card debt. It’s really important to evaluate any transfer fees, as well as planning to pay off your entire debt before the introductory 0% APR period expires!
Best Business Credit Cards
card_name – If you want a business card with no annual fee and solid cash back, this card from American Express is perfect for you. You’ll earn 2% cash back on purchases up to $50,000 a year and a 1% cash back amount thereafter.
Also, check out these 10 best credit cards for consultants, whether you’re applying in your personal name or business name.
Finding the Right Card that Meets Your Spending Needs
There are certainly a lot of reward credit card options out there. For most people, it makes sense to have three or four cards to use for different purchases in order to maximize the rewards they earn.
It’s important to note that credit card rewards are not worth it if you won’t be able to pay your bill in full when your statement arrives. A 2% cash back reward or sweet sign-up bonus doesn’t make sense if you are paying the minimum balance and accruing lots of interest. But if are able to handle credit cards responsibly, this list can be a powerful aid in helping you pick the right card to maximize rewards in your life.
Related Credit Card Tools and Posts:
- How To Money Credit Card Search Tool
- Best Travel Credit Card Offers of 2024
- Best Airline Rewards Credit Cards of 2024
- Best Hotel Credit Cards for Frequent Travelers
- Best Travel Credit Cards with No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards for Beginners
- What’s in Our Wallet? (These are the Credit Cards we personally use!)
- BILT Mastercard: Earn points for paying your rent!
*To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: card_name: See Rates and Fees; Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees; Blue Business Cash Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees
*Advertiser Disclosure: How to Money has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. How to Money and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Lastly, the site does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
*Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
*User Generated Content Disclosure: Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.