Choosing the right Reward Credit Cards can be a challenging decision. Depending on the amount of money charged to a card in a given year, a rewards card can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars in added value for the cardholder.
Before choosing a reward credit card, you’ll want to make sure you use the card in an intelligent way. It’s important to remember that the even the best rewards card is not worth it if you carry balances from month to month, as interest charges will more than counter any rewards you would earn.
Identifying your spending habits
Choosing a rewards credit card requires more than simply picking the overall “best” card. Instead, it is important to understand your spending habits. This is because the best rewards cards tend to offer the biggest rewards multipliers for
Now, with all of that out of the way, here are the four best rewards credit cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is one of the most popular and highly-regarded rewards cards on the market. It is, without a doubt, a “premium” card, indicated in large part by its $450 annual fee.
Despite the fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is arguably the best rewards card on the market, provided you have sufficient spend in the right categories.
Best benefits
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers several benefits which have come to be expected by premium travel rewards cards. These include:
- Travel protection
- Global Entry or TSA Precheck application reimbursement
- Access to airport lounges, in CSR’s case, this includes the “Priority Pass” lounge network
- Priority customer service
In addition, the card offers a $300 annual “travel credit”, which is actually quite easy to use. “Travel” has a broad definition, with everything from fast food, Uber/Lyft rides, and of course airfare, hotels, and car rentals qualifying as well. This also reduces the effective cost of the card to $150.
In addition, the CSR offers triple-point accumulation on that broad travel category. This means that everyday purchases, which certainly would not be considered “travel” by regular standards, will earn triple points.
What makes the CSR stand out as an even more exceptional value is the fact that booking hotel rooms, flights, and several other travel-related items through the Chase portal gives card holders an additional 50% on their points This means that you can get up to 4.5x points (3x for travel expenses and a 1.5x multiplier when spending through the Chase portal).
Who should (and shouldn’t) get the Chase Sapphire Reserve card
The CSR is ideal for customers who travel at least a moderate amount each year, and who can take advantage of the $300 travel credit, the 3x travel spend multiplier, and especially the 1.5x Chase portal multiplier.
However, the $450 annual fee is a steep one, particularly if you don’t travel much. If that’s the case, another card might make more sense for you.
Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi
The Costco Anywhere Citi card is a great option for people who spend a significant amount at Costco each year. It is also great for people who prefer cash back instead of “rewards points”, which can sometimes be limited in where they can be redeemed.
Perhaps the most significant benefit is the 4% cash back that you get on gas purchases (at Costco or anywhere else), which makes the already-low price of Costco gas even more appealing. However, the 4% cash back applies at virtually every gas station, so this benefit is worthwhile even if you don’t go to Costco for gas all that often.
The card also offers 2% cash back on Costco purchases, as well as 3% on restaurants and various travel-related expenses.
Who should get the Costco Anywhere Card
As you might expect, the Costco Anywhere Card is best for people who do a significant amount of their spending at Costco. Otherwise, you probably won’t be able to maximize the benefits.
The other nice thing about this card is that there is no annual fee, which means it can serve as a complimentary card.
The downside, however, is that the credit is given once a year, which means you won’t get your rewards until the January of the following year.
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card
The Wells Fargo-branded AMEX card is a fairly
straightforward rewards card that is useful for people who want big points
multipliers on a wide range of categories.
Currently, the Propel card offers 3x points in the following categories:
- Eating out in restaurants and ordering food into your home
- All gas station purchases
- Rideshare and other transit fares
- A range of travel-related expenses, including car rentals, hotels, Airbnb, flights, and a few other categories
This is in addition to the 1x points on all other purchase categories.
As an added bonus, the Propel card currently offers 0% APR on all purchases and balance transfers in the first year of owning the card.
Who should get the Wells Fargo Propel Card
The Propel card is a solid value for most people looking for a rewards card, thanks to the variety of points multipliers. Of course, this is more beneficial if you have significant spend in the categories with the greatest multipliers.
There aren’t a lot of downsides to the card, especially since there is no annual fee. However, it is an American Express card, which is accepted in fewer places than Visa or MasterCard, so this is something to consider.
Discover it Cash Back
The Discover it Cash Back card is great for people who like to get the maximum percentage of cash back rewards. With 5% cash back in select (and rotating) categories, the Discover it card can add up to significant value for card holders.
The obvious downside, of course, is that you will need to keep track of the rotating categories. In addition, if a category doesn’t match your spending habits, you might not get much value out of the card.
For that reason, the Discover it card is perhaps the best complimentary card on this list
Which Rewards card should you pick?
When choosing a card, the most important thing to determine is which one will provide the greatest value based on your specific spending habits. However, it is also important to think about value beyond simply maximizing the value in terms of dollars.
For example, for some people, getting cash back every month or every quarter is the best type of reward. If reducing the effective price you spend on products is most important, this might make sense for you.
For others, however, their rewards balance is more of a “bonus” or “vacation fund”. In these cases, it might make more sense to go with a card that offers larger reward value that is also limited to specific categories. For example, the 50% bonus on points spent on travel
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FIT™ Platinum Mastercard®
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- Return Payment Fee
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- Regular APR
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Reflex® Platinum Mastercard®
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- Regular APR
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First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
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- Credit Recommended
- Poor/Limited/No Credit
- Regular APR
- 14.74% (V)
- Annual Fee
- $49
- Credit Line
- $2,000
- Cash Advance APR
- 23.74% (V)
Freedom Gold Card
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- No Credit Check
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- Bad Credit - OK
- Credit Line
- $750 Limit (Usable only at TheHorizonOutlet.com)
- Monthly Fee
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- 0% APR
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Milestone® Mastercard®
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- *Fraud protection provided by Mastercard Zero Liability Protection. If approved, you'll receive the Mastercard Guide to Benefits that details the complete terms with your card.
- Credit Recommended
- Fair/Good
- Credit Limit
- $700
- Cash Advance Fee
- See terms
- Regular APR
- See terms
Destiny Mastercard®
- All the benefits of a Mastercard, without a security deposit
- 24/7 access to your account, even on mobile!
- Reports to all three major credit bureaus
- Less than perfect credit is okay, even with a prior bankruptcy!
- Credit Recommended
- Poor to Good
- Credit Limit
- $700
- Regular APR
- See terms
- Annual Fee
- See terms
Surge® Platinum Mastercard®
- Up to $1,000 Initial Credit Limit
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- Regular APR
- 35.90% Fixed
- Late Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Return Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Intro Rate
- See website for Details*
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Credit Card
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- Absolutely No Credit Check or Minimum Credit Score Required
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Merrick Bank Secured Credit Card
- Choose your own credit line based on how much money you want to put down as a security deposit.
- Initial deposits can be from $200 to $3,000. You can increase your credit line at any time by adding additional money to your security deposit, up to $3,000.
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- Credit Recommended
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- Regular APR
- 22.70% Variable
- Annual Fee
- $36 for first year. Billed $3 per month thereafter
- Credit Line
- $200-$3,000, depending on deposit amount
- Cash Advance APR
- 27.70% Variable
First Progress Platinum Select Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
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- 18.74% (V)
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- Cash Advance APR
- 24.74% (V)
Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®
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- Credit Line
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- Regular APR
- 14.99% - 29.99% APR
- Regular Transfer APR
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OpenSky® Plus Secured Visa® Credit Card
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- Credit Recommended
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- Regular APR
- 29.49% (variable)
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- $0
- Credit Line
- $300-$3000 at time of application
Excellent Credit Cards
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- Enjoy low rates and rewards for everyday spending
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- Earn cash back, points or miles to redeem for travel, gift cards or cash rewards
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- Terms vary by partner. Please see individual application for product terms and conditions.
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- Credit Recommended
- Good/Excellent
- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
- Intro (Transfers)
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
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- Credit Recommended
- No credit, Poor, Fair
- Regular APR
- 25.14% (variable)
- Annual Fee
- $35
- Credit Line
- $200-$3000 at time of application
Fair Credit Cards
- Time for a new Credit Card
- Improve your credit with responsible use
- Credit Cards for Fair Credit
- Credit Recommended
- Average/Fair/Good/Poor/Bad/Limited/
- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
- Intro (Transfers)
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
Bad Credit Cards
- Credit Recommended
- Fair/Bad/Poor/Damaged/Limited/No Credit/
- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
- Intro (Transfers)
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
Surge® Platinum Mastercard®
- Up to $1,000 Initial Credit Limit
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- Perfect card for everyday purchases and unexpected expenses
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- Regular APR
- 35.90% Fixed
- Late Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Return Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Intro Rate
- See website for Details*
Poor Credit Cards
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- Credit Recommended
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- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
- Intro (Transfers)
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
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Applied Bank® Unsecured Classic Visa® Card
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- Access Additional Credit With On-Time Payments and Responsible Usage
- A True Unsecured EMV enabled (chip) Visa Credit card
- Does not require perfect credit for approval
- Fixed APR and Manageable Monthly Payments
- Credit Recommended
- Poor/Damaged Credit
- Regular APR
- 29.99%
- Late Payment Fee
- Up to $38
- Return Payment Fee
- Up to $38
- Card Brand
- Visa®
FIT™ Platinum Mastercard®
- $400 Initial Credit Limit
- Less than perfect credit? We understand. The FIT Mastercard is ideal for people looking to rebuild their credit.
- Unsecured credit card requires No Security Deposit
- Perfect card for everyday purchases and unexpected expenses
- Monthly reporting to the three major credit bureaus
- Access to your Vantage 3.0 Score from Experian (when you sign up for e-statements)
- Use your card everywhere Mastercard is accepted at millions of locations
- Enjoy peace of mind with Mastercard Zero Liability Protection for unauthorized purchases (subject to Mastercard guidelines)
- Credit Recommended
- Fair/Poor/Bad
- Regular APR
- 35.90% Fixed
- Annual Fee
- See terms
- Return Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Late Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
Good Credit Cards
- Take advantage of your good credit to get competitive APRs and rewards
- Enjoy low rates and rewards for everyday spending
- Earn cash back, points or miles to redeem for travel, gift cards or cash rewards
- Bonus offers – up to 50,000 points or miles
- Good credit can lead to excellent credit – some cards provide free credit score monitoring
- Terms vary by partner. Please see individual application for product terms and conditions.
- Clicking Apply Now will take you to CreditSoup.com to compare Credit Cards for Good Credit from participating partners
- Credit Recommended
- Fair/Good/Limited/No Credit/Excellent
- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
- Intro (Transfers)
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
*See Card for Terms and Conditions
OpenSky Launch Secured Visa® Credit Card
- Excellent option for a low fully refundable security deposit, get started with just $100
- Earn up to 10% cash back on everyday purchases
- Minimum payment as low as $10
- Annual fee billed in monthly installments of $2 per month in year 1 and $3 per month thereafter
- No credit check to apply. Find out instantly if you are approved- Zero credit risk to apply!
- Looking to build or rebuild your credit? 2 out of 3 OpenSky cardholders increase their credit score by an average of 41 points in just 3 months
- Monitor your credit progress with free access to your FICO Credit Score.
- Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
- Add to your mobile wallet and make purchases using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay
- Easy application, apply in less than 5 minutes right from your mobile device
- Offers flexible payment due dates which allow you to choose any available due date that fits your payment schedule
- Now you can make smaller partial payments towards funding your security deposit over 60 days
- Over 1.4 million cardholders have used OpenSky Secured Credit Card to improve their credit
- Credit Recommended
- No credit, Poor, Fair
- Regular APR
- 29.49% (variable)
- Annual Fee
- $24 during the first year, paid in installments of $2 per month. $36 after the first year, paid in installments of $3 per month.
- Credit Line
- $100- $1,000
