The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card earns its place on our best credit cards list because of its simple approach to cash rewards. You earn 2% back on all everyday purchases, all year long. There’s no limit to the cash back, and you can redeem it in several ways: to cover purchases, as a statement credit, at the ATM in $20 increments, or as a gift card. Both the ATM and gift card options require you to redeem your cash back in specific amounts, which makes them slightly less convenient options, but the redemption process is still simple and straightforward. 

In addition to uncomplicated cash back, the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card also has a decent introductory bonus. If you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months, you get $200 cash rewards. That’s a little more in purchases in a little less time than some comparable cards, so do some quick math on your typical monthly spending before signing up in hopes of taking advantage of this offer. 

For a no annual fee card, we also love the 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. Like always, we don’t suggest you carry a balance, but if you have to it’s nice to know you’re covered. 

There aren't a lot of bells or whistles to this card (that’s kind of the point), but we do like the cell phone protection plan that protects your phone up to $600 against damage or theft when you pay your bill with it ($25 deductible). 

Bottom line, this is a great card for flat rate rewards that don’t require minimums to redeem cash.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card is all about the bonus rewards for signing up. First, you get a traditional sign up bonus of $200 after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Then for the next year, you’ll also earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart) up to $12,000 spent in the first  year. This can add up to almost $600 in additional cash rewards year one. 

From there, the Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card also offers 0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for the first 15 months. 

Outside of the introductory offer, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card still offers good returns with 3% on dining, 3% on drugstore purchases, 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and 1.5% on all other purchases. The rewards earned through these purchases don’t expire and there is no minimum to redeem cash back. 

This card also has you pretty covered when it comes to security and insurance features–especially for a no annual fee card. You’ll have purchase protection, fraud monitoring, auto rental collision damage, and trip cancellation to name a few. Plus, it’s easy to use Chase Credit Journey to keep track of your credit. You actually don’t need a Chase account to use the Chase Credit Journey, but it’s good to be aware of it if you already do. The Chase Credit Journey helps monitor your credit score, notifies you if your data is breached, and connects you with round-the-clock support for questions. 

In short, this card’s multiple introductory offers earns it a place on our best credit cards list, but its basic offerings are pretty good, too.  

The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express offers you $300 back in a statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first six months. The $95 annual fee is also waived for the first year as a welcome gift. And with the practical categories for earning rewards where you already spend money, you may barely notice the annual fee when it returns. 

When considering rewards categories, the team behind the Blue Cash Preferred Credit Card considered activities Americans spend a lot of their time doing: eating and commuting. You’ll get:

Some categories have limits so it’s not perfect, but a 6% return on something as universal as groceries is awesome. 

The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express also grants you access to the Pay It, Plan It program, which allows you to split larger purchases into interest-free, fixed monthly payments. These payments do include a small monthly fee, but setting up a payment plan for large, unexpected expenses you wouldn’t be able to cover otherwise can save you money on interest and help protect your credit score. Win, win.

American Express is also looking out for you with such protection as rental and damage insurance and return protection. 

The Discover it Cash Back Credit Card offers 5% cash back on rotating categories that change each quarter. You have to go on each quarter and activate the bonus categories, so it can be a little bit of work, but we think it’s worth it. The categories are common purchases like:

At the end of your first year, you’ll also get an extra surprise with Discover’s Unlimited Cashback Match. Basically, at the end of the first year, Discover will match all the rewards you earned. This effectively doubles your reward returns for the year! 

We also like that the Discover it Cash Back card includes 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balances transfers. This isn’t the longest offering on the market, but it’s pretty close. 

Besides that, you also get Discover’s award winning customer service and information protection perks. With your card, you can activate free social security number alerts and online privacy protection, where Discover searches for your information on 10 popular people search websites and deletes it.  

This card doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees, but it’s worth noting that Discover isn’t widely accepted internationally, so it might not be the best card for travel. 

The BankAmericard Credit Card really serves one purpose: to help you avoid paying interest for as long as possible. With 0% intro APR on purchases in the first 21 billing cycles and qualifying balance transfers in the first 60 days, you can really save a lot in interest payments. Keep in mind, you do still have to pay the balance transfer fee of 3% or $10, whichever is higher, for each qualifying balance transfer.

This card also avoids charging a penalty APR, so if you’re late in your payments, you won’t be hit with crazy high APRs like other cards. This doesn’t mean you’re off scotch-free, however. You’ll still pay a pretty high late payment fee and missing a payment could hurt your credit score. Still, the wiggle room is nice. 

After the introductory period expires, this card has basically served its purpose. There are no rewards to speak of and the regular purchase APR is just fine.

We suggest you get this card to use the introductory period and, depending on your credit history, move on to better cards (maybe a different one from our best credit card list) after. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card currently offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening. Because Chase values points spent for travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards 25% more, these points can add up to $750 in travel purchases. 

To earn points on everyday purchases, you can earn:

If it seems like a lot of bonus categories, it’s because it is. Plus, on your anniversary you get a 10% anniversary point boost to help you earn even more points. 

The real value of Chase Sapphire Preferred is the flexibility of the points redemption. You can redeem your points in cash back, purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards or even transfer them to several frequent user hotel and airline programs like Hyatt or SouthWest. 

Other travel perks include auto rental coverage, trip cancellation insurance, and lost luggage insurance. You also get an annual $50 hotel credit that is applied when you book a hotel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. 

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit card offers unlimited two miles per dollar on every purchase for only $95 a year–a relatively low price compared to other travel cards. Because most travel cards reward travel-specific purchases, this reward on everyday purchases is unique–though you do also get 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

With this card you also get other perks to make traveling smoother like no foreign transaction fees, travel accident insurance, rental car coverage, and even $100 reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Plus, you get two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or 100+ locations through their Partner Lounge Network. 

When you’re ready to redeem these miles, you can purchase travel through Capital One Travel, apply it as a statement credit, or transfer the miles to one of Capital One’s 15 airlines or hotel partners. If you book travel through Capital One Travel, you’ll receive Capital One’s best prices guarantee so that you feel confident booking a good price. 

This card does require excellent credit so not everyone will qualify, but if you can, the bonus alone might convince you. Right now, if you spend $4,000 within the first three months, you’ll get 75,000 bonus miles — that’s almost $750 toward travel. 

The Capital One Venture X Credit Card is all about the premium rewards program and travel experience. You get 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening — that’s roughly $750. You also get 10,000 bonus miles every year on the anniversary of your card. 

When it comes to actually earning miles through purchases, you can earn 2x miles on everyday purchases, 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, and 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. This is one of the highest rewards returns on the market and if you’re planning on doing a lot of traveling, it can be very lucrative. 

On top of all this, Capital One also gives you $300 in annual travel credits for bookings through Capital One Travel and the peace of mind that comes with Capital One’s best prices guaranteed. Basically, if you purchase a flight through Capital One Travel when they recommend you do and the price drops, you’ll be able to apply for a partial reimbursement. 

You’ll also get a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit and other travel safety perks like lost luggage insurance and cell phone protection. 

These are all great, but the perk that pulls this card into the premium card category is the complimentary, unlimited access to Capital One Lounges or 100+ other locations through their Partner Lounge Network. If you want to rest and unwind at the airport, this might be the card for you. 

We know at first this card’s fee may be too steep for some, but, for us, the premium perks and high earning potential (and the fact that it’s cheaper than other premium travel cards) earns it a spot on our best credit cards lists. 

The American Express Gold Credit Card is a great choice for people who love to eat out. With this card, you’ll be rewarded 4x points on restaurants worldwide (and take out and delivery in the US), making it one of the best dining reward returns on the market. 

The rewards don’t end there with 4x points at the supermarket (up to $25,000), 3x points on flights, and 1x points for all other purchases. Plus, if you sign up now, you can earn 90,000 membership rewards points as a welcome bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first 6 months.

These membership rewards points can be redeemed through American Express’ airline or hotel partners, for gift cards, to cover previous card charges, or at check out on online stores. You can even transfer your points to various airline and hotel frequent travel loyalty programs. Most points transfer on a 1:1 basis, but be aware that you’ll be charged  $0.00006 per point with a maximum fee of $99 when you send them to US airlines. 

If the perks don’t move you, the American Express Gold card also offers a $120 Uber credit and $120 dining credit (to select restaurants) each year. Each of these credits come as $10 statement credits each month. Waiting month to month is tedious, but still it’s free food money.  

Basically, this card offers great membership reward points on dining out and buying groceries, just make sure you spend enough to make it offset the annual fee. 

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is an unusual card because it accepts fair credit and offers above average rewards. With this card, you can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.You can even get 5% cashback on any travel purchases you make on the Capital One Travel website. 

While this card does have a $39 annual fee, this unlimited cashback should help you earn back the expense. When you’re ready to redeem these points, you can redeem them for cash, receive a statement credit, or apply them to cover a recent purchase. 

Like all cards for less than stellar credit, the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card has a pretty high APR so we don’t suggest you carry a balance on this card. Plus, after 6 months of responsible use you may be upgraded to a higher credit line–leading to higher credit limits and lower APRs. 

Basically, this card is an easy way to begin growing your credit score, which is why we consider it one of the best credit cards for fair credit. 

Like all secured cards, the Discover it Secured Credit Card requires a refundable security deposit in order to extend you a line of credit. Your deposit amount matches your credit limit so if you want a $500 credit limit, you’ll pay a $500 security deposit. The Discover it Secured Credit Card’s security deposits start at $200 and go up to $2,500.

This deposit makes you less of a risk for Discover, so even bad credit users will probably qualify.
It might be difficult to think about $200 leaving your bank account for a while, but hopefully it won’t be for too long. After seven months, Discover will begin automatically evaluating your creditworthiness. If you’ve proven you can responsibly use the card, they’ll upgrade you to an unsecured card and refund your deposit. This chance to move up to a higher credit line is one of the main things we look for in a secured card.

When it comes to rewards, the Discover it Secured Credit Card offers 2% back on gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter) and 1% back on all other purchases. Plus, at the end of the first year, you’ll experience Discover’s Unlimited Cashback Match. All the cashback you received in the first year will be automatically doubled–a dollar-for-dollar match. Many secured cards don’t offer rewards at all, so this is a pretty good showing.

This card does have a pretty high APR, but, all in all,, it’s a pretty good offering for a secured card with no annual fee.

The Petal 1 “No Annual Fee” credit card is a good choice for people with bad credit looking for an unsecured credit card. It has no annual fees, no foreign transaction fees, and you don’t have to put down a security deposit. Plus, while this card does have a late payment fee (up to $40) and returned payment fee ($29), you’ll avoid the sneaky fees other credit cards targeting bad credit try to pile on.

To help people qualify, Petal doesn’t just look at your credit score, but also checks out your “cash score” or banking history. This allows more people to qualify, even if their credit history is limited or just plain bad.

For an unsecured starter card, this card has a pretty high credit limit of up to $5,000. Don’t expect to get that limit on the first go around as credit limits begin at $300. However, thanks to Petal’s Leap program you can earn a credit line increase in as little as 6 months with on-time payments.

You can keep track of these future line increases on the Petal app. We don’t suggest you carry a balance on this card as it only offers high APRs, but if you do, the Petal app has a calculator that will help you understand how much retaining that balance will cost you in interest.

Finally, Petal does offer rewards for their Petal 1 credit card, but the cashback is pretty vague. They offer 2-10% back on select merchants in your area. It’s not something to write home about, but ultimately rewards aren’t the real purpose of this card.