Credit Cards With the Best Perks
The right cards can put hundreds—even thousands—of dollars back in your pocket
There are more than 1,000 credit cards out there that offer rewards. With these, you get something in return each time you spend, usually cash back and sometimes points or miles (as with airline-branded cards). But how do you choose the best one (or two, or maybe three or more) for you?
If you carry balances on your credit cards, this is not a question even worth asking, because any reward you earn will be offset by interest charges and late fees. But if you pay in full every month, look for cards that most generously reward you for the kind of charging you usually do.
Do you spend heavily on travel? Dining out? Entertainment? On gas or groceries? Check out the cards below, organized by spending styles, to find the ones that will reward you the most.
Road Tripper
If a large chunk of your monthly expenses goes to gas and related road-trip charges, and you usually visit just one company’s stations, you may be tempted to get its rewards card. For example, the Exxon Mobil Smart Card+ saves you 12 cents a gallon on premium fuel, 10 cents on other grades. "The drawback is you are typically limited to earning rewards at only Exxon Mobil locations," says Nick Ewen, senior editorial director for the travel site The Points Guy.
Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer
Discount Seeker
If you’re someone who appreciates having a card that partners with a large and varying array of retailers (often high-end) for special shopping discounts, consider the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card. You earn 6 percent cash back at two retailers you choose each quarter, up to $1,500 each quarter (1.5 percent cash back on additional charges). Retailers recently included Apple, Amazon, Chewy, Crate & Barrel, Ikea, Lululemon, Nordstrom, Restoration Hardware, and Williams Sonoma.
Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer
You can also get 3 percent back each quarter (up to $1,500) on an everyday purchase category you choose, including wholesale clubs, gas and EV charging stations, or utility bills (then 1.5 percent cash back on other purchases). You also earn 1.5 percent cash back when you shop at over 1,100 online retailers through its shopping portal. There’s no annual fee for the first year, then it’s $95.
If you have a PayPal account, the PayPal Cashback Mastercard gives you 3 percent unlimited cash back at the more than a million merchants online or in stores, plus 2 percent back anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Fans of the Simon Malls, Mills, and Premium Outlets should consider the Simon American Express card. It provides 5 percent cash back for purchases at its more than 200 locations and 1 percent back on other purchases, up to $10,000 annually. Stores include Athleta, Armani, Brooks Brothers, and Polo Ralph Lauren.
Culture Lover
Does a chunk of your credit card charges go toward tickets for theatrical and musical events? Each month, the Citi Custom Cash Card gives cardholders 5 percent back on the eligible spending category of their choice, one of which is live entertainment. You can earn up to $6,000 back a year on concerts, live sporting events, live theatrical productions, amusement parks, and orchestra performances. And there’s no annual fee.
Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer
If you like to have early access, Capital One gives cardholders presale tickets to concerts and theatrical shows (including some on Broadway), wine and food festivals, and James Beard Foundation tastings across the country. It also offered presale tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras tour. Its Capital One SavorOne offers unlimited 3 percent cash back on entertainment, which includes ticket purchases made at movie theaters, sporting events, live theater, amusement parks, tourist attractions, aquariums, zoos, dance halls, pool halls, and bowling alleys. SavorOne has no annual fee. If you spend enough on cultural events to cover a $95 annual fee, the Capital One Savor has a similar rewards program but provides 4 percent cash back on entertainment charges.
Another option: Amex cardholders also get presale access to live theater, concerts, sporting events, dining experiences, and more. For example, cardholders were recently offered advance tickets to Coachella, the U.S. Open, the Grand Prix, and Carrie Underwood’s Las Vegas show.
All Bank of America cardholders can take advantage of its Museums on Us program. It partners with 225 cultural institutions across the U.S., mostly museums, to provide free general admission during the first full weekend of every month.
Avid Traveler
"If you’re super loyal to one airline, it might make sense to get its card since they can offer perks like free checked bags and seat upgrades," says Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. But if you’re looking for a card that offers access to airport lounges, upgrades at fancy resorts, passes for early boarding, first dibs for high-end restaurant reservations, and so on, there are other options. These cards tend to have high annual fees, but when used wisely they can save you hundreds of dollars a year, if not more.
Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer
Capital One Venture X has a $395 annual fee, but every year you get a $300 credit for travel purchases if you book flights, hotels, or rental cars through Capital One Travel. You’ll also get 10 miles per dollar spent booking those hotels and rental cars, 5 miles per dollar spent to book flights, plus 2 miles on all other charges. And you’ll get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 toward travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary. The card provides up to a $100 credit every four years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and unlimited access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges worldwide from Priority Pass, Plaza Premium Group, and Capital One. You also get 10 miles per dollar spent when you use its Premier Collection service to book luxury hotels, resorts, and spas around the world through Capital One, plus up to a $100 experience credit to use during your stay. Capital One miles can also be transferred to 15 airline and three hotel partners. It recently offered a bonus of 75,000 miles if you spent $4,000 in the first three months.
The even pricier Chase Sapphire Reserve is $550 a year. But the first $300 you spend on travel annually is credited back to you. Then you get 5 points on flights and 10 points on hotels and car rentals when you use your card through Chase Travel. You get 3 points per dollar spent on eligible dining, delivery services, and takeout. There’s also free access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide with up to two guests, including Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club and Priority Pass lounge locations. And you can transfer your points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs at a one-to-one value. The card also provides up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for rental cars; trip cancellation insurance up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip; and trip reimbursement for travel delays of more than 6 hours or that require an overnight stay, including reimbursement of up to $500 for lodging and meals.
You also get up to $3,000 per passenger for lost or damaged luggage, plus baggage delay insurance up to $100 per day up to five days. And you get emergency medical and dental benefits, roadside assistance, and emergency evacuation coverage. Its initial bonus was recently 60,000 points if you spent $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
Big Food Shopper
We all buy groceries, but if supermarket items are an especially big budget item for you, it pays to be rewarded for it. You’ll get 6 percent cash back annually on up to $6,000 worth of groceries bought at U.S. supermarkets with the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express. It’s free the first year and $95 annually after that. You also get an unlimited 6 percent back on select streaming services and an unlimited 3 percent on gas, ride-share services, tolls, parking, subways, ferries, trains, and taxis.
Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer Illustration: Alex Eben Meyer
Another possibility, this one with no annual fee, is the AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Credit Card, which pays 5 percent cash back on groceries at supermarkets—and 3 percent at wholesale stores and gas stations—and will pay up to $500 a year in combined rewards. More of an online food shopper? The Capital One Walmart Rewards Card will pay 5 percent cash back on orders placed at Walmart.com for no annual fee and also pay 5 percent cash back on in-store purchases for the first 12 months when you use your card with Walmart Pay.
Special Perks Worth Knowing About
The credit cards you currently have could have perks you’re not even aware of. For specifics on your card, check your issuer’s website or app, or call the number on the back. Some possibilities:
Cell Phone Insurance
This can keep you from having to pay the full cost of a replacement phone if yours is stolen or damaged and you’ve exhausted other insurance you hold (i.e., homeowners, renters, and automobile). You have to use the card to pay your phone bill. Mastercard offers cell phone insurance with most World and World Elite cards, and American Express offers it with several of its premium cards. It’s included with all Wells Fargo consumer cards.
Typically the card will pay a set amount per incident (generally $600 to $800), often on two or three claims a year after you pay a $25 to $100 deductible.
Extended Warranty Coverage
Many cards extend the manufacturer’s warranty by a year if you use the card to buy an eligible item. "My wife bought an expensive electric toothbrush with her Amex card, and it broke 6 months after the manufacturer’s warranty expired," says Ewen of The Points Guy. "But she got the replacement cost credited back."
Price Protection
If you buy an item and within a certain time find it advertised for less, with this perk you can file a claim asking to be refunded the difference. Reimbursement caps vary by card. For example, the Wells Fargo Visa Signature Credit Card tops out at $250 per item and up to $1,000 a year if you find an eligible item within 60 days of the purchase date.
Purchase Protection
This can insure certain goods against theft or accidental damage for a limited time after you buy them. The coverage amount and the duration of the protection differ by card. The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex card, for example, covers new purchases for 120 days for damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. Rewards cards with high annual fees may provide more protection. For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve, which charges a $550 annual fee, provides coverage up to $10,000 per claim for up to $50,000 per year within 120 days of purchase.
Car Rental Coverage
Programs vary, but generally, you have to pay for your rental car with a card that has this coverage and decline the insurance offered by the rental car company. The coverage that most credit cards offer, typically for damage to or theft of the rental car, kicks in after your personal auto insurance pays.
Can You Have Too Many Credit Cards?
If you like to keep things simple, one or two no-annual-fee cards that reward your main spending styles may be right for you, says Ewen. But if you’re game to invest some energy into maximizing rewards across multiple cards (we’re talking three or four or more) to cover more types of spending, you may find the additional savings to be significant.
Signing up for additional cards is more likely to help, not hurt, your credit score. That’s because when credit is extended to you, your debt-to-credit ratio decreases. And that has a big impact on your FICO credit score. There’s also no need to cancel no-fee card accounts that no longer fit your needs. Simply stop using them. But "if the card has an annual fee, call the issuer or check its website to see if it has a no-fee card that fits your current needs," says Rossman of Bankrate.com. If you switch cards with the same issuer, it usually won’t have an impact on your credit score. If you don’t, and you decide to cancel a card, your credit score will rebound in a couple of months if you pay your bills promptly.
Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the May/June 2024 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
