Best Pick For: Cash Back Categories
Chase Freedom Flex℠ Card
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ has a lot to offer, featuring a wealth of cash back categories to keep you busy.
Not only do you get a rotating set of 5% categories – a rare and useful feature – there’s also a wide variety of other categories to complement them. All for no annual fee!
Runners up
- American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Card
- Discover it® Cash Back
- Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Capital One Savor Rewards
- American Express Blue Cash Everyday® Card
Best Pick For: Travel Rewards
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Regular travelers can feel right at home using the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, with solid travel features for a reasonable annual fee.
If you travel more often, you’ll probably want something bigger and better to help you get the most out of your trips. Check out the premium travel cards below if that sounds like you.
Runners Up
- Bank of America® Premium Rewards®
- Capital One Venture Rewards
Best Pick For: Premium Travel Rewards
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of our favorite cards overall, featuring great perks that should offset the annual fee pretty easily.
You can find a lot of value in the rewards, travel and airport security credits, as well as the Priority Pass Select membership and hotel/rental car privileges – and those are just some of the highlights of this useful card.
Runners Up
- American Express Platinum Card®
- Capital One Venture X Rewards
- U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
Best Pick For: Airport Lounge Access
American Express Platinum Card®
If you travel a lot, you know how important it is to take a moment to unwind. The Platinum Card® from American Express gives you more lounge access than any other card (aside from the business version).
Along with the typical Priority Pass Select membership you get with high-end travel cards, you can also relax in a variety of other lounge brands, including the coveted Amex Centurion℠ Lounges:
- Air Space
- The International American Express Lounges
- The Centurion Lounge
- Delta Sky Club®
- Escape Lounges
- Lufthansa Business
- Plaza Premium
- Priority Pass
Runners Up
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Capital One Venture X Rewards
- American Express® Green Card
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Best Pick For: Gas Stations
PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card kinda comes out of left field, but it’s easy to see why it’s an excellent rewards card for gas.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find unlimited 5X points for gas year-round on other cards. Usually, you’ll have a spending limit, or the category will only be available a few months of the year.
Other handy features include additional bonus categories and no foreign transaction fee. But you’ll need to be a PenFed member to apply.
Runners Up
- American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Card
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- Chase Freedom Flex℠
- Discover it® Cash Back
Best Pick For: Groceries
American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Card
When it comes to groceries, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express blows most other cards out of the water – and it’s quite good in some other categories, too.
It’s possible to get a better return than 6% on grocery spending using some of the runners up below. But in those cases, you’ll have to do some work (transferring rewards and redeeming for travel), whereas the Blue Cash Preferred® gives you easy cash back with no extra effort.
Runners Up
- American Express® Gold Card
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
- American Express Blue Cash Everyday® Card
- Discover it® Cash Back
- Chase Freedom Flex℠
Best Pick For: Dining
American Express® Gold Card
Some cards are made for groceries, for dining or for travel. But if you blend all those cards together, you might wind up with the American Express® Gold Card.
You’ll get solid point categories for U.S. supermarkets and dining. There’s another category for flights, and you also get a $120 annual dining credit (up to $10 per month). It’s got a lot to offer – just make sure the annual fee is worth it.
Runners Up
- U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred®
- Capital One Savor Rewards
- Capital One SavorOne Rewards
Best Pick For: Balance Transfers
U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
When transferring a balance, you typically want the longest possible 0% introductory APR period. That’s what you’ll get from the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card.
- Balance Transfer APR: 0%* for 20 billing cycles on balance transfers, then the APR is Variable
- Balance Transfer fee: Either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater
You’ll get the same intro period for purchases – though there isn’t much else here. But if you want to pay down a large existing balance over time at no interest, look no further.
Runner Up
- Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) Platinum Credit Card
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Best Pick For: Business Travel
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a business travel powerhouse, thanks to its unparalleled airport lounge access and hotel benefits. There are also some specific business perks, like Adobe and Dell Technologies credits. So explore the card to see if your company can use the major features.
Take note that you’ll need to book through Amex Travel to earn that nice 5X rate. Some other cards are a bit more flexible with their travel categories, like some of the runners up below and premium travel cards above.
Runners Up
- Chase Ink Business Preferred®
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- Capital One Spark 2X Miles for Business
- Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select for Business
Best Pick For: Business Rewards
Ink Business Preferred® Card from Chase
Chase’s Ink Business Preferred® comes with a great set of reward categories to cover many expenses of the modern small business. There’s a great intro bonus to get you started, and you can transfer the points to Chase Ultimate Rewards® airline and hotel partners to use where and how you see fit.
Runners Up
- Chase Ink Business Cash®
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited®
- American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus for Business
- Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card
- U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card
What Are the Best Credit Cards for Good or Excellent Credit?
With good or excellent credit scores (a FICO score of 670 or higher), you’ll have a relatively easy time qualifying for credit cards. Start your search with top-notch reward and travel cards, along with cards for paying off expenses over time, like:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® for premium travel rewards
- American Express Blue Cash Preferred® for great cash back rates on groceries and gas
- U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card for plenty of time to pay off balance transfers
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express for travel and business rewards
What Does It Mean to Have Good or Excellent Credit?
“Good or excellent credit” refers to a certain credit score range:
- 670 or above, for FICO
- 700 or above, for VantageScore
Different credit scoring models use different designations for “fair,” “good,” “excellent” etc. So you may see some variation depending on where you look.
Having good or excellent credit doesn’t just mean you could qualify for the best credit cards on the market. You may also qualify for lower interest rates, higher credit limits and better terms on other loans and financial products, too.
