Finding the best credit cards is both an art and science. To some extent it’s about the numbers. You look for cards with the lowest interest rates or fees, or the highest rewards. But it’s also about matching the best credit card with your specific financial needs.
As a result, the top card will vary from one person to the next. You should consider what your financial goals are, such as earning rewards, paying down debt with a 0% offer, or just having an everyday card you can use. You also need to consider your credit score.
With those caveats in mind, we’ve assembled a list of the Best Credit Cards for 2019 by category as selected by the editors of allcards.com. There are, of course, other options. With each category we’ve included a link to a larger list of credit cards. And following this list, you’ll find more details about these offers and information about our ranking methodology.
Cash Back Cards
There are two approaches to cash back cards. Either you carry one card with excellent rewards, or you carry multiple cards to get the most out of every purchase. The one card approach is simple, but doesn’t maximize your rewards. The multiple card approach is a bit of a hassle, but you get the most cash back.
If you want to maximize your cash, the Chase Freedom and Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express are two excellent options.
Here are details on these and other cash back credit cards.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Welcome Offer: Earn $200 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 3 months.
- Earn Cash Back: 6% U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% U.S. gas stations & select U.S. dept stores, 1% other purchases. Terms and limitations apply.
- With the Blue Cash Preferred® Card, you can start earning cash back. No rotating reward categories. No enrollment required.
- Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. Cash back is earned only on eligible purchases.
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, then a variable rate based on your creditworthiness and other factors.
- Annual Fee: $95
- Terms Apply
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express
- Welcome Offer: $150 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- Cash Back Rewards–
- 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%);
- 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores; and
- 1% back on other purchases.
- Note: Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be easily redeemed for statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise.
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.
- No annual fee.
- Terms Apply
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Early Spend Bonus: $150 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Intro APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Signup Bonus: Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- Cash Back: Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
- Free credit score, updated weekly with Credit Journey
- No annual fee
Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card
- Signup Bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
- Cash Back: Earn 1.5% cash rewards on every purchase
- Cash Back Bonus: Earn 1.8% cash rewards on qualified mobile wallet purchases during the first 12 months from account opening
- Get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card
- Intro APR: 0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers
- $0 Annual Fee
- Click here to learn more about the product features, terms, and conditions
Chase Freedom
- Signup Bonus: Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- 5% Cash Back: Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter
- 1% Cash Back: Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Intro APR: 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
- Free credit score, updated weekly with Credit Journey
- No annual fee
Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Cash Back: Earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Get access to a higher credit line after making your first 5 monthly payments on time
- Free credit monitoring with the CreditWise® app
- $0 fraud liability if your card is ever lost or stolen
- Get customized alerts and manage your account with the Capital One mobile app
- $39 annual fee
Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Early Spend Bonus: Earn $500 cash bonus after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months
- 4% Cash Back: Earn 4% cash back on dining and entertainment
- 2% Cash Back: Earn 2% on groceries
- 1% Cash Back: Earn 1% on all other purchases
- Intro APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 9 months
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, $95 after that
- No foreign transaction fees
See also: Check out our complete list of cash back credit cards
Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Finding the best 0% card for balance transfers is primarily about the numbers. You want a 0% offer that lasts as long as possible. And to the extent available, you’d prefer not to pay a transfer fee.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Signup Bonus: Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- Cash Back: Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
- Free credit score, updated weekly with Credit Journey
- No annual fee
Click here to learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited and similar credit cards.
Bonus: There are cards that offer 0% on balance transfers and purchases for up to 21 months. You can find these and other offers here.
Wells Fargo Platinum Visa
- 0% Intro APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers (fees apply) on transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rates and fees
- Get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your card
- Free access to your FICO® Credit Score
- Zero Liability protection for promptly reported unauthorized transactions
- $0 Annual Fee
Learn more about this card here.
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express
- Welcome Offer: $150 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- Cash Back Rewards–
- 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%);
- 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores; and
- 1% back on other purchases.
- Note: Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be easily redeemed for statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise.
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.
- No annual fee.
- Terms Apply
Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card
- Signup Bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
- Cash Back: Earn 1.5% cash rewards on every purchase
- Cash Back Bonus: Earn 1.8% cash rewards on qualified mobile wallet purchases during the first 12 months from account opening
- Get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® Card
- Intro APR: 0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers
- $0 Annual Fee
- Click here to learn more about the product features, terms, and conditions
Chase Freedom
- Signup Bonus: Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- 5% Cash Back: Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter
- 1% Cash Back: Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Intro APR: 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
- Free credit score, updated weekly with Credit Journey
- No annual fee
Click here to learn more about the Chase Freedom and similar credit cards.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Early Spend Bonus: $150 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Intro APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
See also: A longer list of 0% credit cards
Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Travel cards represent a diverse universe of rewards. They include general travel rewards that are independent of a specific company, airline miles cards, hotel rewards cards, and even specialty cards. As such, it’s difficult to pick the “best” travel card. A lot will depend on how you use the card and how you travel.
With that said, here are our picks for 2019.
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
- One-time Bonus: Earn 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $500 in travel
- Earn 2X miles on every purchase, every day.
- Earn 10X miles on thousands of hotels; learn more at hotels.com/venture, through January 2020
- Receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®
- Miles aren’t specific to any airline or hotel, so they can be used antwhere
- Travel when you want with no blackout dates
- Miles won’t expire for the life of the account
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year; $95 after that
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
- Receive 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 50k points are worth $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants
- 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- $0 foreign transaction fees
- 1:1 point transfer to leading frequent travel programs at full value
- Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95
British Airways Visa Signature
- Each year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
- Earn 4 Avios for every $1 spend on all purchases with the first year up to $30,000 (up to 120,000 bonus Avios), then 3 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases
- Earn 1 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
Click here to learn more about the British Airways Visa Signature and similar credit cards.
Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 100,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months
- Earn 6x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- Earn 4x points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, U.S. purchases on shipping, and wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. service providers
- Earn 2x points on all other eligible purchases
- Receive 1 Free Night Award each year after your Card account anniversary you can use at a participating hotel.
- Enjoy complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status.
- Earn Gold Elite status after spending $35,000 on eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year.
- Annual fee is $125 (if applied for the card before 3/27/2019, the annual fee for the first year is waived, then $95)
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
- Bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months
- Earn a free night award (worth up to 35,00 points) every year after your account anniversary
- Earn 6X points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- Earn 2X Bonvoy points on all other purchasers
- Earn Silver Elite Status each account anniversary, path to Gold Status after users spend $35,000 each year
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits granted each calendar year.
- Unlimited Marriott Bonvoy Points
- $95 Annual Fee
Click here to learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card and similar credit cards.