5 Best Rewards Credit Cards For 2021: Compare Credit Card Rewards
Whether you’re in the market for a new credit card or your first credit card, it’s always a good idea to look at the rewards for a particular card. Different cards give different categories a bonus. Understanding how you spend can help you get the best bonuses possible from using your credit card. Want to know which card will work best for you? Check out these top rewards credit cards to pick the one that’s best for your spending.
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
If you have excellent credit and a good chunk of your monthly budget goes towards food, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card may be an excellent option for you. It has a whopping unlimited 4% cash back on dining and entertainment purchases, plus 2% cash back at grocery stores, and 1% cash back on all other spending.
The categories for dining and entertainment are pretty broad, too. Restaurants, bars, lounges, and even fast food restaurants all get that 4% cash back. Plus, entertainment can include tickets to a concert or movie, theme park entrance fees, and purchases at record stores. The main thing that’s excluded here is cable, digital streaming services, and membership services.
This card also offers:
- $300 cash back bonus when you spend $3,000 on purchases within three months of opening the account
- No foreign transaction fees
- Concierge services
- Extended warranties and price protections
- 24-hour travel assistance services
Overall, if you dine out frequently and generally grocery shop at grocery stores rather than big box stores, which are excluded, this could be an excellent rewards card for you. However, look out for the $95 annual fee, which is waived in the first year.
Related: 6 Best Credit Cards for Groceries
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Don’t want to worry about annual fees or rewards for specific categories? The Chase Freedom Unlimited® may be the simple rewards card for your needs. It has no annual fee and offers a flat 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day.
This card also offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (ongoing APR of 19.74% - 28.49% Variable after), which is another great deal. Additional benefits include:
- 3% cash back on all purchases in your first year (up to $20,000 spent)
- Rewards that do not expire
This is a supremely un-flashy credit card. But it’s a great option to add to your wallet if you want to think less about which card to use during checkout. Or if you are an aficionado at maximizing your rewards, it’s a great option to keep around for purchases that don’t fit into another card’s bonus category.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
This card has gotten accolades for being the best travel card on the market for good reason. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee in the first year, but it offers some excellent bonuses and perks for frequent travelers. The card currently offers 2 miles per $1 spent on every purchase, every day. That’s a great benefit for everyday spending. And as with the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, since there are no special categories, you don’t have to overthink it.
This card also offers:
- 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in the first three months of card ownership
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Up to $100 in credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fees
- Points can be used on flights, hotels, and more or transferred to a travel partner
If you prefer a travel-oriented credit card but don’t want to think too much about bonus categories, then this could definitely be your next rewards credit card.
Related: The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred®️ Card
This card dances the line between an everyday rewards card and a premium credit card. You do need an excellent credit score to qualify and it has a $95 annual fee. This is much lower than many other premium cards.
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel purchases, and $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more.
This card also offers:
- 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Redemption bonus when you redeem points for travel purchases
- No foreign transaction fee
- 1:1 points value transfer to partner hotel and airline programs
- Trip insurance
- Concierge services
This is another option that is focused on traveling, but it does offer broad bonuses on travel and dining related spending. So if you travel and dine out often, it could be a great option for racking up a lot of points quickly.
US Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card
This cash back card has an interesting premise: it lets you choose your own bonus cash back categories. Each quarter, you’ll log into your account and choose your bonus categories for that quarter. So you can base your categories on spending you’re already planning to do.
In your chosen two categories, you’ll get 5% cash back on up to $2,000 in purchases for the quarter. Then you’ll get 2% cash back on gas stations and grocery store purchases and 1% cash back on everything else.
This card also offers:
- $150 cash back bonus when you spend $500 in eligible purchases within 90 days of opening your account
- No annual fee
- Cash+ mobile app
This card’s unique proposition to allow you to choose your own bonus categories means you can make the most out of your cash back. Those categories could be somewhat narrow, but it’s worth looking into to see if you can max out that 5% cash back each quarter.
Overall, choosing the right rewards card really means looking into your own spending patterns to see which card will give you the best bonuses. Once you’ve done that, just make sure you’ll qualify for your card of choice and then apply!
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