I love credit cards, probably too much. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but luckily she lets me do what I want as long as I don't tell her what's going on. I personally have close to twenty credit cards and I am actively switching which cards I use every month or quarter.
As my blog has grown (thanks everyone!) more people have been asking which cards to get. When I start explaining the different cards, they usually get dizzy from the options so I am going to try to keep it simple. Yeah, this is simple. If you want to use multiple cards effectively, follow my quarterly "credit cards for your wallet" posts.
Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Discover it®
Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Discover it®
Which credit card should I get?
The most important question to answer for yourself, and this is where it gets a little bit confusing, is to figure out what you spend your money on. Most credit cards have a tiered system that value different categories of expenditures with higher or lower cashback.
Best Credit Card for Families
- American Express Blue Cash Preferred - For most families, especially with large families, this is by far the most important card to have.
- Rewards Breakdown - 6% back for groceries for your first $6,000 in this category, 3% back for gas and department stores and 1% back everywhere else
- Annual Fee - $75 -
- The only card I recommend with an annual fee. If you spend $50 a week on groceries, the annual fee pays for itself plus the possible benefits of other cards.
- Sign up Bonus - $150 for spending $1,000 in first three months.
- Update - The link above is for $100. You can email me and I will refer you to the $150 sign up.
Best Credit Cards for Singles or Small Families - Categorized by Most Significant Expense
- Groceries -
- PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature - Beware. They can be a pain to deal with if you have a low income
- Rewards Breakdown - 2% back for groceries, 3% back for gas, 1% everywhere else. The numbers are 3% for groceries and 5% for gas until April.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - None
- American Express Blue Cash Everyday
- Rewards Breakdown - 3% back for groceries, 2% back for gas and department starts, 1% back everywhere else.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $1,000 in first three months
- Update - The link above is for no sign up bonus You can email me and I will refer you to the $100 sign up.
- Gas Credit Card
- PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards - Beware. They can be a pain to deal with if you have a low income.
- Rewards Breakdown - 5% back for gas with a qualifying account, see the link for details
- Annual Fee - None, if you have a qualifying account, see the link for details
- Sign up Bonus - None
- Bank of America Cash Rewards
- Rewards Breakdown - 3% back for gas, 2% back for groceries and 1% everywhere else.
- 10% bonus if you redeem into Bank of America checking account so it becomes 3.3%, 2.2% and 1.1%
- You can also get the Bank of America Privileges card which gives you the same cash back but a 50% bonus instead of 10%. $75 annual fee unless you have $50,000 in assets with Bank of America or its affiliates.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $500 in the first 90 days.
- General Spending
- Chase Freedom
- Rewards Breakdown - 1% everywhere and 5% rotating quarterly categories (you need to sign up every quarter or you will only get 1%). Rotating categories are appropriate, like home improvement in the spring, gas, airlines, car rentals, and hotels in the summer, etc.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $500 in the first 3 months.
- Discover it® - If you only want one card, don't get the Discover, get the Chase Freedom. However, if you are willing to use multiple cards, this is a must have card because of the significant rewards you won't find with any other card.
- Rewards Breakdown - Same as Freedom with 5% rotating quarterly categories,
- Discover has partner gift card that can make your bonuses worth 25% more. 5% becomes 6.25%!
- In addition, Discover almost always gives the most cashback when you shop through Shop Discover. Significantly better than Chase's Ultimate Rewards shopping portal.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - None
- Fidelity American Express - If I had to choose only card to keep one credit card (an agonizing thought!), I would keep this card. That being said, most people won't put in the necessary effort to get it going. It is a large initial investment of time (a few hours more than all the rest) and money (you get your money back), but once it is set up, it is just as simple as the rest of the cards. Don't bother if you want to keep things simple, but if you are willing to put in a little bit more effort, this cards is well worth it.
- Rewards Breakdown - 2% back on everything. No categories, no exceptions.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - None
- Getting the card - Sign up for a fidelity investment account (no associated fees), which no longer requires any minimum.
- Airfare
- PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express - Beware. They can be a pain to deal with, especially if you have a low income. Apply at your own risk.
- Cashback Breakdown - 5% back on airfare, 1% everywhere.
- Unlikely to be biggest expense, but a good supplement for those who do spend on airfare.
- Annual Fee - None
- Sign up Bonus - $200 towards your next roundtrip flight
- Free Money
- Bank of America Better Balance Rewards Credit Card
- $ 25 bonus every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month. Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking Account.
If I missed any details or if you want to suggest a different card, leave a comment or email me
Keep in mind that American Express is constantly running promotions that will get more free money and they have the best customer service by far. If you have any trouble with a recent purchase, they will take it back even when the merchant won't, no questions asked. It is worth it to have an American Express card (really, multiple cards) just for the promotions (without an annual fee, of course).
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