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Best Rewards Credit Cards 2023: Compare Cards

Written by:  Lorien Strydom
|
Last updated: January 19, 2024

We help you find the best rewards credit cards in 2023. With Financer.com you can:

  • Use our online card comparison tool
  • Compare credit card rewards 
  • Apply for a rewards credit card online
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Best Rewards Credit Cards for April 2024

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PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card
PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Credit Card
  • Earn Cash Back for Everyday Purchases
  • $100 Bonus Offer Statement Credit When you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • 0% Balance Transfers Promo APR for 12 months
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PenFed Gold Visa® Card
PenFed Gold Visa® Card
Credit Card
  • LOW APR on purchases
  • Purchase Variable APR: 15.49% to 17.99%
  • 0% Intro APR on purchases made the first 15 months after account opening.
  • Annual Fee: $0
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recommended
PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Credit Card
  • 50,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days
  • 4 x points on all travel categories for PenFed Honors Advantage Members
  • Annual Fee: $95
  • 0% Balance Transfers Promo APR for 12 months
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recommended
PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card
PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Credit Card
  • Purchase Variable APR: 17.99%
  • 0% Balance Transfers Promo APR for 12 months
  • Points on gas paid at the pump and EV charging stations
  • Annual Fee: $0
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Total Visa® Unsecured Credit Card
Total Visa® Unsecured Credit Card
Credit Card
  • Earn 1% cash back rewards on payments made to your Total Credit Card
  • $300 credit limit (subject to available credit)
  • No security deposit, simply pay a one-time $95 program fee to open your account.
  • $75 annual fee for the first year
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recommended
Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®
Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®
Credit Card
  • 14.99% - 29.99% APR
  • No annual fee
  • Earn 1.5% unlimited cash back on card purchases every time you make a payment
  • See if you qualify in minutes without hurting your credit score
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Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card
Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card
Credit Card
  • 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
  • 16.49% to 27.49% Variable APR
  • $0 annual fee
  • Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases
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Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Credit Card
  • $200 bonus plus 5% cash back
  • 0% intro APR for 15 months
  • Annual fee $0
  • Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open
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Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Credit Card
  • Get 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • $300 annual travel credit
  • 21.49%–28.49% variable APR
  • Earn 3x points on other dining at restaurants
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American Express® Gold Credit Card
American Express® Gold Credit Card
Credit Card
  • Annual Fee: $ 250
  • 0% Intro APR on eligible charges for 12 months
  • Earn rewards on dining, groceries, and flights
  • Earn 5 000 bonus Membership Rewards® points when you activate your new card.
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The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Credit Card
  • Earn 10x points on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide
  • Annual Fee: $695
  • 20.49% to 27.49% variable APR
  • Get $200 back in credits every year on selected hotel bookings
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The World of Hyatt Credit Card
The World of Hyatt Credit Card
Credit Card
  • Minimum of $5,000 credit limit
  • Annual fee $95
  • 20.49% to 27.49% variable APR
  • Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points as a welcome offer

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How to Find the Best Rewards Credit Card

How to Find the Best Rewards Credit Card
1
Review Credit Cards

Review the best credit cards from leading banks

2
Compare Available Options

Filter the results based on your own criteria

3
Choose an Offer

Find the best credit card for your needs

4
Apply Online

Click Get Started to fill in your credit card application

What Is a Rewards Credit Card?

While some credit card companies charge interest when you use their product, others offer you incentives in the form of credit card rewards.

Rewards credit cards work like any other credit card:

  • You use them anywhere credit cards are accepted.
  • They carry interest.
  • They require minimum monthly payments.


The key benefit rewards credit cards offer is in the name: Rewards! Every time you use a rewards credit card, the card issuer gives you a percentage of your purchase and balance transfers back in points.

Then you can use these points to purchase items.

When it comes to the best credit card rewards there are different types available, but they all offer benefits the more you use your card.

The value of the rewards and the types of purchases that earn you those rewards vary by credit card.

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Types of Credit Card Rewards

Cash, points, or miles are the three most common types of rewards. Cash incentives might help you pay down your credit card bill.

Travel rewards can assist you in earning free travel for you and your loved ones.

You can use your rewards to buy Christmas and birthday gifts. You might also put your earnings to good use by investing them.

The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card, for example, gives you points on gas paid at the pump and EV charging stations while the the BlockFi Rewards Visa® Signature Credit Card earns you 1.5% back in Bitcoin with every purchase.

Cash Rewards

Cash rewards are the simplest and most basic to apply, but they don’t always result in cold, hard cash in your hand. Some programs only enable you to redeem monetary rewards as a credit to your account.

 

Note: When rewards are paid as a statement credit it will reduce your balance, but it won’t count as a payment to your account.

Some cash rewards credit cards allow you to redeem your points for a check or direct deposit into a bank account.

You may also be able to exchange your cash rewards for gift cards through your card issuer’s merchant partners.

There may be a minimum redemption amount—say, $25—or you may be required to redeem your rewards in specific increments.

Points Rewards

The value of your points is determined by how much you spend. For example, you could receive one point for every $1 you spend.

You may be able to redeem your rewards for gift cards, cash, or even travel depending on the card issuer.

Redeeming your points for gift cards may provide you with more bang for your buck because many merchant partners provide discounts ranging from 10% to 20% off the gift card price.

Auto rewards cards and hotel rewards cards are two examples of point reward cards.

Travel Rewards

With a travel rewards credit card you can earn miles that you can redeem for airline tickets. These are among the best credit card rewards available.

The number of miles you can earn will vary by the type of card you have and the number of miles you need to purchase a flight will vary by the frequent flyer program.

You may be able to convert your miles between programs but you may end up losing some points in the process.

Flat vs. Tiered Rewards

Credit card rewards programs are generally structured in one of two ways.

It might offer a flat rate of rewards on all purchases you make, e.g. a credit card may pay out a 2% cashback reward on every purchase you make.

You may also earn different rewards based on the category of your spending. Some travel credit cards pay higher rewards on travel purchases and smaller rewards on other purchases.

What to Look Out For

To qualify for a rewards credit card you generally need to have a good credit score.

If your credit score needs some work, you may find it hard to qualify for a rewards card.

Keep in mind that rewards cards usually have higher costs than other credit cards. As an example, annual fees are common for rewards cards and this can often be more than $500 per year.

Rewards cards often also have higher interest rates than other credit cards, which means that you shouldn’t carry a balance on rewards cards.

Always look terms for earning rewards in the fine print of your credit card terms. For example, a program might offer a 5% cash reward but there might be a limit on the rewards you can earn at that rate.

 

Warning: Your credit card issuer may change the rewards program without warning, so always ensure that you carefully go through everything that comes with your billing statement.

Not all rewards are forever. Some credit card reward programs will cause your rewards to expire if you don’t use them within a certain time.

The best reward credit card programs won’t allow rewards to expire although most will have you forfeit your rewards if you fall behind on your credit card payments.

How to Use a Rewards Credit Card

Like any other credit card, there are certain things you must take into consideration before using your rewards card.

Your Ability to Pay Off the Card

Interest charges are rewards killers. Most of the best rewards credit card rates sit in the 1.5 to 2.5% range, whereas interest rates are more than 15%, so it’s easy to see how quickly your interest charges can quickly offset and exceed your rewards.

The key here is to use your rewards card as a debit card by paying off any new charges immediately. If you cannot pay immediately or feel it would be too time-consuming, then you can pay it off once a month and still avoid interest fees.

The bottom line is to never carry a balance over into a new statement period, as this will eat up all those rewards you just earned.

And no, you do not need to carry a balance on a rewards card for your points to show up, as they are added by purchase, not balance. You can literally buy a TV today, get 5% rewards on it, pay it off today, and still get your rewards points.

Maxing Out Those Rewards

Maxing out rewards is a big part of playing the rewards credit card game. You have to find out where your card gives the most rewards and use it in that store or on that product.

So, if your rewards card gives 5% points at the gas station, but a debit card is used to get fuel, you’re missing out. Attention to detail becomes especially important if you have a revolving-category rewards card.

While these may be the best credit cards for rewards, in the long run, you have to keep a close eye on that rotating category.

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Find the Best Rewards Credit Cards 2022

Everyone’s spending habits vary, and this is why there are so many rewards cards.

Do your due diligence by making a pros and cons list of what you are looking for.

Then begin the research and find out which rewards credit cards fall into categories you shop in.

If you’re an avid Amazon shopper, find a card that gives big rewards there. Do you have a long commute and go through gas like crazy?

Get one of the best credit cards for rewards at gas stations. If you are a foodie who buys a lot of food and enjoys eating out, look into the Premier Dining Rewards Card.

Keep in mind that this also means that you may have multiple rewards cards.

You don’t want too many cards in your name, so choose your credit cards carefully and cancel any that aren’t getting you rewards you want.

Some lenders check how many credit cards you have opened previously, and will deny you even if you have great credit.

An example of this is Chase Bank, which will not grant specific credit cards if the applicant has opened five credit cards within 24 months.

This concept is known as the 5/24 rule.

You also need to know what the categories mean. You may have a rewards card that offers 5% on groceries but then notice that all the groceries you bought at Walmart only netted you 1% in rewards.

This is likely because your rewards credit card has Walmart classified as a department store and only pays base rewards points at department stores.

These are the types of details you will find in the terms and conditions when you sign up for credit cards with best rewards.

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Compare Rewards Cards with Financer.com

Financer.com helps you compare the best rewards credit cards and get the lowest rates from leading U.S. lenders.

We look for lenders that offer full transparency and have a long track record of successful lending and satisfied customers. We are always improving our comparisons, but are confident in what we can bring to market, and we know you will be as well.

Use our free credit card comparison to find the right credit card for your needs.

Rewards Credit Cards - FAQs

How does a rewards card work?

A rewards credit card lets you earn rewards in the form of cash back, points, or miles.

What are the drawbacks of rewards credit cards?

Some people tend to overspend on their rewards credit cards. These cards can also attract higher interest rates than other credit cards, and might have confusing terms.

What can I do with credit card rewards?

You can redeem your credit card rewards in many different ways, such as gift cards, airline tickets, statement credits, hotel stays, and more.

Whare are the best credit card rewards?

There are many different types of credit card rewards but among the more popular ones include travel rewards and cash back rewards.

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