The point of having excellent credit is not to sit there and stare at your credit score. It’s to take advantage of the opportunities available to those who have shown they can handle credit responsibly. People with excellent credit get the best terms on financial products — the lowest interest rates, the richest rewards, the nicest perks. That’s especially true with credit cards.
If you’ve got a credit score of 720 or better, every credit card you carry should reward you for using it. Whether you want straight cash back or points or miles you can use for travel, there are great options for those with excellent credit. Many of these cards don’t even have an annual fee — and those that do have a fee more than make up for it with a jumbo sign-up bonus, generous ongoing rewards or, often, both.
Got excellent credit? Give these cards a look.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Rewards: 2 points per $1 spent on dining and travel; 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere. Annual fee: Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95. Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Our take: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® gets thumbs up for flexibility. Points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when you use them to book travel through Chase’s online tool. You can also transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to several popular airline and hotel loyalty programs, including United, Southwest, Hyatt and Marriott.
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
Rewards: 2 miles per $1 spent on everything. Annual fee: $0 intro for first year; $59 after that. Sign-up bonus: Enjoy a one-time bonus of 40,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months, equal to $400 in travel. Our take: It’s extremely easy to redeem rewards with the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, relieving one of the biggest headaches of travel credit cards. Just book travel as usual, pay with your card, and then redeem your miles for a credit against travel expenses. Travel on any airline, stay at any hotel — no restrictions.
Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®
Rewards: 2 miles per $1 spent on everything. Annual fee: $89 - waived first year. Sign-up bonus: Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. Our take: The Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® works just like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, with one major difference: You get 5% of your miles back whenever you redeem. However, the annual fee is also higher than the Capital One card’s.
BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card
Rewards: 1.5 points per $1 spent on everything. Annual fee: $0.00. Sign-up bonus: 20,000 online bonus points if you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days - that can be a $200 statement credit toward travel purchases. Our take: The rewards rate on the BankAmericard Travel Rewards® credit card is lower than for comparable cards, but so is the annual fee — in fact, it’s $0.00, so it won’t cost you anything to park this card for a while. In addition, you can get a points bonus of 10% to 75% if you’re a Bank of America® customer.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Rewards: 2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on travel booked through American Express; 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere. Annual fee: $450. Sign-up bonus: Earn 40,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Our take: If you prefer to travel in style, the steep annual fee on The Platinum Card® from American Express gets you a lot: free access to more than 900 airport lounges; up to $200 a year in credit for airline fees such as checked bags and in-flight food and drink; automatic Hilton HHonors Gold status; and a credit for the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
CASH-BACK CREDIT CARDS
Citi®Double Cash Card
Rewards: 1% cash back on every purchase, plus another 1% when you pay it off. Annual fee: $0. Our take: The Citi®Double Cash Card makes almost every list of NerdWallet’s favorite credit cards because its 1% + 1% structure adds up to the best flat cash-back rate around. Even without a sign-up bonus, this is a first-rate everyday credit card.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Rewards: 6% cash back at grocery stores, 3% back at gas stations and some department stores; 1% everywhere else. Annual fee: $75. Sign-up bonus: Special Offer - Get up to $350 back. Offer Ends 6/15/2016. Our take: The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is ideal for families with its rich rewards on gas and groceries. Spend just $25 a week on groceries, and you’ll cover the annual fee. Or go for the $0-annual-fee version, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, which offers lower rewards and a smaller sign-up bonus.
Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card
Rewards: 1.5% cash back on every purchase. Annual fee: $0. Sign-up bonus: One-time $100 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months. Our take: Simplicity is the story with the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. You get unlimited cash back at a decent rate. You can redeem for any amount (many cash-back cards have minimum redemptions), and if you travel abroad, there’s no foreign transaction fee.
Chase Freedom®
Rewards: 5% cash back in categories that change every three months; 1% cash back on everything else. Annual fee: $0. Sign-up bonus: Earn a $150 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Our take: The 5% bonus categories on the Chase Freedom® typically include such common expenses as gas, groceries and restaurants, making this a valuable addition to any wallet. Chase also offers a version of this card that gives you a straight 1.5% cash back on everything, with no bonus categories: the Chase Freedom Unlimited SM.
Paul Soucy is an editor at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: paul@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @paulsoucy.
from NerdWallet
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/credit-cards-for-people-with-excellent-credit/
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