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There are so many credit card offers always being pushed by the major banks and credit card issuers that at times it can be difficult to cut through the marketing and actually find the best card for you. A complaint I often hear from people searching for new credit cards to apply for is that many of the best cards carry high annual fees. While many excellent credit cards do carry high annual fees, it doesn’t always make sense to apply for these cards, even if the rewards are great. If you are not going to use the card often enough to receive rewards that are worth more than the annual fee you will pay to have the card each year, then you should probably look into applying for a credit card with a lower annual fee, or no annual fee at all. In this article, I’m going to rank and explain my choices for the best credit cards with no annual fee that are currently available.
- Discover it Card – The Discover it Card is my choice for the best no annual fee credit card currently on the market. With the Discover it Card, cardholders receive 5% cash back at restaurants and movies through the end of March on up to $1,500, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. In addition, Discover offers a Cashback Concierge that will provide a custom online tour to help cardholders fully take advantage of the rewards offered by the card. The Discover it Card also offers 24/7 US-based customer support, and a 0% Introductory APR on balance transfers and purchases for 14 months. After the 14-month intro period, the APR reverts to the variable purchase APR between 10.99% and 20.99%. In addition to know annual fee, the Discover it Card also charges no overlimit fees, no foreign transaction fees, no pay-by-phone fees, and no late fee on your first late payment.
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card – The Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card also makes my list of the best no annual fee credit cards. With the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card, cardholders receive 1.25 reward miles for each dollar spent. In addition, Capital One rewards cardholders with a one-time bonus of 10,000 miles after they spend $1,000 on the card within the first three months that they have it. This bonus translates into $100 in travel rewards. The Capital One VentureOne Rewards card also offers a 0% Intro APR on purchases until February of 2014, and requires no foreign transaction fees.
- Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express – The Amex Blue Cash Everday Card rounds out my list of the top three no annual fee credit cards. With the Blue Cash Everyday Card, cardholders receive 100 Reward Dollars after they spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months that they have the card. Cardholders also receive 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back on gas, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Along with requiring no annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express also offers a 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months.
This article was written by Logan Abbott. Logan is a personal finance and credit card expert with over a decade of experience. He is also the editor of MyRatePlan.com, a comparison shopping site for credit cards.
Image courtesy of phanlop88 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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We always seem to be getting credit card offers in the mail. Normally we just toss them out with the trash as we have more than enough debt facilities already. Although sometimes the offers look really good and I check them out a bit further.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..January 2013 Goal Review
I get many offers each day, but have enough cards. I will get another one if the rewards and interest rate are good.
I just started using a rewards card. I didn’t do much research before hand but I think that I did end up with a pretty good card. Although the Discover card may top it!
Alexa recently posted..Getting Started Freelance Writing: What You Should Know.
Good luck with the rewards Alexa!
Great highlights! I prefer cards with no annual fee but I’ve signed up with a few that have them. The important part is to find ones where the first year is waived, take advantage of the bonus offer/points, and then cancel the card before the anniversary date (i.e. annual fee comes).
WorkSaveLive recently posted..Best Online Tax Preparation Software – H&R Block, TurboTax, TaxACT, FreeTaxUSA
I have an AMEX with an annual fee, but with the rewards that I get, the fee is easily covered.
I funnel all of my expenses onto one card, and I adore my Discover, for a no-annual-fee option. Superior customer service and such a fantastic cash-back program. Easily I earned a hundred or more in cash annually just for using my card on all of my day-to-day expenses. The key is to pay the balance off in full each month.
Jennifer Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy recently posted..Good morning, Monday. Some bits and bobs.
I do the same with my AMEX. The service has been great, but I have heard great things about Discover recently.
Looks like a few decent cards! Both my wife and I recently got Amex cards that have no annual fee combined with some nice travel rewards. I think we’ll be using them for a trip next year and will cover at least the airfare and maybe a few nights of hotel stays.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Reader Question: How Do I Prepare My Son Financially For Law School?
My wife is thinking about getting a new travel rewards card. I have the cash back ones and she wants to get into the game.
I get a constant barrage of credit card offers in the mail. I have a few “points” cards which I am happy with but no cash back cards. The one hard and fast rule I do follow is that I will not pay an issuer an annual fee. I had one credit card (a major hotel chain) that decided after years of being a no fee card, would start charging an annual fee. I took the credit score hit and cancelled the card.
Jose recently posted..Confessions of a Tool Junkie
I would agree with you, but once I did the math, the AMEX Preferred with the $75 fee worked out the best for me.
I love credit card rewards almost as much as I hate credit card debt. If you are smart with your cards, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of as many rewards as you can.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..7 Steps to Take Before You Put Your Home on the Market
I used to be scared of rewards cards because of my previous spending habits, but I have since gotten that under control.
Thanks for sharing these cards. I was considering finding a card with the best rewards to pay for the expenses of running The Frugal Path. I wanted to use the cards so that I can easy view the expenses of the site without having to skim through them. These rewards are just icing on the cake.
Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..14 Valentine’s Day Expenses
It makes it easy when you push all expenses onto one card. Good luck with finding a top notch rewards card.
I’ve been hearing a lot about the IT card and it sounds like something similar to the Chase Freedom card were the rewards switch off every month to something different. Other than that it sounds like a decent card.
Chris @ Stumble Forward recently posted..How to Live Debt Free For Life – 4 Things To Help You Make The Change
I think they mimic’d that card. Discover needed a way to reinvent themselves and more attractive rewards was the way they did it.
You are sharing the valuable information with us.I like the Discover it Card mainly i like the facility they are providing to the user specialy i.e cardholders receive 5% cash back at restaurants and movies through the end of March on up to $1,500, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.Thanks for giving us information.