Best Credit Cards of July 2024

What we love: Occasional travelers who value flexibility can enjoy this card’s excellent rewards on both travel and everyday spending, stellar travel protections and other lucrative benefits. It already delivers top-notch long-term value with its remarkable redemption options, Chase card pairing options and transfer partners.  Plus, the hefty welcome offer makes the short-term rewards value exceptional as well.

Learn more:  Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?

Alternatives:  The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card could be more rewarding if you’d benefit from a larger pool of everyday reward categories and stronger benefits and rewards rates for hotel stays. However, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is worth considering if you just want straightforward, flat-rate rewards without sacrificing valuable transfer partners. 

What we love: This is one of the most well-rounded options with no annual fee for people who want a standalone rewards card. It earns a competitive, unlimited rewards rate in some of the most common spending categories, including restaurants, grocery stores and the often-overlooked entertainment category.

Learn more: Why we love the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Card

Alternatives:  Consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. It also carries a solid cash back rate on dining, plus a flat 1.5 percent cash back on general spending, which could be more lucrative than the SavorOne card’s bonus categories. It’s an especially good pick if you already have a Chase travel card to pool rewards with. 

Why it’s the best overall: "This card has been a vital part of my credit card journey. It not only offers generous cash rewards on purchases, but also fits seamlessly with my financial goals thanks to its user-friendly features and transparent terms. It’s an indispensable tool in my credit card arsenal.” — Re’Dreyona Walker, Editor, Credit Cards

What we love: This card’s flat rewards rate is a great fit whether you’re looking for a simple, standalone rewards card or you want to fine tune your multi-card strategy to earn more rewards on general spending. It’s also one of the most well-rounded 2 percent cash rewards cards since it carries a welcome offer and an intro APR offer.

Learn more: Is the Wells Fargo Active Cash worth it?

Alternatives: While technically not a flat-rate cash back card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 1.5 percent back on general purchases and has various other unlimited bonus categories. Depending on your spending habits, you could out-earn the Wells Fargo Active Cash with the Chase Freedom Unlimited. 

What we love: Its high cash back rate on several crucial everyday categories can make this one of the most lucrative cards for any household’s day-to-day spending. And its U.S. online retailer category is especially rewarding for online shoppers since few cards have an online shopping category.

Learn more: Is the Amex Blue Cash Everyday worth it?

Alternatives: Thanks to its unparalleled rewards rate at U.S. supermarkets, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could rack up more cash back for big grocery spenders and commuters compared to the Blue Cash Everyday.

What we love: Its chart-topping intro APR offer extends to both purchases and qualifying balance transfers, offering maximum flexibility if you want to minimize interest charges. Plus, this card’s benefits sprinkle on a little more value with perks like some of the best cellphone protection available (subject to a deductible).

Learn more: Is the Wells Fargo Reflect Card worth it?

Alternatives: The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card* carries a relatively low ongoing APR, so it may be a good fit if you’ll carry a balance after your intro APR ends. Its U.S. Bank ExtendPay® feature may also help you save on interest when you divide eligible purchases into equal installment payments with a monthly fee. Meanwhile, the Discover it® Chrome or Citi Double Cash® Card could offer great long-term value after you pay off your balance thanks to their rewards. 

What we love: This card’s introductory balance transfer APR offer is one of the longest available if you have excellent credit and want as much time as possible to pay off your debt. Plus, you can save money even after the intro APR ends thanks to benefits like Citi Flex Loans, Citi Easy Deals and Citi Entertainment ticket discounts.

Learn more: Why you should use the Citi Diamond Preferred Card for balance transfers

Alternatives: If you’re looking for a card that will offer great value even after your intro APR ends, the Citi Double Cash® Card is a better option. It earns an excellent cash back rate while giving you the sort of long intro APR period you typically only find on dedicated balance transfer cards.

What we love: It’s a great starter card for occasional travelers, as it has no annual fee, a flat rewards rate on general purchases and an even higher rewards rate on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Budding reward strategists may also enjoy redeeming miles through transfer partners — a valuable option no-annual-fee travel cards typically don’t provide.

Learn more: 7 reasons to get the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card

Alternatives: If you want to boost your travel reward earnings, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card could be a good fit for a higher flat rate on all purchases, or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card for the chance to get valuable travel perks.

What we love: If you’re looking for a straightforward card that’s flexible enough to stand as your solo rewards card, this is one of the best options out there thanks to its generous base and bonus rewards rates, handy perks and impressive redemption flexibility. Plus, it has stellar pairing potential with other Chase cards.

Learn more: Is the Chase Freedom Unlimited worth it?

Alternatives: If you want a flat rewards rate but don’t dine out much, then the Citi Double Cash® Card or another 2 percent cash back card might be a better choice. If you spend heavily at both restaurants and grocery stores, then the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is also worth a look. 

What we love: Although its flat 1.5 percent cash back rate doesn’t set it apart from the crowd, the Quicksilver offers streamlined features and a nice mix of redemption options (including the option to automatically redeem rewards), making it a fantastic first rewards card if you’re learning the ropes and value simplicity.

Learn more: Why the Capital One Quicksilver is a great starter card

Alternatives: Unless you’re set on a card with automatic cash back redemption, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® outperforms the Quicksilver, mainly for its additional 3 percent cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants. However, a 2 percent flat-rate card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card or Citi Double Cash® Card will be more rewarding if you mostly spend outside those categories.

What we love: This card not only has one of the best ongoing rewards rates on everyday travel purchases but it also covers various other popular categories like restaurants, airfare and hotels. It’s tough to earn bonus points in that many categories with a single card, making this a great standalone rewards card for commuters and families on the go.

Learn more: Is the Wells Fargo Autograph worth it?

Alternatives: While the Autograph card covers many popular spending categories, it’s missing a few everyday categories. If you spend more on staples like groceries, gas and online shopping than extras like dining out and air travel, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a solid alternative. Frequent flyers and hotel guests may also prefer the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card or another premium travel card. 

What we love: Frequent travelers wanting to strike the balance with top-notch rewards, elite travel benefits and affordability will find this card is a unique middle-ground option. Instead of stuffing its perk roster to the gills with niche features, the Venture X includes practical benefits like airport lounge access and yearly travel credits and bonus miles.

Learn more: Is the Capital One Venture X worth it?

Alternatives: Occasional travelers who aren’t concerned with premium travel perks may get more value with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve® could also be a better fit since Chase points carry a high travel redemption value than Capital One miles, and these two Chase cards carry stronger travel perks than the Venture card. 

What we love: This card offers frequent travelers easy-to-earn, flat-rate rewards and some of the most flexible travel redemption options. It provides the unique ability to redeem miles toward travel-related purchases on your statement from the past 90 days.  What makes Capital One’s flexible miles even more eye-catching are the 15+ travel hotel and airline partners, some of which could  get you a higher redemption value for your points

Learn more: Why we love the Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Alternatives: Considering the Venture card’s perks are relatively weak, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card could be more cost-effective for more modest travelers. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card could pack more valuable perks and rewards if flat-rate rewards aren’t a deal-breaker.

What we love: Small-business owners who spend heavily on office supplies and internet, cable and phone services could enjoy some of the best rewards potential of any no-annual-fee business card — especially those who plan to pair the Ink Business Cash with a higher-tier Ultimate Rewards card.

Learn more: How the Ink Business Cash can rack up rewards on your business needs

Alternatives: If you’d rather not juggle multiple cards to ensure you’re earning bonus rewards on all your business spending, may prefer the simplicity that comes with the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. However, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card may be a more lucrative option if you’re looking to maximize your rewards’ value.

What we love:  Its unlimited 2 percent cash back rate on everyday purchases and boosted rate on Capital One Travel purchases make it one of the best business cards with a flat rewards rate. Big spenders can get exceptional value with this card since Capital One could refund the $150 annual fee as a statement credit every year you spend at least $150,000 with the card.

Learn more: Why the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is easy-to-use for businesses

Alternatives: The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card may be a more lucrative flat-rate rewards card for small-business owners with modest budgets since there is no annual fee. If you make a number of big purchases of $5,000 or more, though, the premium Ink Business Premier® Credit Card could deliver a slightly higher 2.5 percent cash back rate. 

What we love: Occasional travelers who mostly fly domestically and don’t need luxury perks should consider this entry-level airline card since it carries key air travel benefits, rewards and intro bonus rewards similar to those of higher-tier Southwest credit cards but for a low annual fee.

Learn more: Why we love the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus

Alternatives: Despite its $99 annual fee, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card may offer better value overall thanks to its stronger annual bonus and perks.

What we love: This card shines thanks to its companion fare perk, which lets you book an Alaska Airlines ticket for a travel companion at a steep discount after you spend $6,000 or more within the prior anniversary year. Other airline companion passes usually have much steeper spending requirements.

Learn more: Guide to Alaska Airlines' partners

Alternatives: The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card may be a better fit for frequent travel duos. Southwest cards give you a chance at the coveted (but harder-to-earn) Southwest Companion Pass, which you can use the year you earn it and throughout the following year.