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To walk the fine line between maximizing rewards and minimizing costs, you’ll want a credit card with no annual fee. Of course, you won’t get a huge sign-up bonus or a ton of benefits, but these low-cost cards can still hold a lot of value.
For a more comprehensive list, see our best credit card bonuses here.
We have created a series of guides for the best credit cards for earning points and miles by spending category. In this guide, we’ll go over our favorite no-annual-fee credit cards, so you can decide which ones are worth signing up for.
| Chase Freedom Flex℠ | Best for rotating bonus categories |
| Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card | Best for airlines |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card | Best for hotels |
| Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card | Best for dining & entertainment |
| Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card | Best for credit card newbies |
| Ink Business Cash® Credit Card | Best for small businesses |
| Discover it Student Cash Back | Best for students |
| Citi® Double Cash Card | Best for flat-rate rewards |
| Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card | Best flexible rewards structure |
| Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card | Best for travel |
Best Credit Cards With No Annual Fees
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ has quarterly bonus categories that reward you with a high cash back earning rate. The categories rotate every three months, and you have to remember to activate them to earn your bonus cash back.
To boost your redemption power, convert your cash back into Chase Ultimate Rewards points (if you have a card that earns Ultimate Rewards) and transfer them to a partner loyalty program.
CHASE FREEDOM FLEX℠
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card is going to earn you a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. The welcome bonus comes in the form of 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points. This card has no annual fee.
The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card is best suited for beginner travelers who want a low-cost card to earn miles on every purchase. We especially like it because you can transfer these miles to airline partners, boosting your rewards value potential.
CAPITAL ONE® VENTUREONE® REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card has an offer for 20,000 bonus miles after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months. We value these 20k bonus miles at around $280.
This card has no annual fee. The annual fee version of this card is the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, with better features.
The VentureOne Rewards card offers unlimited 1.25X miles on all purchases. You can redeem for statement credits for travel and gift cards. Another option is to transfer miles to airline partners. Read more on this here.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card takes our top spot for hotel cards for excellent reasons. It’s got a relatively high welcome bonus, it has plenty of bonus spending categories, and it gives you automatic Hilton Honors elite status.
HILTON HONORS AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card has a welcome bonus offer for 80,000 Hilton Honors Points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of Card Membership. Our valuation puts the 80k points at around $480 in value ($0.006 per point).
This Hilton credit card earns 7 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands. U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas station spending earns 5 Hilton Honors points per dollar. All other purchases will earn 3 Hilton Honors points per dollar.
Other features include no foreign transaction fees and free Hilton Honors Silver Status. This card has no annual fee. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
The Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card gives excellent return on dining, entertainment, and groceries for a no-annual fee card. Plus the dining and entertainment categories are broadly defined and includes restaurants, takeout, concerts, sporting events, tourist attractions and more.
CAPITAL ONE® SAVORONE® CASH REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card has a $200 bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening. This card has no annual fee. The annual-fee version of this card is the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card.
This SavorOne card earns unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment spending. Grocery store spending earns 2% cash back. All other purchases earn 1% cash back. There are no rotating categories to worry about and the cash back won’t expire while the account is open.
The Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card is a straightforward cashback card, so it’s perfect if you’re just getting into the rewards world. The earning structure is easy: you’ll get a flat rate cash back on every purchase, no matter what it is.
CAPITAL ONE® QUICKSILVER® CASH REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card will earn a $200 bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months. The bonus offer is comparable to its top competitors, but this card earns a respectable 1.5% cash back on every purchase with no limit on how much you can earn. There are no spending categories to keep up with and the cash back won’t expire while the account is open.
People like this card because of the cash back rate, the flexibility to redeem your cash back for any amount, and there’s no annual fee.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card caters to small businesses that spend big on office supplies or telecom services. It also sports a big sign-up bonus and a 0% APR introductory period.
INK BUSINESS CASH® CREDIT CARD
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card from Chase has an offer for $900 bonus cash back (90,000 Ultimate Rewards points) when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This card has no annual fee.
This card earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. It also earns 2% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined spending at gas stations and restaurants each anniversary year. All other purchases earn an unlimited 1% cash back.
You can redeem your rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards. This allows for more redemption possibilities when paired with other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards (e.g. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card). Pair it with one of these cards, use the available transfer partners, and 75k Ultimate Rewards points can be worth up to $1,500 in value.
Like Chase Freedom, the Discover it Student Cash Back has rotating bonus categories that earn cash back at a generous rate. Plus, at the end of your first year, Discover will match all the cash back you earned.
DISCOVER IT STUDENT CASH BACK
The Discover it Student Cash Back will get you a $20 statement credit each school year your GPA is 3.0 or higher for up to next five years.
This card earns 5% cash back at quarterly rotating categories. Category examples include gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com and more. The 5% rewards are limited to $1,500 in spending each quarter. You’ll earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Discover will also match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.
The Citi® Double Cash Card doesn’t come with any bells or whistles. But if you’re seeking a simple rewards card, it’s definitely worth considering.
If you want more power to your cash rewards, you can convert them into Citi ThankYou points (if you have a card that earns Citi points). Then, you’ll be able to transfer to airline partner programs.
CITI® DOUBLE CASH CARD
The Citi® Double Cash Card is offering a welcome bonus of $200 cash after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. Also, earn up to 2% cash back on all purchases. You’ll earn 1% cash back for all purchases charged to the card. You’ll then earn an additional 1% cash back when you pay off those purchases, as long as you pay at least the minimum due. There are no spending categories to keep up with and the card has no annual fee.
The Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card has a flexible rewards structure that lets you choose your cashback bonus category every quarter.
Like other BofA cards, you can take advantage of the Preferred Rewards program to give your earnings a boost. In fact, if you’re a Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors member, there isn’t a more rewarding cashback card out there, especially with no annual fee.
BANK OF AMERICA® CASH REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card offers $200 online cash reward bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening.
Consider the Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card if you would like a 2%-3% cash back rewards rate for grocery stores, wholesale clubs and a category of your choice. It’s especially worthwhile if you’re a Preferred Rewards client, where being a loyal customer translates into attractive relationship bonuses.
Here is the breakdown of the card’s earning rates:
- 3% cash back in the category of your choice*
- 2% back at grocery stores & wholesale clubs*
- 1% back on everything else
*On the first $2,500 in combined spending in 3% and 2% categories each calendar month. 1% thereafter.
Redemption options for these reward include statement credits, direct deposits, and credits to a Merrill account (minimum redemption is $25).
The card also offers the following benefits:
- 0% intro APR on purchases & balance transfers for 15 months.
- Travel protection
- Credit card protection
The card comes with all of the benefits mentioned above but charges no annual fee.
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card is the most generous travel rewards card on the market without an annual fee. You’ll get a solid sign-up bonus, a 0% intro APR period and points on a wide variety of spending.
WELLS FARGO PROPEL AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card has an offer for 20,000 bonus points. Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. These bonus points are valued at $200 in cash redemption value.
This card has no annual fee (See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply) and a nice rewards structure. You’ll earn 3 points per dollar on the following:
- Eating out and ordering in
- Gas stations, rideshares, and transit
- Flights, hotels, homestays, and car rentals
- Popular streaming services
All other purchases will earn 1 point per dollar.
Additional Guides
While we focused on no-annual-fee credit cards in this post, you’ll want to choose a card with additional earning potential that matches your spending behavior. Click here for our guide on the best credit cards in other categories or check out these other posts:
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