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Best rewards credit cards of January 2026
Written by
- • Certified Credit Counselor
- • Credit cards
- • Rewards credit cards
Edited by
- • Certified Financial Education Instructor℠ (CFEI)
- • Rewards credit cards
- • Travel credit cards
Edited by
- • Certified Financial Education Instructor℠ (CFEI)
- • Rewards credit cards
- • Travel credit cards
*Bankrate’s points and miles valuations are based on an average of the issuer’s five highest-value transfer partners (if available).
How should you choose a rewards card?
Navigating the wide range of rewards card options can be difficult. How do you narrow down your search?
The key is to look at spending habits and find cards that give you the biggest rewards in those categories. You also want to make sure you’re earning the type of rewards you’ll actually use.
Let's go over this in more detail. To kick off your search for the right card, ask yourself the following three questions:
What kind of rewards do you want to earn?
The first thing you need to decide is what kind of rewards you want to earn. Cash back is a simple and flexible rewards currency that tends to offer consistent value. Travel rewards, on the other hand, can provide higher value — but you’ll need to put in some work and strategy to get it.
Here’s a look at the different types of rewards, which cards earn them and the pros and cons of each.
These cards are your best choice for earning rewards on day-to-day purchases. They rarely charge annual fees, and cash back typically stays consistent in value. Sometimes, it can also be pooled with travel rewards from the same issuer. On the other hand, cash back cards lack notable benefits beyond rewards — but some may offer limited-time perks.
They earn some of the most valuable rewards on various everyday and travel purchases, but the value depends on the redemption method. These cards are also among the best cards on the market for valuable perks. However, that comes at a price: Premium general-purpose travel cards charge annual fees ranging from $95 to $795.
Co-branded travel cards offer perks, privileges and boosted rewards rates with specific airlines or hotel brands. Major hotel points often hold lower average values than the average value of general travel points and airline miles. Annual fees vary widely, from $0 to $550 and more.
How do you want to earn rewards?
Once you know the type of rewards you want to earn, the next step is to figure out how you will earn them. To do that, you should look at where you spend your money.
For example, if groceries make up a large part of your budget, first look for a card that earns bonus rewards for groceries, then decide whether you want to earn cash back or points. The American Express® Gold Card could be an excellent option for points, while the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express are better for cash back.
Consider the effort you’ll need to put in earning rewards as well. A card might offer outstanding rewards rates, but the rewards structure might make them challenging to earn. Overall, there are three types of rewards structures:
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Flat rewards rates: The easiest to manage since you earn rewards at the same rate on almost all purchases (usually 1.5 percent or 2 percent back). This structure is a great fit if you value simplicity but cards with tiered rates can be more rewarding.
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Tiered bonus categories: You can earn anywhere from 2 percent to 6 percent back in popular bonus categories like groceries, dining and travel, but often just 1 percent in less common spending categories.
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Rotating categories: You can earn chart-topping 5 percent rewards on categories that change each quarter, but maximizing your rewards requires a lot of effort. This structure may be better suited as a supplement to flat rewards rates and tiered bonus categories.
The best rewards programs
It’s easy to evaluate the potential value of a cash back card since the redemption value of cash rewards don’t change. That’s not always the case with points and miles. Add card benefits to the mix, and deciding on the best rewards program to join can be a challenge.
Let’s dig into what various rewards programs offer and what you need to know to choose the right one for you.
Which points are most valuable?
When you ask if a rewards card is worth it, also ask what the rewards themselves are worth.
Rewards value doesn’t only vary by program. It can also vary by card and redemption method.
When it comes to travel rewards, there’s typically a baseline value that you get redeeming through the issuer’s travel portal or for cash. Then, some issuers also partner with airline and hotel companies to allow cardholders to transfer their rewards into the partners’ rewards programs. With the right transfer, it’s possible to significantly boost rewards value.
To eliminate some of the guesswork, we evaluated how much points and miles are worth across popular card rewards programs. Here are the top four card rewards programs, based on our valuations:
| Rewards program | Baseline value | Bankrate value* | Estimated value of 50,000 points/miles |
| Bilt Rewards | 1.25 cents (0.55 cents toward cash rewards) | 2.1 cents | $1,050 |
| American Express Membership Rewards | 1 cent (0.6 cents toward cash rewards) | 2.0 cents | $1,000 |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards (Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card) | 1 cent (1 cent toward cash rewards) | 2.0 cents | $1,000 |
| Capital One miles | 1 cent (1 cent toward eligible travel purchase credits; 0.5 cents for other cash back redemptions) | 1.7 cents | $850 |
Note that besides the potential values, it's important to consider what you see yourself redeeming the rewards for most often. If you have a preferred airline or hotel brand, make sure it's on the list of the issuer's transfer partners. If you'd rather stick to the issuer's travel portal, you'll want a program that offers at least 1 cent per point or mile for such redemptions.
Our experts' favorite rewards programs
“I have the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which earns incredibly flexible travel rewards. I'm not big on rewards transfers, so I appreciate that Capital One miles hold consistent value whether I book travel through the issuer's portal or use miles to cover recent travel purchases. Plus, I convert my Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card’s cash back into miles to earn free travel faster. It's really simple and convenient!"
“I have the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which earns incredibly flexible travel rewards. I'm not big on rewards transfers, so I appreciate that Capital One miles hold consistent value whether I book travel through the issuer's portal or use miles to cover recent travel purchases. Plus, I convert my Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card’s cash back into miles to earn free travel faster. It's really simple and convenient!"
“I like to maximize my rewards on every purchase, no matter how large or small. I get the best value from Chase Ultimate Rewards points, particularly when transferring to World of Hyatt or Southwest Airlines rewards. Whether it's spending towards an annual bonus or using the best bonus multiplier for almost any category, my arsenal of Chase cards bring the largest possible return for the best possible value. Combining my points boosts the value earned by each card, making my Chase cards a well-oiled rewards machine that facilitates great travel experiences for my family.”
“I like to maximize my rewards on every purchase, no matter how large or small. I get the best value from Chase Ultimate Rewards points, particularly when transferring to World of Hyatt or Southwest Airlines rewards. Whether it's spending towards an annual bonus or using the best bonus multiplier for almost any category, my arsenal of Chase cards bring the largest possible return for the best possible value. Combining my points boosts the value earned by each card, making my Chase cards a well-oiled rewards machine that facilitates great travel experiences for my family.”
What makes a “good” rewards card?
There’s no rewards card that’s perfect for everyone, but a good card for you:
Offers rewards you find valuable
Cash back cards are generally easiest if you want to use your rewards to fuel your everyday spending. But if you travel and don’t mind strategizing to maximize your rewards, you could get better redemption value than the standard 1 cent per point or mile, especially with a travel rewards card with redemption options like transfer partners.
Rewards your spending habits
You can match your spending habits with a fitting rewards card once you know your major monthly categories, where you often shop and how much you typically spend. Keep in mind, some cards have caps on your rewards rates and drop your rate to 1 percent after you spend a certain amount in a select category within a timeframe. This is often up to $1,500 per quarter or up to $6,000 per year, which could make a card with no rewards rate cap more valuable depending on how much you typically spend.
The right card for you will reward you at a high rate in your most common spending categories and without much additional effort. Pick the card with a rewards program that matches the amount of effort you’re comfortable with.
Provides benefits you can use consistently
Perks that come with a card can play a key role in determining its overall value. Many premium cards carry flashy perks like annual travel credits, airport lounge access and automatic loyalty status, but be sure to read the fine print and calculate whether you’ll actually get enough value out of these perks to consistently offset the yearly cost.
Allows you to easily offset fees
If your credit card charges an annual fee, you want to ensure you can offset it with valuable benefits. Additionally, you don’t want to find yourself in a scenario where you incur additional spending just to take advantage of a perk. Card benefits should naturally match your lifestyle.
Rewards extra effort or offers simplicity
Some rewards cards offer outstanding potential value — but only if you're willing to put in some effort (and spend). Other cards might provide less potential value, but the benefits are also much easier to take advantage of.
For example, the American Express Platinum Card® and the American Express® Gold Card, provide hundreds of dollars in statement credits, but you’ll have to put in some work to earn them every month. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card doesn't offer such credits, but its annual travel credit and anniversary bonus are much easier to use.
Which type of card works better for you depends on your spending habits, as well as how much work you're ready to put into maximizing a credit card's value.
What's your go-to method for maximizing credit card rewards?
I have multiple credit cards in all of my largest spend categories. For me, that includes groceries, travel and dining out. Then, it’s just about making sure I’m using the right card for the right purchases and watching the rewards roll in. I also have authorized user cards for my husband for each one, so I get rewards from his spending too.
I have multiple credit cards in all of my largest spend categories. For me, that includes groceries, travel and dining out. Then, it’s just about making sure I’m using the right card for the right purchases and watching the rewards roll in. I also have authorized user cards for my husband for each one, so I get rewards from his spending too.
On the earning side, I maximize credit card rewards by signing up for a new card when there is an elevated welcome bonus offer. Earning a welcome bonus on a new card is the quickest way to add many thousands of points to your reward balance as it typically requires a set amount of spending within a specific timeframe. On the redemption side, I maximize my credit card rewards by utilizing limited-time transfer bonuses from the flexible programs.
On the earning side, I maximize credit card rewards by signing up for a new card when there is an elevated welcome bonus offer. Earning a welcome bonus on a new card is the quickest way to add many thousands of points to your reward balance as it typically requires a set amount of spending within a specific timeframe. On the redemption side, I maximize my credit card rewards by utilizing limited-time transfer bonuses from the flexible programs.
Most people focus their credit card strategy on how to earn the most points possible and then later think about what they might be able to redeem them for. I think this is backwards. I like to start by knowing what reward I’m working toward, then reverse engineer my earning strategy. I’m not just earning points — I’m earning the right points, and I know I’m going to be able to put them into use! This is much more motivating.
Most people focus their credit card strategy on how to earn the most points possible and then later think about what they might be able to redeem them for. I think this is backwards. I like to start by knowing what reward I’m working toward, then reverse engineer my earning strategy. I’m not just earning points — I’m earning the right points, and I know I’m going to be able to put them into use! This is much more motivating.
Frequently asked questions about rewards credit cards
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Typically, credit card rewards don’t expire for the life of your account. That means your rewards won’t expire if you keep your account open and in good standing. However, read your rewards program’s terms and conditions carefully since this isn’t guaranteed for all cards.
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Generally, rewards are not considered taxable since the IRS considers the rewards to be a form of rebate on the purchase. Though uncommon, rewards may be taxable if they’re received under circumstances like bonus offers without a spending requirement. Make sure to look at the credit card’s terms to see the conditions of how you can receive and redeem bonus rewards.
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You typically need good to excellent credit (FICO score 670 and higher) to qualify for a competitive rewards card. Premium travel cards might require an excellent credit score (FICO score of 800 and above). You can also find rewards cards for people with fair credit, but the rewards and perks might be limited.
Learn more about rewards credit cards
How we choose the best rewards credit cards
We thoroughly rate and research the best rewards credit cards based on key criteria to help you make confident decisions when choosing your next credit card. Learn more about our methodology below.
We select cards for the “Best rewards credit cards” page based primarily on how they score in our proprietary card rating system, our editors’ subjective assessment of card quality, card approval odds and credit requirements and unique card features.
Cards typically must score a minimum of 3.0 stars to be included on this list. However, we may include cards with scores below 3.0 if they have low credit requirements or unique features — despite their scores, these cards may still be among the “best” in certain categories. Card ratings are not influenced by advertisers or issuer relationships in any way.
Card selection and ordering may also vary based on business considerations, including Bankrate visitor interest, site interactions and card application volume. Affiliate commissions (see how we make money), limited-time offers and a card’s general popularity in the product landscape may also influence which cards we feature on our pages and the order in which they appear. Bankrate’s editorial and business teams also strive to feature a variety of card types from various issuers.
When evaluating the best rewards cards, we consider a mix of factors, including how cards score in our proprietary card rating system and whether cards offer features that fit the priorities of a diverse group of cardholders, from earning rewards in popular categories to scoring a large sign-up bonus or high-value perks. Whenever possible, we also feature cards that are available at various credit levels and price points.
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular cards and scored each based on its rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more to determine whether it belonged in this month’s roundup of the best rewards cards.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the key factors in our rewards card scoring methodology and details we considered when putting together our list of the best rewards cards.
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Value 65%
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Flexibility 15%
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Perks 15%
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Customer experience 5%
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The primary criteria for a rewards-earning card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.
To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits.
The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2023 was $77,280 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.
Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:
- Groceries: $6,000
- Dining out: $3,900
- Entertainment: $2,500
- Gas: $2,400
- Apparel and services: $2,000
Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 26 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.
This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value
With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.
The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.
Here’s a deeper look at the factors considered as part of a rewards card’s “Value” rating:
5Rating: 5 stars out of 5Overall Score-
Ongoing rewards value 30%
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Sign-up bonus value 25%
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Annual fee & average APR 20%
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Rewards rate 15%
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Annual bonus value 10%
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We also score cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance.
To start, each card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards cards. However, the latter rating only has a slight influence on the card’s score and whether the card is included in our list, since rewards card users generally try to avoid carrying a balance.
More important to both a card’s score and its inclusion in our list is how its annual fee influences its overall value. We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value.
Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee. After all, the highest rewards rates and most valuable perks are often found on cards with annual fees.
With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against those of other cards in the category when you subtract annual fees.
That said, we strive to include as many no-annual-fee options in our list as possible since many people would rather not worry about offsetting fees, even if a card carries impressive rewards and perks.
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Rewards cards may make it easy to earn a lot of points, miles or cash back, but how easy is it to use those rewards? After all, if it takes a ton of effort to redeem rewards or you can only redeem rewards in a couple of ways, a card may be more trouble than it’s worth.
As such, we rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards. We factor this rating into a card’s overall score and consider it when deciding on a card’s inclusion in our list.
Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on only a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to travel partners.
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We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating.
We break down these tiers as follows:
- Tier 1 includes fewer features than even standard credit cards (for example, an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits).
- Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges.
- Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection.
- Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs.
- Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.
In evaluating the best cards, we tend to favor cards that offer at least Tier 3 benefits, unless they include other unique features that could make up for less-impressive perks.
Have more questions for our credit card editors? Feel free to send us an email, find us on Facebook, or Tweet us @Bankrate.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.