Best Mastercard credit cards for February 2023

Citi Rewards+ Card: Best for getting more value from small purchases

• What we love about the Citi Rewards+: This no-annual-fee card’s round-up feature will take your rewards-earning to another level. Every purchase is rounded up to the nearest 10 points, so a $3 coffee is worth 10 points and an $11 lunch will net you 20 points.
• Who this card is good for: Small-budget shoppers whose purchases focus on smaller, everyday purchases at places like gas stations and supermarkets.
• Alternatives: The spending cap on this card’s rewards categories can be a bit limiting and it only earns basic Citi ThankYou points. Pair the Rewards+ card with another Citi rewards card like the Citi Double Cash to boost your rewards earnings.

Read our full Citi Rewards+ Card review.
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Citi Double Cash Card: Best flat-rate cash back card

• What we love about the Citi Double Cash: The earn-as-you-pay cash back program: 1 percent cash back when you make eligible purchases plus another 1 percent when you pay your balance, resulting in a lucrative 2 percent cash back rate.
• Who this card is good for: Responsible credit spenders who will always consistently pay their bills on time each month, guaranteeing their generous cash back rate.
• Alternatives: A card that offers a higher rate of cash back could be more suitable, especially if you have a budget that spans a variety of purchases. The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card’s 5 percent cash back rate on your top eligible spend category each cycle may fit this bill (up to $500 spent each billing cycle, then 1 percent).

Read our full Citi Double Cash Card review.
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Sam’s Club Mastercard: Best wholesale club card

• What we love about the Sam’s Club Mastercard: The cash back rate on gas is incredibly generous and the bonus spend category on dining and takeout is also a unique perk for a wholesale club card.
• Who this card is good for: Sam’s Club members and frequent roadtrippers who can rake in the rewards on gas.
• Alternatives: The Sam’s Club Mastercard requires a Sam’s Club membership, which may not be ideal for every shopper. If you still want to benefit from fruitful gas and supermarket purchase rewards without a membership requirement, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers competitive rates in these categories.

Read our full Sam's Club Mastercard review.
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My GM Rewards Card: Best for GM fans

• What we love about the My GM Rewards Card: This card carries one of the best rewards rates you can get on general purchases, beating out even the best flat-rate cash back cards on the market. If you don’t mind redeeming your rewards for eligible GM purchases, this could be an incredibly lucrative standalone rewards option.
• Who this card is good for: Current or aspiring GM car owners or lessees who want to redeem points toward the cost of a new or used GM car or a monthly lease payment.
• Alternatives: The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa® card is one of the only other cards that offers rewards on auto-related expenses (unlimited 3 percent cash back on home, auto and health expenses). This makes it a good option if you want to earn points on auto spending but don’t want to be stuck redeeming points with GM.

Read our full My GM Rewards Card review.
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Citi Simplicity Card: Best balance transfer intro APR

• What we love about the Citi Simplicity: This card touts an exceptionally long introductory APR period for balance transfers, making it an ideal debt management tool if you need breathing room to pay down a large balance.
• Who this card is good for: Committed debt managers who know how to leverage this card’s long balance transfer intro APR offer and will be sure to pay off their balance before the intro offer ends.
• Alternatives: If you want a bit of both worlds with a long intro APR offer on balance transfers and a bit of rewards for other purchases you make on your card, the Discover it® Balance Transfer is a good option. Its rewards-earning element boosts this balance transfer card’s long-term value.

Read our full Citi Simplicity Card review.
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Capital One Platinum Credit Card: Best for people building credit

• What we love about the Capital One Platinum: The card comes with solid travel perks and consumer protections, which is uncommon in credit cards for fair credit.
• Who this card is good for: Credit builders and rebuilders alike who want a card that holds them to task on building up good credit.
• Alternatives: If you want a bit more incentive for your credit building efforts over time, the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card offers modest cash back rewards to start with the chance to increase your rewards rate after making 12 on-time monthly payments.

Read our full Capital One Platinum Credit Card review.
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Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for average credit

• What we love about the Capital One QuicksilverOne: This option is one of the more accessible rewards cards on the market, making it a feasible choice for people with average credit.
• Who this card is good for: Credit beginners who may have aged out of the student cards market but still want a card that earns a solid rewards rate right away.
• Alternatives: The biggest drawbacks for the QuicksilverOne card is the annual fee (though lower than usual) and the steep ongoing APR. If you are intentionally seeking out a low-cost card, the Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa® has one of the more competitive cash back rates for a card designed for people with fair credit and you could be eligible for one of the lowest credit card APRs on the market, depending on your credit history.

Read our full Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card review.
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Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for college students

• What we love about the Capital One SavorOne Student: A student card earning unlimited 3 percent cash back on dining is quite rare. This card is one of the most lucrative options available for college students.
• Who this card is good for: Particularly social college students who can make the most of the high rewards rate on dining purchases.
• Alternatives: If you don’t mind a little strategic work, the Discover it® Student Cash Back offers 5 percent cash back when you enroll in rotating bonus categories each quarter (up to $1,500 in purchase each quarter, then 1 percent) and some of those categories could include dining purchases. The welcome offer on the Discover it Student Cash Back via the Cashback Match™ program is also generous compared to the SavorOne Student’s lack of a welcome offer.

Read our full Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards review.
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Mastercard is a payment network. Its main role is to process the transfer of funds between a cardholder and a merchant. Accepted in over 210 countries and territories around the world, it’s one of the largest credit card networks in the world, coming in second to Visa and ahead of American Express and Discover.

Mastercard, like Visa, is only a network and does not issue credit cards. Instead, it partners with issuers to provide credit card options to people. These issuers are financial institutions, including financial giants like Chase, Citi and Capital One, as well as community banks and credit unions.

Mastercard cards may include a number of credit card benefits, but whether or not you have access to them is typically up to the issuer. In fact, it’s the issuer that determines most of the features that consumers look for, including credit limits, rewards and other perks, as well as rates and fees.

Many of Mastercard credit cards offer benefits and rewards typical to the credit card market, but there are a few areas where the company distinguishes itself from competitors.

For starters, Mastercard operates on a multi-rail payment network, meaning it may take more time to completely process a payment (typically one to three days) but the network exchanges data with efficiency and facilitates secure transactions.

In addition to how transactions work, Mastercard stands out with its tiers of credit card benefits and exclusive features. When opening a Mastercard credit card, you have the ability to qualify as a World or World Elite member, bringing you a variety of high-end features. Some of the perks below can be found only with Mastercard:

Mastercard World and World Elite benefits

World

• The Priceless Cities travel experience program, an offer unique to Mastercard
• Identity theft protection
• Room upgrades, if available
• Vacation packages
• Airport concierge service — something not provided at the Visa Signature or Infinite levels

World Elite
Includes all World benefits, plus:

• Trip cancellation insurance
• 24-hour concierge
• Exclusive Mastercard discounts on a variety of airlines, travel expenses, entertainment brands and more

Other Mastercard features

• SecureCode: A private code made for your Mastercard account, SecureCode helps protect your card in over 122 countries worldwide.
• True Name™ Cards: To take a stand for inclusion and the LGBTQIA+ community, Mastercard worked with other financial institutions to introduce True Name cards in 2020. These cards allow applicants to choose their desired name without proof of a legal name change.
• Masterpass: Mastercard's digital wallet, Masterpass, is designed for online, in-app and in-person shopping. Your card information and address can be stored electronically. Masterpass purchases are a secure way to shop and are also protected by Zero Liability for any unauthorized purchases.

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