Best Visa credit cards for March 2023

Chase Sapphire Preferred: Best for sign-up bonus

• What we love about the Chase Sapphire Preferred: Its rewards rates make it a great fit for travelers and foodies alike. Plus, your points are worth 25 percent more when redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
• Who this card is good for: People new to the world of travel credit cards. Cardholders will earn flexible travel points that are easy to earn if you dine out and travel and are simple to redeem.
• Alternatives: If you want to earn rewards in more categories, a decent choice for travelers is the Citi Premier® Card, a mid-level travel card. The Sapphire Preferred has a slightly lower APR and earns rewards at a higher rate than the Citi Premier. Still, Citi Premier cardholders will earn competitive rewards rates at gas stations, restaurants and  air travel purchases.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred review.

Jump back to offer details.

Chase Sapphire Reserve: Best for luxury travel perks

• What we love about the Chase Sapphire Reserve: Perks like complimentary lounge access and annual travel credits that can easily offset its high annual fee.
• Who this card is good for: Travelers who want best-in-class luxury travel perks and don’t mind paying for them. 
• Alternatives: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a good alternative if the Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee gives you pause. The Capital One Venture X Rewards card has a lower annual fee and carries many of the same luxury perks as the Sapphire Reserve.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Reserve review.

Jump back to offer details.

Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa: Best for low-cost and low-interest spending

• What we love about the Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®: Cardholders have a good chance at a lower APR, which makes carrying a balance less expensive.
• Who this card is good for: People with average credit working toward good or excellent credit can benefit from this unique blend of a credit card and personal loan.
• Alternatives: If you still want a card with a potentially low APR, consider the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card. The lower end of the Petal 2’s APR is slightly higher than the Upgrade Visa’s, but the Petal 2 also tacks on the potential to earn rewards — a rare perk for credit-builder cards. 

Read our full Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa® Review.

Jump back to offer details.

Credit One Bank Platinum X5 Visa: Best for fair credit scores

• What we love about the Credit One Bank Platinum X5 Visa: This card is one of the few for people with average credit that earns rewards at such a high rate.
• Who this card is good for: People with fair credit who still want to earn rewards in popular everyday spending categories.
• Alternatives: If you want to earn rewards, but are hesitant to shell out $95 for an annual fee, the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is a solid alternative. The rewards aren’t quite as lucrative, but cardholders will still earn a respectable 1.5 percent cash back on all their purchases.

Read our full Credit One Bank Platinum X5 Visa review.

Jump back to offer details.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best for travel rewards on everyday spending

• What we love about the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Its high and unlimited flat rewards rate on all purchases, plus its boosted rates on hotel and rental cars booked through the issuer’s travel portal.
• Who this card is good for: Mid-level travelers who want higher rewards rates than basic travel cards, but don’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars for an annual fee.
• Alternatives: If you want to stick with a Capital One card and earn similarly lucrative rewards — without shelling out an annual fee — consider the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.

Read our full Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review.

Jump back to offer details.

U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card: Best for flexible cash back rewards

• What we love about the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card: The customizable rewards structure gives cardholders the opportunity to maximize their cash back earnings. 
• Who this card is good for: Serious budgeters who want to earn the maximum rewards for their spending. If you have the time to track your spending diligently, this card can be lucrative.
• Alternatives: The Citi® Double Cash Card provides a solid alternative if you prefer to earn rewards the simple way. Citi Double Cash cardholders get 1 percent back when they buy and 1 percent when they pay, which encourages people to keep up with their credit card bill. 

Read our full U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card review.

Jump back to offer details.

Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card: Best for Bank of America loyalists and occasional travelers

• What we love about the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card: The broad definition of travel purchases means that cardholders can earn travel rewards at amusement parks, zoos and campgrounds — among other places.
• Who this card is good for: Travelers who want to earn rewards for their adventures closer to home. This card is great for Bank of America customers who want to earn travel rewards with road trips and attractions, not just getaway trips overseas.
• Alternatives: If you don’t mind taking on a small annual fee, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers cardholders a bit more when it comes to unlimited rewards earnings. You’ll double your sign-up bonus with a slightly larger required spend, and the card still caters to Bank of America loyalists who can qualify for the boosted rates that come with the Preferred Rewards program.

Read our full Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card review.

Jump back to offer details.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: Best for no annual fee travel rewards 

• What we love about the Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card: You’ll still earn a competitive rewards rate on all purchases with this card while skipping the annual fee. 
• Who this card is good for: Travel beginners who may not travel enough to justify an annual fee for more abundant perks and benefits, but who still want to earn towards travel on everyday spending. 
• Alternatives: Another lucrative travel rewards card that skips the annual fee and could be easy to manage for travel beginners is the Discover it® Miles. This card also includes Discover’s popular mile-for-mile cash back match program as a first-year welcome bonus, along with a generous intro APR offer.

Read our full Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card review.

Chase Freedom Unlimited: Best for flexible redemption options

• What we love about the Chase Freedom Unlimited: This card offers a rare combination of  solid cash back rates on travel, restaurant and drugstore purchases, but also a boosted flat rate on all other purchases. That makes it especially valuable and flexible as a standalone rewards card.
• Who this card is good for: Travelers who dine out often or shop frequently at drugstores and are looking for a flexible, low-cost rewards card that lets them redeem for both travel and cash back without sacrificing point value.
• Alternatives: The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a great option if you need a card that earns rewards on groceries. The card earns high rates of cash back at U.S. supermarkets, and while it charges an annual fee, this cost should be easy to offset via everyday spending.

Read our full Chase Freedom Unlimited review.

Visa is a payment network utilized by many credit card issuers and banks. Payment networks are needed to facilitate an electronic transaction of funds between buyers and sellers, and they generally charge a small fee for each transaction.

While Visa technically acts as the facilitator for all payments made with a Visa credit card, it is not a credit card issuer or bank. It simply provides the payment network technology that credit card issuers and banks use for all cards.

Visa is at the top of the payment processing industry as the largest of the four major U.S. credit card networks. If you have a debit, credit or prepaid card in your wallet, there's a good chance that the card is partnered with Visa.

With over 1 billion credit cards in circulation worldwide (an estimated 798 million outside the U.S.), Visa's international presence is undeniable. Their cards are accepted in over 200 countries and can be used with over 10 million merchants in the United States. In 2020, Visa's worldwide credit payments totaled nearly $2 trillion, according to Creditcards.com Market Share Statistics.

The key to picking a credit card is finding one that aligns with your financial needs and spending habits. Visa is a large network and partners with credit card issuers on many different types of cards, including rewards cards, credit-building cards, balance transfer cards and more.

Choosing the best Visa credit card means deciding what you want from a card in general. Of the many cards in the Visa network, one should fit your needs.

Still unsure if a Visa credit card is right for you? Check out our Credit Card Spender Type Tool where you can get personalized credit card recommendations based on your credit score, spending habits and daily needs.

All Visa cards fall under one of three benefit tiers: Traditional, Signature and Infinite. Each card tier differs in the level of protections and benefits offered, but the exact benefits that come with your card will be determined by your card issuer.