No annual fee credit cards

Hear from our editors: The best no annual fee credit cards of April 2026

Updated April 16, 2026

This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.

Editorial Note: Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Written by: Tim Devaney

Edited by: Claire Diver, Senior Editor, Credit Cards

If you don’t like the idea of paying money just for the privilege of using a credit card, you might be interested in a card with no annual fee.

Here’s our take on the best no annual fee credit cards that money can’t buy.

• Best for maximizing cash back: Chase Freedom Flex®
• Best for everyday cash back: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Best for simple cash back: Citi Double Cash® Card
• Best for travel: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
• Best for hotels: Hilton Honors American Express Card
• Best for low interest: Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
• Best for building credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Best for maximizing cash back: Chase Freedom Flex®

Here’s why: The Chase Freedom Flex® offers plenty of opportunities to maximize your cash back rewards.

You could earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases during your first 3 months after account opening. That’s an average of just $167 in spending per month.

You’ll also have a couple of ways to earn 5% cash back.

• On travel purchases booked through Chase Travel℠
• In rotating bonus categories where you can be rewarded for spending up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter you activate

Beyond that, you’ll also earn 3% back at restaurants, including takeout and delivery, and drugstores, and 1% back on all other purchases.

Learn more about Chase Freedom Flex®.

Best for everyday cash back: Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Here’s why: The Chase Freedom Unlimited® gives you more cash back on everyday purchases with no annual fee.

You’ll still get …

• 5% back on travel bookings made through Chase Travel℠
• 3% back at restaurants
• 3% back at drugstores

But you’ll also be assured of a high minimum rate of 1.5% for all other purchases that don’t fall within the bonus categories.

These rates make the Chase Freedom Unlimited® a great option for all of your purchases — not just the ones that Chase gives you an incentive to make.

Learn more about Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Best for simple cash back: Citi Double Cash® Card

Here’s why: The Citi Double Cash® Card makes it easy to earn cash back with no annual fee.

You’ll earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases — 1% back when you make the purchase, plus another 1% back when you pay your bill.

That flat rate means you don’t have to worry about tracking your spending across multiple bonus categories. It’s a straightforward rewards experience.

Learn more about Citi Double Cash® Card.

Best for travel: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Here’s why: The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a great all-around travel card if you don’t want to pay an annual fee.

You’ll earn 25,000 bonus points (worth $250 when redeemed as a statement credit toward travel and dining) after spending $1,000 on purchases during the first 90 days after account opening.

You’ll also receive unlimited 1.5 points for every $1 you spend on purchases. And the foreign transaction fee for this card? None at all.

But keep in mind that the most rewarding travel rewards credit cards charge annual fees. If you’re looking for the best value from a travel card, you might want to look for another card.

Read more about the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card.

Best for hotels: Hilton Honors American Express Card

Here’s why: The Hilton Honors American Express Card holds lots of potential value and has no annual fee.

You’ll earn 80,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases during your first 6 months of card membership.

You’ll also get seven points for every $1 you spend at Hilton; five points per $1 at U.S. gas stations, U.S. restaurants and U.S. supermarkets (excluding superstores and warehouse clubs); and three points on all other purchases.

Read more about Hilton Honors American Express Card.

Best for low interest: Wells Fargo Reflect® Card

Here’s why: The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card gives you a long time to pay off debt.

The card comes with 0% intro APR for the first 21 months on purchases and balance transfers made within 120 days of account opening. If you’re transferring a balance to the card, you’ll pay a balance transfer fee of 5% (minimum $5). After the intro period ends, the regular variable APR on purchases and balance transfers rises to 17.49%, 23.99%, 28.24%.

Best for building credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Here’s why: It’s rare to find a secured card that offers rewards, but the Discover it® Secured Credit Card will help you build credit and earn cash back at the same time.

There’s a minimum deposit of $200, and your credit limit will equal your deposit amount. So if you put down the minimum amount, you’ll want to keep an eye on your credit utilization rate. 

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card also offers 2% cash back on gas station and restaurant purchases on up to $1,000 spent on combined purchases each quarter. You’ll earn 1% cash back on all other purchases, and after you reach the spending cap.

Can you get credit card companies to waive the annual fee?

There are two ways a credit card company might waive a card’s annual fee: automatically and by request.

The most common way is to look for a credit card that charges an annual fee that is automatically waived for all cardholders during their first year. Plenty of cards offer this waiver as a promotion to help persuade you to apply.

If your card doesn’t automatically waive the annual fee, you can also try calling the issuer and making a special request.

But it’s important to understand that getting an annual fee waived usually happens only under special circumstances and will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Just because it worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you.

If you already have a credit card that charges an annual fee, it doesn’t hurt to ask if the lender will waive it. But if you’re looking for a new card, it might be less stressful to find a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee.

How we picked these cards

To find the best no annual fee credit cards, we naturally first considered any cards that offered no annual fee.

While our picks for the best credit cards often balance the annual fee against the value cardholders can get, that isn’t an issue when every card under consideration doesn’t charge an annual fee. So we focused instead on picking the no annual fee credit cards that offer the best rewards, longest period for 0% introductory rates or the chance to build credit with the greatest amount of other valuable features.