No annual fee credit cards

These offers are no longer available on our site: Wells Fargo Reflect® Card, Chase Freedom Flex℠, Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, United℠ Explorer Card, Target RedCard™

Hear from our editors: The best no annual fee credit cards of April 2023

Updated March 31, 2023

This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.

Editorial note: 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. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Written by: Tim Devaney

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 managing debt: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
• Best for building credit: Petal® 2 Visa® 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 few ways to earn 5% cash back.

• On travel purchases booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• In rotating bonus categories where you can be rewarded for spending up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter you activate
• On grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart) on up to $12,000 spent during your first year with the card

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

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 Ultimate Rewards®
• 5% back on grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart) on up to $12,000 spent during your first year with the card
• 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.

You can learn more in our review of the 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, because you enjoy the same cash back rate on every purchase you make. It’s a straightforward rewards experience.

Take a look at our review of the Citi® Double Cash Card to learn more.

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 in our review of 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 100,000 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 in our review of the Hilton Honors American Express Card.

Best for managing debt: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card

Here’s why: The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card could help you handle debt with no annual fee.

The card gives you a year and a half to deal with debt with a 0% intro APR for the first 18 billing cycles on balance transfers made within the first 60 days of account opening. It also offers a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 18 billing cycles.

After that, you’ll be hit with a variable APR of 19.24% - 29.24% on purchases and balance transfers, depending on your credit profile. So it’s important to pay off your credit card by then, or you might risk falling back into debt.

It’s also worth mentioning the balance transfer isn’t entirely free because you’ll still be charged a balance transfer fee: Either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater. But it might be worth it, if the card helps you get out of debt.

Check out our review of the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card to learn more.

Best for building credit: Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card

Here’s why: The Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card provides you with a great opportunity to build credit with no annual fee.

This card is available to people with little to no credit history, though you’re not guaranteed to be approved. All cardholders earn at least 1% cash back on eligible purchases, and you can earn as much as 1.5% on your purchases after making on-time monthly payments.

Plus, Petal reports your account activity to the three major credit bureaus, which can help you build credit — as long as you pay your credit card bills on time and in full each month.

Take a look at our review of the Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card.

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.