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Hear from our editors: The best credit cards of January 2026

Updated December 22, 2025

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: Eric Freeman, Editorial Lead, Credit Cards

Whether you’re looking to build credit, get out of debt or earn rewards, we’ve compiled a list of the best credit cards on the market to help you find the right one for your wallet.

• Best no annual fee credit cards: Chase Freedom Flex®, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Citi Double Cash® Card
• Best cash back credit cards: Chase Freedom Flex®, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Citi Double Cash® Card
• Best travel credit cards: Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Best rewards credit cards: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Best low-interest credit cards: BankAmericard® credit card, Citi Simplicity® Card, Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
• Best balance transfer credit cards: Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card, Citi Simplicity® Card
• Best credit cards for building credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card, Capital One Platinum Credit Card, Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
• Best secured credit cards: Citi® Secured Mastercard®, Discover it® Secured Credit Card, Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
• Best student credit cards: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students, Discover it® Student Cash Back, Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

Best no-annual-fee credit cards

The best credit cards with no annual fee give people a chance to earn rewards and build credit without breaking the bank.

• Chase Freedom Flex®: With no annual fee, you won’t have to pay for bonus cash back. Find out what others think in member reviews of Chase Freedom Flex®.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: For a card with no annual fee, you could earn quite a bit of cash back for your everyday purchases. Take a look at our review of Chase Freedom Unlimited® to see how.
• Citi Double Cash® Card: You’ll earn cash back at a high rate overall without paying an annual fee. Learn more in our review of the Citi Double Cash® Card.

Best cash back credit cards

The best cash back credit cards offer reward categories that fit your spending habits.

• Chase Freedom Flex®: You can maximize your cash back in a new bonus category every quarter. Check out reviews to see what members think of Chase Freedom Flex® and learn more about the current bonus categories.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: This card is worth a look if you want a high rewards rate on everyday purchases and several bonus categories. Take a look at our Chase Freedom Unlimited® review to learn more.
• Citi Double Cash® Card: This card makes earning cash back simple with a flat rate on all purchases. Find out more in our review of Citi Double Cash® Card.

Best travel credit cards

The best travel credit cards could help you save up for a future vacation.

• Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: Quality rewards and several valuable perks give this card a nice value for the annual fee. Find out what sets this card apart in our review of the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: The flexible travel rewards could help you book your next vacation through one of Chase’s airline or hotel partners. Take a look at our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review to see how.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: The straightforward rewards program could help travelers get value for their purchases without too much extra effort. Check out our Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review to learn more.

Best rewards credit cards

The best rewards credit cards reward you for everyday purchases.

• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Regular grocery shoppers will get plenty of opportunities to earn extra cash back. Learn more about Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express to see if this card might make sense for you.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: You’ll get a steady rewards rate on every purchase and a straightforward redemption process for travel. Learn more in our Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: This card offers a decent flat cash back rate on top of several useful bonus categories. Learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Best low-interest credit cards

These best credit cards with 0% intro APR offers are good for people who run into unexpected expenses or need to finance a major purchase.

• BankAmericard® credit card: This card features a lengthy, useful interest offer. Take a look at our review of BankAmericard® credit card to learn more.
• Citi Simplicity® Card: This card also gives you a strong intro offer to pay off your new purchases. Find out how in our Citi Simplicity® Card review.
• Wells Fargo Reflect® Card: You’ll get a long intro APR offer on both purchases and balance transfers with this card. Learn more about the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card.

Best balance transfer credit cards

The best balance transfer cards offer options and flexibility to people trying to pay off credit card debt.

• Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card: This card provides more time to transfer your balances after approval. Learn more in our Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card review.
• Citi Simplicity® Card: This card offers time to pay off your balance — and it has no penalty interest rates. Take a look at our review of Citi Simplicity® Card to learn more.
• Wells Fargo Reflect® Card: This card has one of the longest intro offers available. Read more about the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card.

Best credit cards for building credit

The best credit cards for building credit give people with limited credit histories the opportunity to raise their credit scores.

• Discover it® Secured Credit Card: You’ll need to pay a security deposit, but this card offers rewards and the chance to graduate to an unsecured card. Learn more about Discover it® Secured Credit Card.
• Capital One Platinum Credit Card: Capital One will review your account for credit line increases once you’ve had the card for six months. Read more about the Capital One Platinum Credit Card.
• Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card: You may be able to put down a low security deposit with this card. Learn more about the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card.

Best secured credit cards

The best secured credit cards give people access to credit when they might not be able to qualify for other cards.

• Citi® Secured Mastercard®: This card lets you track your progress as you build credit with access to a free FICO score. Check out our review of Citi® Secured Mastercard® to learn more.
• Discover it® Secured Credit Card: You could earn rewards while building credit. Read more about Discover it® Secured Credit Card.
• Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card: You can build credit, and you might qualify to pay a security deposit that could be lower than your credit line. Take a look at our Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card review to learn more.

Best student credit cards

The best student credit cards give students a head start on building credit.

• Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students: You could build credit and earn rewards to use while studying abroad or taking a spring break trip. Find out more in our Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students review.
• Discover it® Student Cash Back: You could build credit and earn rewards. See what others think about this card by reading more about Discover it® Student Cash Back.
• Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: This card offers the chance to earn rewards while building credit.

Types of credit cards

Knowing what kind of credit card you’re looking for can help you start to narrow down your options.

• You can earn cash back, miles or points if you get a cash back or rewards credit card.
• Low-interest credit cards allow you to make large purchases and pay them off over time. You could also transfer a high-interest balance from another card to pay off the debt at a lower cost.
• Travel cards typically have no foreign transaction fees. They also typically offer rewards earned for booking travel and other enticing features for people who travel frequently.
• Credit-building cards typically offer limited rewards and incentives beyond improving your credit. These can include secured and unsecured credit cards.

How do I pick the best credit card for me?

Picking the best credit card depends on where you are in your credit journey. Take a look at each of these scenarios to see which type of card suits your needs best.

Do you want to build credit?

If you’re new to credit or you’re trying to bounce back from previous financial mishaps, your top priority should probably be to build credit. Unfortunately, the credit cards with the most rewards and lowest interest rates might not be available to you just yet.

But you can still find and apply for cards that you may be more likely to get approved for. That can help give you a better chance of avoiding the hard credit inquiry that comes with applying for a card and then being rejected.

Consider a secured card or an unsecured card meant to build credit. These options can help you build credit as long as you pay off your statement balance in full by the due date. Just make sure the card issuer reports your payments to the three major consumer credit bureaus.

Do you want to finance a big purchase or pay off debt?

If you think you might need to carry a balance or finance a major purchase, you might want to look for a card with a low purchase APR. A card with an introductory 0% APR offer on purchases could be a good way to save money on interest.

If you already have credit card debt, one option for paying it down is a balance transfer card. These cards let you move your balance to a new card that might start with an intro 0% APR offer.

If you’re considering a balance transfer, it’s a good idea to estimate how much you could save before you apply for a card — our balance transfer calculator can help you weigh your options.

Do you want cash back or travel rewards?

If you don’t need to build your credit and don’t plan to carry or transfer a balance, you can prioritize finding the right rewards program or valuable perks.

Cash back cards can help you earn money back for your daily purchases. These cards might offer a flat rate on all purchases or bonus rates in certain categories. Consider a card that lines up with your spending to maximize your rewards opportunities.

If you prefer travel rewards, there are a variety of ways to get points and perks with different credit cards. Some programs even let you transfer your points to other reward systems to get an even better value.

When you consider a rewards card, take a look at the value you can get relative to the annual fee. Some of our favorite cards on the market come with annual fees of several hundred dollars, but those options can be worth it for regular travelers and people who are willing to work a little to get the most out of their rewards.

How we picked the best credit cards

It’s impossible to pick the absolute “best” credit card — there’s no single card that’s right for everyone.

For example, a premium rewards card might be great for big spenders who can make use of the perks, but it’s not worth much to someone with a limited credit history who’s unlikely to qualify.

To meet the needs of different groups, we organized our picks into categories that fit different situations. When possible, we also tried to choose cards that could appeal to varying experiences within each category.

If you don’t see a card on our list that fits your needs, we recommend diving into the pages for each specific category on Credit Karma. Our editorial reviews and explanations can help guide you through the options available to you.