Best Rewards Credit Cards

For this post, my goal was to identify the best overall rewards credit cards. I wanted to find the best all-around cards that offer rewards for your most important purchases. If you’re signing up for a new card, you should plan on keeping it for a long time, and continuously use it to reap the most benefits. Since I did my initial comparison on these cards back in January, a few things have changed. Some of the top cards got new names and even the offers of those cards have changed. While the same cards remain among the best, the order has shifted slightly as a result of these changes.

My favorite rewards card available today is the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

The reason I like the Sapphire above all rewards cards is because of the great sign-up bonus, 2x points on travel and dining, and the flexibility to redeem rewards in a variety of ways. You can also earn more rewards at the end of the year in the form of a dividend.

The Simple Dollar’s Top Picks
The three best rewards credit cards for 2014 are:
Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® or Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

What makes these cards the best? Versatile rewards earning potential (2x on important purchases) Unlimited rewards (no caps on earning) Consistency (no rotating categories, signing up to get rewards, or confusing offers) Redeem for anything (cash back, travel, exclusive events, and more) Long-term stability (quality financial institutions, no reason to close your account) Hefty, easy-to-achieve sign-up bonuses Earn points or miles back for redeeming rewards, not just making purchases To find the top rewards credit cards, I used a data-driven process by starting with a list of nearly 200 cards. After comparing the data from all of the rewards cards, I eliminated the weaker cards until I was left with the top options. Let’s take a detailed look at each of the top choices.

Chase Sapphire Preferred®
One of the most-liked credit cards in the industry is the Chase Sapphire Preferred®. This card is definitely the number one card on the market for someone who likes to eat out and wants to travel. If you have rewards from other programs, you also get 1:1 point transfer to participating frequent travel programs at full value. Also, if you combine the Chase Sapphire Preferred® with the Chase Freedom®, like I do, transferring rewards between the two cards is a breeze.

Card Highlights:

Who’s it good for? This card is perfect for young professionals, city dwellers, and travelers. If you’re not home a lot and often eat out, this is the right card for you. Loyal Chase customers should also choose this card for the convenience and great rewards.

What’s the best way to use it? You want to use it for any meals out and whenever you travel. The card is loaded with travel insurance benefits that have you covered if anything gets in the way of your trip. I recommend strategically using the Chase Freedom® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® together to earn more rewards. Use the Chase Freedom® Card to enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months and use the Chase Sapphire Preferred® for everything else. You can transfer rewards from one card to the other if you use both. So, you can take all of your 5% categories from the Chase Freedom® Card and send them into the Chase Sapphire Preferred® account, which has more exclusive reward redemption opportunities.

Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard®:
No Fee or 2x on All Purchases If you’re looking for a new credit card with solid rewards and no fee, the Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® is your best choice. There aren’t many cards that offer the right combination of rewards, benefits, sign-up bonus, and intro APR like this Barclaycard. The Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® is best for those who own another credit card, like a cash back card, although both will work in combination with any card. The Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® hasn’t been around as long as the Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard®, but it’s good for people who plan on spending a lot of money on their card each month or for those who only want to own one credit card. With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®, you’ll pay an annual fee, but you won’t find a more versatile credit card that fits the lifestyle and spending habits of just about anyone.

Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® Highlights:

Who are these good for? Everyone with good credit. The cards are especially beneficial to people who travel but don’t necessarily do so with one airline or online travel site. It works well if you who price hunt for travel on sites like Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, or Booking.com. You’re going to get 2x miles on any flight, any hotel, and any piece of food you eat. The ability to get miles back when you redeem for travel adds another benefit for frequent travelers.

What’s the best way to use the cards? Use the 1x card travel and dining. Use the 2x card for any purchases. Redeeming miles for travel is a good practice to get into because you get 10% of them back. I wouldn’t recommend pairing these cards with any other travel credit card unless you consistently fly one of the airlines that offers a card with rewards of 3x miles or higher. It may pair nicely with the Discover it®, which isn’t as widely accepted as MasterCard. One strategy would be to hit the quarterly $1,500 cap on earning 5% cash back with your Discover it®, and then put other purchases on the Barclaycard.

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular cards around. It’s a very close competitor to both of the cards mentioned above.

Card Highlights:

Who’s it good for? Anyone who wants to consistently earn rewards on all purchases, and travelers. People who make a variety of purchases. Loyal Capital One customers.

What’s the best way to use it? You should use this card for everything you buy. If you have a cash back or airlines card where you can hit rewards of 3% or higher, you’ll want to combo the two cards. This card will function perfectly on its own without owning any other credit card. Other Popular Rewards Credit Cards The competition was tough in this group. The cards below didn’t make the top three, but don’t beat yourself up if you own one of them. These are still some of the better credit cards available, but they’re not quite as good as the ones mentioned above.
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card Card Highlights:

Why it didn’t make the cut.?
You only earn 1.25 points per dollar on every purchase, which is is 0.75 less than the best cards. The sign-up bonus is just average at 20,000 bonus points. U.S. Bank Flex Perks® Travel Rewards Visa Signature® card Card Highlights: Why it didn’t make the cut The sign-up bonus is half as much as some of the top rewards cards and you have to spend much more to achieve it. Earning two Flex Points for every $1 spent on gas, grocery, or airlines is on par with the other top cards. You don’t earn 2:1 rewards points on everything, but these are big enough categories to capitalize on unless you eat out a lot.

Is your favorite general rewards card missing from my top three? Do you have any unique strategies to maximize your rewards? Feel free to share and let’s discuss!