Best credit cards for good credit of September 2023

PROS:

• Travelers are sure to love that the 60,000 bonus points new cardholders can earn are worth $750 in travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal. That's huge!
• Receive a $50 hotel credit annually for a stay booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
• Baggage delay insurance. If your luggage winds up in some faraway land, and you don't see it for more than six hours, you'll get reimbursed up to $100 a day for five days. After day six, though, you're on your own.

CONS:

• If your expenses are all over the place, this might not be the card for you as its bonus rewards categories are largely related to travel.
• This card charges a AnnualFees annual fee.

Read our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• The cash-back rewards don't expire - unless you close the account. But as long as it is open, you can hang onto those rewards as long as you want.
• Some nice perks, including car rental insurance, roadside assistance and extended warranty.
• Your cash back accumulates as Chase Ultimate Rewards®, which means you can combine rewards from this no-annual fee card with a Chase premium card that earns Ultimate Rewards® points to maximize your earning and your value.

CONS:

• Traveling internationally or shopping in foreign currency? Maybe you best leave this card behind. There are foreign transaction fees to consider.
• The rewards structure isn't simple. Sure, you'll earn at least 1.5% cash back, but to truly get the most from this card, you'll want to think about how and when you use it.

Read our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• This is a fantastic card for anyone who spends heavily on groceries thanks to 6% cash back earned on U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $6,000 annually, then 1%).
• Not only does this card earn bonus rewards on select U.S. streaming services, but it can help you save in other ways on streaming purchases, too. You can earn $7 per month back in the form of a statement credit after you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your Blue Cash Preferred card (enrollment required).
• There is a nice introductory offer of 0% APR on all purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months after card activation. After that, the rate is RegAPR, based on your creditworthiness.

CONS:

• If you eat out more than you cook at home, this might not be the best card for you.
• You'll also want to take note that there's a foreign transaction fee of 2.7%, which is better than 3% that a lot of cards have. That said, a lot of credit cards have no foreign transaction fee.

Read our full CardName

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• There are a lot of excellent everyday rewards-earning opportunities here, so you can rack up a bank of ThankYou Points pretty quickly.
• Receive $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more each calendar year.
• There are no foreign transaction fees to worry about, so you can save money if you travel abroad.

CONS:

• Keep in mind the annual fee; the $100 hotel credit would more than offset that, though, if you're able to take advantage.
• There are a number travel partners to which you can transfer your rewards, but they aren't necessarily the most popular ones out there. Take a look to ensure you can use those partners or that you'll still get good value with your rewards.

Read our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• Driving a rental car? With this card, you'll get an auto rental collision damage waiver.
• And if you break down with the rental car? Or your own car? You'll get roadside assistance.
• And you can afford to pay for a rental car in another country, this card has no foreign transaction fees.
• Another nice perk to keep in mind is an application fee refund of up to $100 for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, a perk normally reserved for credit cards with much higher annual fees.

CONS:

• You may find the list of airlines that the card partners with lacking. Not a lot of big American airline names.
• The $95 annual fee is reasonable but may be off-putting for someone who doesn't regularly travel.

Read our full CardName

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• No annual fee and no foreign transaction fees mean you don't have to be worried about whether you're earning enough rewards to offset the fees.
• You can save money with an intro 12 billing cycles 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers made within the first 60 days (after the intro period, there's an APR of RegAPR).
• Cardholders receive a $15 credit annually for eligible streaming services purchases, such as those with Netflix or Spotify.

CONS:

• The welcome bonus is just so-so. This card shines with its ongoing rewards opportunities, but doesn't knock it out of the park with the welcome offer.
• If you want to redeem your points as cash back, your options are limited to a statement credit or a deposit to a U.S. Bank checking or savings account. If you bank elsewhere and want cash back, this likely isn't the best card for you.

Read our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• An excellent cash-back rewards card with an excellent introductory balance transfer offer of 18 months no interest on balance transfers (then, RegAPR). That's tough to beat.
• A card that rewards you for paying off your card balance is a winning card in our book. That rewards structure should incentize you to keep paying your balance in full.
• The simplicity with the rewards strucutre is excellent for the "set it and forget it" cardholder. Know that you can effectively earn 2% back each time you use your card (1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay for your purchase).

CONS:

• There's are foreign transaction fees to consider, so leave this behind when you head out for a trip abroad.
• While the intro balance transfer offer is great, it does come with a balance transfer fee. Make sure you take that into account as you make your transfer decisions.

Read our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• Having intro APR is nice, and this time frame is for both new purchases AND balance transfers (made within the first 60 days). After that, RegAPR applies. Keep in mind that you won't find many offers as long, or longer, than that.
• Access your FICO® score for free within the Bank of America online banking app or your mobile banking app.
• No penalty APR. Paying late won't automatically raise your interest rate. Other account pricing and terms apply.

CONS:

• This is a no-frills card that does not offer ongoing rewards for cardholders.
• There is a balance transfer fee of BalanceTransferFees. This is not unusual for balance transfer credit cards, however.

See our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

PROS:

• This card has a special app designed just for Ink cardholders, which means you'll get small business credit card tools, such as the ability to save receipts in the app and update employee spend limits.
• Car rental insurance is one of the many perks with this card. If you pay for car rental with this credit card, and somebody sideswipes your car, or worse, steals it, the card offers primary coverage.
• Purchase protection is another nice perk. So let's say you buy an item with your Ink card, and it's banged up or even stolen (maybe along with your rental car), you could be covered up to $10,000 per claim (up to $50,000 per account).

CONS:

• Not every business buys office supplies and spends a ton of internet-cable-phone services. If your business doesn't pay much for your communications, and you simply don't buy many printer cartridges, computer paper and so on, you may want to look at other business credit cards.
• It's not the best business card for an international business trip, thanks to the 3% foreign transaction fee.

Read our full CardName.

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.