Credit cards in the US

First-time travel-rewards card, sweet-spot earn rates

Annual travelers, the upgrade path from Sapphire Preferred.

US-incorporated startups, best welcome bonus in the business-card space.

Premium travel, $395 fee easily offset by $300 travel credit + 10K anniversary miles.

Heavy restaurant + grocery spenders ($1K+/mo on food)

No-fee everyday card; pairs perfectly with Sapphire Preferred

Heavy travelers wanting Centurion Lounge access + status credits.

No-fee rotating cashback for category optimizers.

Mobile-pay maximizers, 3x on Apple/Google/Samsung Pay transactions.

No-fee small-business card, 5% on office supplies, internet, cable.

Set-it-and-forget-it 2% on everything

Rotating-category optimizers; first card for thin-credit-file applicants

Suburban families with kids, best US-supermarket card.

Auto-detects your top spend category each cycle, set-and-forget.

No-fee 2% flat, competitive with Citi Double Cash.

US-incorporated startups with $50K+/year corporate spend.

Frequent Marriott guests, Platinum status from spend, free annual night.

Small businesses, 4x on top 2 spend categories from a list of 6.

High-spend small business, 2% flat with $1,200 welcome.

Pay rent without fees, only no-fee card that earns points on rent.

Simple travel earn, 2x on every dollar, no categories to track

Foodies on a no-fee card, restaurants, delivery, streaming, groceries

No-fee, no-thinking 1.5% on everything.

Apple ecosystem users, daily cashback, instant in Wallet.

No-fee 3x on six categories, broader than most no-fee competitors.

Frequent Hilton guests who want top-tier Diamond status.

Free annual night ($85K Bonvoy) covers the $95 fee easily.

Mid-tier travel card; 10x is Citi Travel portal-only, 3x on everyday travel and dining.

No-fee flat travel earn, first-year doubled effectively makes it 3x.

BoA Preferred Rewards clients, up to 2.625x with $100K relationship.

No-fee 4x travel, rare combination of no fee + premium earn rate.

5% on 2 chosen categories + 2% on 1 chosen, fully customizable.

No-fee travel, 1.5x flat with no FX markup, plus Preferred Rewards bumps

No-fee Amex with 3% supermarket, Blue Cash Preferred minus the fee.

Delta loyalists, free first checked bag pays for the fee with one round trip.

Hilton guests who want Gold status and strong everyday earn.

21-month 0% intro APR, best balance-transfer card on the market.

Choose your 3% category each month, no rotation needed.

Regular Delta flyers who also book hotels directly.

United loyalists, free checked bag + lounge passes.

No-fee Hilton card, solid for occasional Hilton stays.

Delta loyalists who will use the lounge and status perks.

Marriott guests who spend on dining and groceries.

American Airlines loyalists, free checked bag + boarding.