Whether you want to pay less interest or earn more rewards, the right card's out there. Just answer a few questions and we'll narrow the search for you.
ALSO SEE: Best credit cards of 2023 || Visa || Mastercard || American Express || Discover || Bank of America® || Capital One || Chase || Citi || US Bank || Wells Fargo
Visa credit cards are widely accepted both in the United States and outside the country. If you’re looking for a new one, options abound — which is good because there’s no such thing as a single “best” Visa card for everybody. To decide which card is best for you, consider your spending, debt and rewards preferences. Here are our top picks for credit cards on the Visa network.
Show summary
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Best for Flat-rate cash back
Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Best for Bonus category cash back
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: Best for Customizable categories cash back
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best for Flat-rate travel rewards
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for Bonus travel rewards
Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card: Best for No-annual-fee bonus travel rewards
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card: Best for 0% interest period
U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Best for 0% interest period
Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best for Premium features
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Best for Small-business travel
PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card: Best for Gas
Credit card | NerdWallet rating | Annual fee | Rewards rate | Intro offer | Learn more |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best for Flat-rate cash back | $0 | 2% | $200 | Apply Now on Wells Fargo's website | |
Best for Bonus category cash back | $0 | 1.5%-6.5% | $300 | Apply Now on Chase's website | |
![]() Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card Apply Now on Bank of America's website,or call (877) 754-6706 | Best for Customizable categories cash back | $0 | 1%-3% | $200 | Apply Now on Bank of America's website,or call (877) 754-6706 |
Best for Flat-rate travel rewards | $95 | 2x-5x | 75,000 | Apply Now on Capital One's website | |
Best for Bonus travel rewards | $95 | 1x-5x | 60,000 | Apply Now on Chase's website | |
Best for No-annual-fee bonus travel rewards | $0 | 1x-3x | 20,000 | Apply Now on Wells Fargo's website | |
Best for 0% interest period | $0 | N/A | N/A | Apply Now on Wells Fargo's website | |
Best for 0% interest period | $0 | N/A | N/A | Apply Now on US Bank's website | |
Best for Premium features | $550 | 1x-10x | 60,000 | Apply Now on Chase's website | |
Best for Small-business travel | $95 | 1x-3x | 100,000 | Apply Now on Chase's website | |
Best for Gas | $0 | 1x-5x | 15,000 | Apply Now on Pentagon Federal Credit Union's website |
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
2%
CashbackIntro offer
$200
Recommended Credit Score
The $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers an excellent rewards rate on everything you buy, as well as a bundle of other goodies not often found on cards like it.
You'll earn 2% cash rewards on all purchases, among the best rates on the market for products in its class. But the card also features a generous sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. On top of that, it also offers a 0% intro APR on Purchases for 15 months and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers 15 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.99%, 24.99%, or 29.99% Variable APR.
You can find higher cash-back rates in specific, popular spending categories, if you're OK with keeping track of tiered or rotating reward structures. And like many cash-back cards, this one's not ideal for traveling abroad, thanks to its foreign transaction fee.
The $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers an excellent rewards rate on everything you buy, as well as a bundle of other goodies not often found on cards like it.
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1.5%-6.5%
CashbackIntro offer
$300
Recommended Credit Score
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® was already a fine card when it offered 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Now it's even better, with bonus rewards on travel booked through Chase, as well as at restaurants and drugstores. New cardholders get a great bonus offer, too.
This card earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase; 3% cash back at restaurants and drugstores; and 1.5% back on other purchases. New cardholders can snag this sign-up bonus: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
While you can earn big rewards on travel bookings with this card, it also charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so it's not a good companion abroad.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® was already a fine card when it offered 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Now it's even better, with bonus rewards on travel booked through Chase, as well as at restaurants and drugstores. New cardholders get a great bonus offer, too.
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1%-3%
CashbackIntro offer
$200
Recommended Credit Score
The option to pick a 3% cash-back category among a list of six makes the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card a flexible pick, and it can become even more valuable if you qualify for the Preferred Rewards program.
This card offers useful options for your 3% cash back category: gas, travel, dining, drugstores, online shopping or furniture/home improvement stores. You also get 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. (The 3% and 2% rewards are capped at $2,500 in combined spending per quarter; all other spending earns 1% back.) Cardholders eligible for the Bank of America® Preferred Rewards program earn higher rewards rates. The annual fee is $0.
It has a complicated rewards structure, and spending caps make it most appealing for low spenders. If you're a big spender with excellent credit and willing to pay an annual fee, there are cards with higher rewards. Even a flat-rate cash-back Visa might be better.
The option to pick a 3% cash-back category among a list of six makes the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card a flexible pick, and it can become even more valuable if you qualify for the Preferred Rewards program.
Earn 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar spent on everything else. Redeem miles for statement credit against most travel expenses. You’re not restricted to one airline or hotel, as is the case with co-branded cards. Just book your own travel, then pay for it with rewards.
You won’t find airline-specific perks with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. If you’re loyal to one particular airline or hotel chain, for example, it might be worth comparing this card with its co-branded cards.
Simple rewards and flexible redemption have rightly made the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card one of the most popular credit cards on the market.
Annual fee
$95
Rewards rate
1x-5x
PointsIntro offer
60,000
PointsRecommended Credit Score
If you're staunchly loyal to a single airline or hotel, a co-branded card might provide specific benefits that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does not. But if you want flexibility in earning and redeeming rewards for a reasonable annual fee, this is the best card around.
Unlike with cards tied to a specific airline or hotel brand, you can use rewards from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card in many places. You earn 5 points per $1 spent on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®; 3 points per $1 spent on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout), select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs); 2 points per $1 spent on travel not purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®; and 1 point per $1 spent on other purchases. Points are worth 25% more when you use them to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, or you can transfer them at a 1:1 rate to several loyalty programs. The sign-up bonus is a huge plus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
As a general travel card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card lacks the special perks — such as free checked bags and free anniversary nights at a hotel — offered by some co-branded cards airline and hotel cards.
If you're staunchly loyal to a single airline or hotel, a co-branded card might provide specific benefits that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does not. But if you want flexibility in earning and redeeming rewards for a reasonable annual fee, this is the best card around.
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1x-3x
PointsIntro offer
20,000
PointsRecommended Credit Score
The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card offers so much value, it's hard to believe there's no annual fee. Start with a great bonus offer, then earn extra rewards in a host of common spending categories.
The card earns unlimited 3 points per dollar spent on travel, dining, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services and phone plans. Other spending earns 1 point per dollar. The bonus offer is outstanding for a $0-annual-fee card, and you even get a introductory APR period.
You don't get the perks of a dedicated airline or hotel card, and there's no option to transfer points to airline or hotel programs.
The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card offers so much value, it's hard to believe there's no annual fee. Start with a great bonus offer, then earn extra rewards in a host of common spending categories.
The highlight of this $0-annual-fee card: It offers a 0% intro APR on Purchases for 21 months from account opening and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 21 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 17.99%-29.99% Variable APR. It also offers cell phone insurance.
The card doesn't earn ongoing rewards on everyday spending, so the value beyond the intro APR period is limited.
The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card boasts an offer that few other cards can match: a 0% intro APR period potentially approaching two years.
The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card gives you a good long time to pay off a major purchase. You get 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%-29.49% Variable APR.
This card offers no rewards, so there's not a very compelling incentive to keep using it after the 0% intro period runs out.
If you need to spread out payments on a purchase as long as possible without interest, here's your card.
Annual fee
$550
Rewards rate
1x-10x
PointsIntro offer
60,000
PointsRecommended Credit Score
The best premium travel card on the market gives you both top-notch rewards (what you get for using the card) and valuable perks (what you get just for carrying the card).
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® gives you 10 points per dollar spent on Chase Dining purchases, hotel stays, and car rental purchases made through Ultimate Rewards®; 5 points per dollar spent on air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®; 3 points per dollar spent on travel and dining not booked with Chase; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed for travel booked through Chase, or you can transfer them on a 1:1 basis to a dozen hotel and airline partners, possibly giving you even more value. You get $300 a year in credit for travel expenses. Add in the big sign-up bonus, and this card can easily pay for itself and then some, even with an annual fee of $550.
The $550 annual fee is a significant out-of-pocket expense. Much of the value of this card is tied to the $300 annual travel credit; if you don’t travel much, this isn’t the card for you.
The best premium travel card on the market gives you both top-notch rewards (what you get for using the card) and valuable perks (what you get just for carrying the card).
Annual fee
$95
Rewards rate
1x-3x
PointsIntro offer
100,000
PointsRecommended Credit Score
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers one of the richest sign-up bonuses available on any credit card, anywhere, and it pays handsome rewards in a variety of categories.
If your business spends enough to earn it, the sign-up bonus can offer a value of $1,250 if you redeem the points for travel booked through Chase. (You can also transfer points to a dozen or so airline and hotel programs, including United, Southwest, Marriott and Hyatt.) You'll earn 3 points per dollar on up to $150,000 a year in spending on travel, telecommunications (internet, phone and cable), shipping, and advertising on social media and search engines; all other spending earns 1 point per dollar.
This card's bonus categories aren't a good fit for all business owners. There's an annual fee of $95. After the first year, you’d have to spend at least $2,534 before the rewards make up for the annual fee. This might not matter as much to you, though, if you deduct the fee as a business expense on your taxes.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers one of the richest sign-up bonuses available on any credit card, anywhere, and it pays handsome rewards in a variety of categories.
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1x-5x
PointsIntro offer
15,000
PointsRecommended Credit Score
For some, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card won’t be an easy card to apply for, and redeeming points might be a hassle. But if you need a sky-high return on your gas spending, it may be the card for you.
If you’re willing to endure a little hassle in joining this credit union and using its points, it’s hard to beat the return in points on this card, which has an annual fee of $0. Each $1 spent on gas earns the equivalent of 4.25 cents when redeemed for gift cards, which is a superb return. It also helps at the supermarket. The card isn’t issued by a megabank, if that appeals to you.
To apply, you need to join the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, an organization that caters to military and government employees. (You can also join by making a charitable donation.) There is no cash-back option; just merchandise, gift cards and travel. Also, points generally aren’t worth the traditional penny apiece. You’ll typically get a value of 0.85 cent each, although points can be worth more than a penny when used for travel.
For some, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card won’t be an easy card to apply for, and redeeming points might be a hassle. But if you need a sky-high return on your gas spending, it may be the card for you.
Before applying, confirm details on the issuer’s website.
Our pick for: Flat-rate cash back
Among flat-rate cash-back cards, you'll be hard-pressed to beat the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. It earns an unlimited 2% back on all purchases, which is excellent. But in addition, the card offers a rich sign-up bonus and a generous 0% intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers. That's an impressive, hard-to-find combination of features on a card with a $0 annual fee. Read our review.
Our pick for: Bonus category cash back
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® was already a fine card when it offered 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Now it's even better, with bonus rewards on travel booked through Chase, as well as at restaurants and drugstores. On top of all that, new cardholders get a 0% introductory APR period and the opportunity to earn a sweet cash bonus. Read our review.
Our pick for: Customizable categories cash back
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card gives you a little more control over your credit card rewards by letting you choose which category earns the highest cash-back rate, from a list that includes gas stations, restaurants, travel, home improvement and more. You also get bonus rewards at grocery stores and supermarkets, plus a great new-cardholder bonus offer. Read our review.
Our pick for: Flat-rate travel rewards
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is probably the best-known general-purpose travel credit card, thanks to its ubiquitous advertising. You earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases. Miles can be redeemed at a value of 1 cent apiece for any travel purchase, without the blackout dates and other restrictions of branded hotel and airline cards. The card offers a great sign-up bonus and other worthwhile perks. Read our review.
Our pick for: Bonus travel rewards
For a reasonable annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns bonus rewards (up to 5X) on travel, dining, select streaming services, and select online grocery purchases. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for travel booked through Chase, or you can transfer them to about a dozen airline and hotel partners. The sign-up bonus is stellar, too. Read our review.
Our pick for: No-annual-fee bonus travel rewards
The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card offers so much value, it's hard to believe there's no annual fee. Start with a great bonus offer, then earn extra rewards in a host of common spending categories — restaurants, gas stations, transit, travel, streaming and more. Read our review.
Our pick for: 0% interest period
The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card has one of the longest 0% intro APR periods on the market — potentially approaching almost two years, if you meet on-time minimum payment requirements. You'll be hard-pressed to find a longer interest-free promotion, and it applies to both purchases and balance transfers. Read our review.
Our pick for: 0% interest period
A lengthy 0% introductory APR period for both purchases and balance transfers has made the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card a NerdWallet favorite. Read our review.
Our pick for: Premium features
The high annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® gives many potential applicants pause, but frequent travelers should be able to wring enough value out of this card to more than make up for the cost. Cardholders get bonus rewards (up to 10X) on dining and travel, a fat bonus offer, annual travel credits, airport lounge access, and a 50% boost in point value when redeeming points for travel booked through Chase. Points can also be transferred to about a dozen airline and hotel partners. Read our review.
Our pick for: Small-business travel
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card starts you off with one of the biggest sign-up bonuses of any credit card anywhere (assuming you spend enough to earn it), then gives you bonus rewards in common business spending categories. Points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel booked through Chase, or you can transfer them to about a dozen airline and hotel partners. Learn more and apply.
Our pick for: Gas
For some, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card won’t be an easy card to apply for, and redeeming points might be a hassle. But if you need a sky-high return on your gas spending, it may be the card for you. Read our review.
• • •
By Paul Soucy, NerdWallet
A Visa credit card is simply a credit card that operates on the Visa payment network. Understanding exactly what that means requires knowing a little about how the credit card system works.
Credit cards are typically issued by banks. Your card account is with the bank. It’s the bank that puts up the money for the things you buy with the card. And your payments go to the bank. Credit card issuers include huge banks like Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo, as well as smaller institutions and credit unions.
Every transaction involving a credit card is processed through a payment network. The network serves as an intermediary. It ensures that money for the purchase gets from the credit card issuer to the merchant, and that the purchase gets attributed to the correct credit card account. Visa is a payment network, as are Mastercard, Discover and American Express.
So Visa doesn’t issue any credit cards on its own. If your card says “Visa” on it, it didn’t come from Visa. Rather, the bank that issued the card is using Visa to handle card transactions.
A key difference between Visa and Mastercard on one side and Discover and American Express on the other is that Visa and Mastercard are only payment networks. Discover and AmEx, meanwhile, are both card issuers and payment networks.
Visa handles an enormous volume of transactions. According to Visa Inc, for the year ending Sept. 30, 2022:
There were 4.1 billion Visa cards in circulation worldwide.
The Visa network processed 192.5 billion transactions.
The network handled $11.6 trillion in payments.
More than 80 million merchants accept Visa, along with 20 million small businesses that can take Visa through third-party payment systems.
The most important features of any Visa card aren’t determined by Visa at all, but rather by the card issuer. These include:
Fees (such as annual, late, cash advance or balance transfer).
Interest rates (such as introductory APR, ongoing APR, purchase APR and transfer APR).
Rewards (including rates paid on purchases, bonus categories, type of rewards and value of reward points).
Bonuses (such as sign-up or anniversary awards).
Visa does offer a benefits package separate from perks provided by the issuer. What’s included in that package depends on what “level” of Visa card you have — Traditional, Signature or Infinite — and what Visa-provided benefits the issuer has opted to include. Traditional benefits include things like zero fraud liability and emergency card replacement. Signature benefits add in things like extended warranty coverage and concierge service. At the Infinite level, cards offer travel coverage and purchase protections. Read more about the three levels of Visa benefits.
For the vast majority of people in the vast majority of cases, the difference between a Visa credit card and a Mastercard credit card is the logo on the front … and nothing else. Nearly every merchant that accepts Visa also accepts Mastercard. (One notable exception: Costco takes only Visa credit cards in its stores, although it accepts Mastercard debit cards in-store and all Mastercards online.)
As discussed, the most important features of your credit card are determined by the bank that issued it, not the payment network it runs on. Like Visa, Mastercard offers its own benefits package, but these are not things that come into play on a regular basis.
Visa and Mastercard are so interchangeable that some major cards have flipped from one network to the other. In 2020, for example, Capital One switched four cards: Three went from Visa to Mastercard, and one went from Mastercard to Visa. But that change affected only new cardholders; existing cardholders stayed with the network they were already on. So if you’re wondering whether the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card is a Visa or a Mastercard, the answer is … it could be either, depending on who's carrying it.
Last updated on June 6, 2023
NerdWallet's credit cards team selects the best credit cards in each category based on overall consumer value. Factors in our evaluation include fees, promotional and ongoing APRs, and sign-up bonuses; for rewards cards, we consider earning and redemption rates, redemption options and redemption difficulty. A single card is eligible to be chosen as among the "best" in multiple categories. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.