Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards of August 2025

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 decent intro APR period 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: Customization + flexibility

The $0-annual-fee Citi Strata℠ Card can be a rewarding everyday-use choice, with elevated rates on supermarkets, gas stations and other spending. It also features a "self-select" bonus category and access to most of Citi's travel partners, giving you some optionality. But point values are low for cash back, so it's best for those seeking a travel card without an annual cost. Read our review.

Our pick for: All-around 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 bonus. Read our review.

Our pick for: Simplicity + high rate

Year after year, the Citi Double Cash® Card has been a top choice among flat-rate cash-back cards. You earn 2% cash back on every purchase — 1% when you buy something and 1% when you pay it off. There's no 0% intro period for purchases and no bonus categories, but the high rewards rate more than makes up for the lack of bells and whistles. Read our review.

Our pick for: Quarterly categories + matching bonus

The Discover it® Cash Back earns bonus cash back in quarterly categories that you activate. In past years, those categories have included common spending areas like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and specific major retailers. Category activation can be a hassle, but if your spending aligns with those categories (and for most households, it probably will), you can rake in serious rewards. You also get the issuer's signature "cash-back match" bonus in your first year. Read our review.

Our pick for: Quarterly categories + cash bonus

The Chase Freedom Flex® offers bonus cash back in quarterly categories that you activate, as well as on travel booked through Chase, at restaurants and at drugstores. Category activation can be a hassle, but if your spending matches the categories — and for a lot of people, it will — you can rack up hundreds of dollars a year. There's a fantastic bonus offer for new cardholders and an intro APR offer, too. Read our review.

Our pick for: Going out + staying in

Our pick for: 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: Simple travel rewards

Our pick for: Longest 0% intro APR period

The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card has one of the longest intro APR periods on the market — approaching almost two years. 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% intro APR period

A lengthy 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: Airline card

For occasional but loyal American Airlines flyers, the no-annual-fee American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is a cost-effective way to earn not only miles but also credit toward elite frequent-flyer status. Read our review.

Our pick for: Hotel card

The Hilton Honors American Express Card earns bonus rewards on Hilton stays and in common everyday categories. You also get automatic Hilton Honors™ Silver status. Terms apply. Read our review.

Our pick for: Small business

If your business's spending matches the bonus categories on the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, including 5% cash back on spending at office supply stores, you can rack up some serious cash back. (If not, then look elsewhere.) There's an excellent sign-up bonus for a no-annual-fee cash-back card, plus an introductory APR period for purchases. Learn more and apply.

There are many ways to evaluate whether a credit card is worth having, but the simplest is this: Does the value it gives you outweigh the costs of carrying it? When a card has no annual fee, the math seems pretty easy, at least on the surface. If you're paying nothing to carry a card and you're getting, say, $100 a year in rewards for the spending you put on the card, then the card is "worth it" from the perspective of pure numbers. You come out $100 ahead.

But what if a different card had an annual fee of $50 but generated $200 in rewards for doing the same spending? With that card, you would come out $150 ahead. So you could argue that choosing to carry the first card instead of the second is costing you $50. Through that lens, the no-annual-fee card might not actually be "worth it."

Determining whether a card is worth it, then, is a matter of looking not only at what that card gives you in relation to what it takes from you, but also what you would get with competing cards on the market.

Annual fees are more common with some types of credit cards than with others. For example:

• With a couple of exceptions, the best cash back credit cards have no annual fee. Those exceptions usually have industry-best rewards rates on common spending categories. Those rates easily make up for the fee while still delivering more value than no-fee alternatives.

• Most airline credit cards charge an annual fee. But those cards commonly give you free checked bags, priority boarding and other perks on top of the rewards you earn. You end up saving money even with the fee, and the more you travel, the more you save. Some airlines do offer cards with no annual fee — but they don't have the same perks.

• Low interest credit cards and balance transfer credit cards don't typically charge fees. The whole point of these cards is saving money on interest, so paying an annual fee would immediately eat into the value.

Some people just don't want to pay an annual fee. They view it as an upfront cost that may or may not be returned to them over the coming year, and they'd rather just not worry about it. That's a legitimate stance. If it's how you feel, then a no-annual-fee card is a logical choice for you.

The primary benefit of a no-annual-fee credit card is right there in the description. It doesn't have an annual fee. It doesn't cost you anything to carry it, which means it doesn't cost you anything to not use it.

When a card has an annual fee, by contrast, you have to use it enough that you get back the cost of the fee in rewards or perks. If you don't, the card is a drain on your finances. You can't afford to not use it.

Further, a card with an annual fee not only has to earn back its fee, but also needs to deliver enough value on top of that to match or exceed what you can get from alternatives that have no annual fee. To illustrate the point, let's take a look at two cards that offer benefits in similar categories, one of which has an annual fee and one of which does not: