2019 Best-Of Credit Cards
We believe you deserve the best. So, we’ve spent countless hours researching and comparing to bring you this year’s best credit cards, many of which are our partners. We considered the type of card (cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and more.

Best Flat Rate Travel Card
Barclaycard Arrival Plus Get card details >

Best Bonus Rewards Travel Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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Best No-Fee Travel Card
Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
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Best Flat Rate Cash-Back Card
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
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Best Bonus Cash Back Card
Discover it® Cash Back
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Best Balance Transfer Card
Amex EveryDay® Get card details >

Best 0% Intro APR Card
U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
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Best Premium Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
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Best Card for Fair Credit
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
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Best Card for Building Credit
Discover it® Secured Credit Card
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Best Small Business Cash-Back Card
Capital One Spark Cash for Business
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Best Small Business Travel Card
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
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Best Student Card
Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students
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Best Airline Card

Best Hotel Card
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card
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Best Store Card
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Get card details >

Best Gas Card
Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Get card details >

Best Family Card
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
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Best Dining and Entertainment Card
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
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Want more Best-Of winners?
Check out our full list of awards, including banks, personal loans, mortgages and more.
Frequently asked questions
Great question. NerdWallet's ratings formulas for credit cards take into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
NerdWallet’s awards are given annually to the best of the best. Our other lists of top products throughout the year may be longer than the lists of award winners, offer additional consumer choices and get updated as products change, products are discontinued and new products emerge.
NerdWallet's award winners are chosen through a rigorous evaluation process involving roughly three dozen writers and editors. For each financial product, we assess the features that we believe are most important to consumers.
Writers and editors use comprehensive scoring formulas that assess each financial product’s key features, weighting them according to their importance to consumers.
Nope. Editorial team members are solely responsible for creating all product reviews and ratings, and these assessments reflect their opinions alone. Only products that meet the editorial team’s standards appear in our Best-Of lists, meaning no company can “buy” an award.