15 Best Rewards Credit Cards of December 2024

You earn 5 points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases. Miles can be redeemed for credit on your statement against most travel expenses. You’re not restricted to any particular airline or hotel, and there’s no minimum amount required to redeem. Just book your own travel, then pay for it with rewards. The great sign-up bonus starts you off right, too.

If you're loyal to a particular airline or hotel chain, you may get more value from one of that brand's own cards. This card allows you to transfer miles to several airline frequent-flyer programs, but the options aren't very strong.

This card offers industry-leading rewards at U.S. supermarkets — 6% cash back on up to $6,000 in spending per year (then 1%) — supplemented by 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (including such things as taxis, rideshares, buses, trains, tolls and parking). You also get 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. All other purchases earn 1% back. A welcome offer adds to the appeal.

This card has a high annual fee, although if you spend at least $31 a week at U.S. supermarkets, the cash back will offset it. Because it’s from American Express, you might have trouble using it in some places.

This card earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase; 3% cash back at restaurants and drugstores; and 1.5% on other purchases. There's a great intro APR offer, and new cardholders who apply through NerdWallet can snag this bonus offer: 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!. If you're a maximizer, you can transfer your rewards to one of Chase's Sapphire cards to boost their value by 25% or 50%.

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 card earns 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and 3% cash back on dining, grocery stores, eligible streaming services and entertainment. (1% back on other purchases.) That's an impressive and hard-to-find combination of rewards categories. Plus, there's a rich sign-up bonus and an intro APR offer.

If your spending is more focused specifically on either dining OR groceries, then other cards with higher rewards rates in one of those categories may be a better fit.

This card earns 5% cash back on up to $500 spent in your highest-spend category per billing cycle (from a list of eligible options). And those options happen to be popular spending categories like restaurants, grocery stores, streaming services, select travel expenses and more. There's also a sign-up bonus and an intro APR period, all for an annual fee of $0.

The monthly spending cap on your 5% rate will limit the amount of cash back you can accrue. And other spending beyond your one eligible bonus category will earn just 1% back.

Aside from the excellent flat cash-back rewards rate, new cardholders also are eligible for a generous sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. There's also an intro APR period.

There's a foreign transaction fee, common among cash-back credit cards. And you can find cards with richer rates on popular spending categories, if you're willing to put up with their more complex reward structures.

The value in this card is pretty much all in its stellar rewards rate: 2% cash back on purchases — 1% when you buy something, and 1% when you pay it off.

Other cards offer higher cash back percentages in specific categories.