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Many people feel that paying an annual fee for a credit card makes no sense. Why should you pay to spend money? That’s not to say that cards with annual fees are never worth it — for example, it’s possible to get over $2,000 in value in your first year with The Platinum Card® from American Express, especially if you travel frequently and take advantage of its benefits.
Read Insider’s guide to points and miles valuations to find out what your credit card rewards are worth.
But if you stay close to home, or don’t fancy perks like annual statement credits, airport lounge access, or elite status, you can do quite well with a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee. Plenty of cards without an annual fee offer strong rewards, too, so you’re not missing out on points and miles.
Here are our picks for the best no-annual-fee credit cards available right now.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Best for high cash rewards rate: Wells Fargo Active Cash Card
Best if you have a Chase Sapphire card: Chase Freedom Unlimited
Earns among the highest cash back, if you work for it: Chase Freedom Flex
High cash back rate with long intro APR: Citi Double Cash Card
Best for 3x earning in great everyday categories: Wells Fargo Autograph Card
Best if your spending changes month to month: Citi Custom Cash Card
Best for shopping at U.S. supermarkets: Amex Blue Cash Everyday
Get your first year of cash back matched: Discover it Cash Back
Earn 1.5% cash back everywhere: Capital One Quicksilver
Best for small businesses: Chase Ink Cash
Best for earning Amex points: Amex EveryDay credit card
Best for American, Delta, or United loyalists: A no-annual-fee airline credit card
Compare the best no annual fee credit cards
Wells Fargo Active Cash
If you want to earn the highest cash rewards possible on every purchase without having to keep track of bonus categories, the Wells Fargo Active Cash℠ Card is a winner. Cardholders earn 2% cash rewards on purchases with no limits, and there’s a solid welcome bonus offer too: Wells Fargo Active Cash℠ Card.
New cardholders also receive a Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (then a Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card APR), which is handy if you’ve got upcoming expenses you can’t pay off in full right away.
The card also comes with a decent array of perks, like cell phone protection, travel emergency assistance services, roadside dispatch, and Visa Signature Concierge access. If you’re traveling abroad, it’s best to leave the Wells Fargo Active Cash℠ Card at home, because it adds foreign transaction fees.
You can find all the details in our Wells Fargo Active Cash card review.
Chase Freedom Unlimited card
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is another top pick for a no-annual-fee card — especially if there’s a chance that you’ll want to earn more valuable credit card rewards with a premium credit card later on.
That’s because while Chase markets the card as “cash back,” it actually earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that you can redeem for cash, gift cards, or travel through the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1 cent per point.
If you decide that you want to maximize the value of those points by purchasing travel with a bonus through Chase, or transfer them to frequent flyer partners, you can open a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and pool your points from the two cards.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase, 5% back on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% cash back on dining and at drugstores, and 1.5% back on all other purchases (or 1.5 points per dollar spent). Paired with a Sapphire Reserve, it’s a great card to use for purchases that aren’t made on travel expenses or dining.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a fantastic all-around card. However, to get the most value when it’s time to spend your points, you need the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, too, so you can pool your points. Otherwise, points are only worth 1 cent each no matter how you use them, and they can’t be transferred to airline or hotel partners.
Read the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card review to learn more.
Right now, there are alternate offers available through Chase for the Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited — read our guide to the current Chase Freedom offers to compare and decide which is best for you.
Chase Freedom Flex
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ works virtually the same way as the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, earning cash back in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points that you can either combine with another card, or redeem for cash or merchandise.
The key difference is how it earns those rewards. Unlike the Chase Freedom Unlimited® — which earns 1.5% cash back (or 1.5 points per dollar spent) on most purchases, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ earns 5% (or 5x) in rotating categories each quarter (once activated) on up to $1,500 spent in that category. You’ll also earn 5% cash back on travel purchases made through Chase, 5% on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% back on dining and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else.
Read the Chase Freedom Flex card review for more info.
Citi Double Cash card
The Citi® Double Cash Card effectively earns 2% cash back — 1 point per dollar when you make a purchase, and 1 point per dollar when you pay it off. If you’re focused on earning credit card rewards, you should be paying your balance off in full each month, so in that case, you can consider this a 2% cash back card.
There’s one downside, though: The card doesn’t currently offer a welcome bonus. That said, it’s one of the best cash-back cards, and it’s simple to use because there are no bonus rewards categories to remember. New cardholders receive a Citi® Double Cash Card, followed by a Citi® Double Cash Card APR. That’s a good deal if you’re looking to consolidate debt to save on interest.
The Citi® Double Cash Card is also an excellent starter card if you’re new to credit card rewards. You can’t go wrong with redeeming Double Cash rewards for cash back, but if you later want to delve into travel or other redemptions, you have other options for using Citi ThankYou points.
As of March 28, 2022, the Double Cash card earns Citi ThankYou points instead of cash back directly. But you can still redeem your points for cash back (as well as travel, gift cards, and more) and get the same rate of return.
Read the Citi Double Cash credit card review to learn more.
Wells Fargo Autograph card
Wells Fargo’s newest card, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, is a great choice if you want to earn a high rate of rewards in a variety of everyday categories without paying an annual fee. You can earn 3x points on travel, dining, gas stations, popular streaming services, transit, and phone plans, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases with no limits.
The card comes with a substantial welcome bonus offer, too: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card (worth $300 in rewards). New cardholders can also save money on interest with a Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, followed by a Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card.
You can find out all the details in our Wells Fargo Autograph card review.
Citi Custom Cash card
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is a great choice if your spending habits tend to change from month to month. Cardholders earn 5% cash back on up to $500 in purchases in the eligible category they spend the most in each billing cycle (then 1%), and 1% on all other purchases.
The qualifying categories include everyday expenses that should appeal to most folks: restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
Although it’s marketed as a cash-back card, the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card actually earns rewards in the form of Citi ThankYou points, which are worth 1 cent apiece for cash back, travel booked through Citi, gift cards, merchandise, and more. And if you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), you can pool your rewards and transfer points to airline and hotel partners, including Citi’s newest partners, Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards.
Read the Citi Custom Cash credit card review to learn more.
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is one-third of the Citi Trifecta, along with the Citi Premier® Card and Citi® Double Cash Card. This trio of Citi cards can supercharge your ThankYou Rewards balance by earning anywhere from 2x to 5x rewards on every single purchase.
Blue Cash Everyday card
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a cash-back card, earning 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 each calendar year (then 1% back), 3% back at U.S. gas stations on up to $6,000 each calendar year (then 1% back), 3% back on online retail purchases on up to $6,000 each calendar year (then 1% back), and 1% cash back on everything else (cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars).
There’s also a “Preferred” version of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express — the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns a bigger 6% back on the first $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year (and 1% after), 6% back on select U.S. streaming services, 3% back at U.S. gas stations and on transit including taxis, rideshares, parking, and tolls, and 1% cash back on everything else (cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars).
The higher-earning rate on the Preferred makes it worth paying the annual fee — however, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is still a great option if you’re opposed to that.
Read the Amex Blue Cash Everyday credit card review to learn more.
Discover it® Cash Back
The Discover it® Cash Back works similarly to the Chase Freedom Flex℠: It offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter in rotating bonus categories (then 1% back) and 1% cash back on everything else Discover It Cashback rotation.
It doesn’t offer the same bonus categories as the Chase Freedom Flex℠, though, although sometimes they overlap.
The Discover it® Cash Back is compelling for one other reason: Discover will match all your cash back at the end of your first cardmember year. So if you earned $500 in cash back in your first year, Discover would match that $500 for a total of $1,000 in cash back. This awesome feature is available on all Discover credit cards — and all Discover cards have no annual fee.
See the Discover it Cash Back credit card review for more information.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee and earns 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 1.5% cash back on every other purchase you make. In this regard, it’s most similar to the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
There are also no foreign transaction fees, and the card has a solid welcome offer: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card. Read the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card review to learn more.
Ink Business Cash card
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is another solid Chase entry, although this one is a small-business credit card — however, anyone with just about any kind of business can qualify, whether you have a brick-and-mortar space with employees, or you’re a freelancer, or even someone with a small side gig.
Just like with the Chase Freedom cards, you can pool the “cash” you earn with points from a Chase travel card, effectively converting your cash into (potentially) more valuable points. Alternatively, you can reap the rewards in the form of cash instead.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card earns 5% cash back (or 5x points) on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services each cardholder year. It earns 5% back (or 5x points) on Lyft rides through March 2025, 2% back (or 2x points) on the first $25,000 in purchases at gas stations and restaurants each year, and 1% (or 1x point) on everything else with no cap.
Read more about this card in our Ink Business Cash card review.
Amex EveryDay credit card
American Express Membership Rewards is Amex’s in-house rewards program, and the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express is the best no-fee card that earns them. You can redeem Amex points for travel, merchandise, statement credits, gift cards, and more. However, the best option is to transfer them to an Amex airline or hotel partner.
The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express earns 2x points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 of purchases per year, then 1x after that) and at Amex Travel, and 1x on everything else. It also offers a 20% bonus on points earned in a billing period when you make 20 or more purchases during that period.
Like most Amex cards, the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express features a few travel and purchase protections, as well as access to the Amex Offers program.
While most people will be better off with a version of the card that has an annual fee, the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card, the regular Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express is still a strong option — especially since there’s no annual fee.
See our Amex EveryDay card review to learn more.
No-annual-fee airline cards
Delta: Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express CardAmerican Airlines: American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ CardUnited: United Gateway℠ Card
Most airline credit cards that are worth having come with an annual fee — although many of them will waive it for the first year. Those cards tend to come with useful benefits for people who fly with the airline, like priority boarding or free checked bags. You can learn more in our guide to the best airline credit cards.
However, if you’re interested in earning frequent flyer miles with a particular airline through your spending, but don’t care about those perks and want to avoid the fee, you have a couple of options.
If you’re a Delta flyer, you can go for the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, which offers 2 Delta SkyMiles on every eligible dollar spent with Delta and at restaurants worldwide, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. It also gets you a 20% discount — in the form of a statement credit — on Delta inflight purchases like food or drinks.
American loyalists can consider the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card. This card offers 2x AAdvantage miles on every dollar spent at grocery stores and with American Airlines, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else.
United’s United Gateway℠ Card, with an annual fee of United Gateway℠ Card, earns 2x miles on United purchases, gas, public transit, rideshare services, and taxis, and 1x miles on everything else.
No-annual-fee credit cards that just missed the cut
There are many other no-annual-fee credit cards that don’t appear on this list. Here’s an overview of the cards we considered that didn’t make the final cut.
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card — This card earns 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and grocery stores, and 1% back on all other purchases. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card — You’ll earn 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase, which is better than the standard rate of 1 point/mile per dollar on credit cards, but not by much.Citi Rewards+® Card — This card is unique in that it rounds up to the nearest 10 points on all your purchases. It also earns 2x points at supermarkets and gas stations (on up to $6,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar). Cards like the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express have the potential to earn you more rewards, but if you already have a Citi credit card and want to boost your Citi points balance, this card is worth a look. Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card — With this card, you’ll earn 1.5 points per dollar on every purchase. That’s not a bad return on spending, but this card — and other Bank of America cards — are most rewarding if you’re already a Bank of America customer and have enough money in qualifying counts to qualify for the Preferred Rewards program, which gets you bonus credit card rewards.Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card — This new card from Bank of America offers an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and also offers up to 75% more rewards if you’re a Preferred Rewards member.
How we chose the best no-annual-fee credit cards
We reviewed dozens of no-annual-fee credit cards across all categories — cash back, travel, airline, hotel, and more — and narrowed our focus to cards that offer more than 1 point or mile per dollar on at least one category of purchase. We also looked at welcome bonuses, rewards caps (such as the $1,500 quarterly limit on the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Discover it® Cash Back), and other fine print.
Credit cards with no annual fee frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Why trust our recommendations?
At Personal Finance Insider, our goal is to help readers make the best decisions with their money. To that end, we spend hours comparing and contrasting the features and benefits of top credit cards so you don’t have to.
We understand that “best” can be subjective, so we also include information on where each credit card excels, and where it may fall short.
Is it ever worth paying an annual fee for a credit card?
Many of the top rewards credit cards have annual fees — ranging from $95 to $695 — and it can be worth paying for one if you’ll use all of its benefits.
In many cases, cards with annual fees have perks that are tied to travel, and if you rarely hit the road, these may not be the perfect fit. Always do an honest assessment of a card’s perks and see how they match up with your lifestyle before applying for a credit card.
Are there no annual fee cards that don’t add foreign transaction fees?
Many no-annual-fee cards tack on foreign transaction fees of anywhere from 3% to 5%, so they’re not a good choice if you’re traveling abroad. However, you still have options. For example, Discover and Capital One don’t add foreign transaction fees on any of their cards.
There are also a handful of other cards in this category — including hotel credit cards like the Hilton Honors American Express Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card, and IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card.