For those who want to avoid the burden of annual fees on credit cards but still want to enjoy the benefits of spending, there are plenty of excellent options to choose from. Review our top picks for no annual fee credit cards or use our credit card rewards calculator to determine which cards will earn you the most points, miles, and cash back based on the spend amounts you enter.
Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards
- Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: Best for supermarket, gas, and online retail.
- Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for dining and entertainment.
- Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: Best for automatically maximizing cash back.
- Citi® Double Cash Card: Best for unlimited 2% back.
- Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for earning 1.5% cash back worldwide.
- Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: Best for customized rewards categories.
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: Best for travel rewards.
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
- Earning Rate: Earn 3% cash back on up to $6,000 in U.S. supermarket purchases per year (then 1%), 3% back on up to $6,000 in U.S. online retail purchases per year (then 1%), and 3% back on up to $6,000 in U.S. gas station purchases per year (then 1%). All other purchases on the card earn 1% back.
- Main Highlights: The solid 3% earning rates at no annual fee.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
- Annual Fee: $0. (See Rates and Fees)
- Summary: If you spend anywhere from $300 to $700 per month in these categories, you will not beat the cash back returns this card offers. Pair it with the no-annual fee American Express Cash Magnet® Card to earn 1.5% back on all other purchases.
- Learn More about the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express.
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming service, 2% back at grocery stores, and 1% back on everything else.
- Main Highlights: No foreign transaction fee.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: If you spend a great deal across dining and entertainment, this card will earn you a large sum of cash back due to having uncapped categories. On top of that, it has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee which means you can use it to earn rewards worldwide. Pair it with the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card to get 1.5% back on all other purchases.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
- This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 5% back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle on up to the first $500 spent (then 1%). 1% back on all other purchases.
- Main Highlights: High earning rate at no annual fee.
- Intro Bonus: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
- Annual Fee: $0
- Summary: Pick an eligible category that you spend at least $500 in per month and easily rake in $25 in cash back per month for a total of $300 per year. Fantastic for a card with no fee. Pair with the Citi® Double Cash Card to earn 2% on all other purchases instead of the 1% this card offers.
- Learn More about the Citi Custom Cash Card.
- Calculate Card Value & ThankYou Points per dollar spent for the Citi Custom Cash Card.
Citi® Double Cash Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 2% back on all purchases. That's 1% back on the purchase and 1% back when you pay off those purchases.
- Main Highlights: 2% back at no annual fee that can be combined with other Citi cards.
- Intro Bonus: No current offer.
- Annual Fee: $0
- Summary: Best Citi card if you want to earn cash back at the best rate across all purchases at no annual fee. Pair it with the Citi Premier® Card to redeem rewards for higher value towards travel.
- Learn More about the Citi Double Cash Card.
- Calculate Card Value & ThankYou Points per dollar spent for the Citi Double Cash Card.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Earning Rate: Earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- Main Highlights: No foreign transaction fee.
- Intro Bonus: One-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0
- Summary: A straightforward 1.5% back card that has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. If you're looking for simple and easy to redeem rewards that you can earn worldwide, this is the card to have.
- Learn More about the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
- Calculate Card Value & Rewards per dollar spent for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
- Earning Rate: Earn 3% cash back on one eligible category of your choice, an automatic 2% back on grocery store and wholesale club purchases, and 1% back on all other purchases. You'll earn at the bonus rates (3% and 2%) on up to $2,500 in combined purchases quarterly, then 1% the remainder of the quarter.
- Main Highlights: Ability to earn up to 75% bonus cash back if you're a Bank of America Preferred client.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: If you have money to invest with Bank of America and their partners, you can earn a 25% to 75% bonus which is the selling point for this card. The lowest tier requires $25K in combined balances while the highest tier (that matters) requires $100K. If you're able to meet these requirements, Bank of America's cash back (and travel rewards cards) will be the best options for you.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card.
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 5X miles on hotel and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel and an unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases.
- Main Highlights: No foreign transaction fee.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: Great no-annual fee travel rewards card that can offer some solid value if you plan on transferring points to Capital One's airline and hotel partners.
- Calculate Card Value & Venture Miles per dollar spent for the Capital One VentureOne Credit Card.
Credit Card Rewards Calculator
Use the rewards calculator to find out which no annual fee credit cards will earn you the most rewards based on the spend amounts you enter into the tool.
Results will be sorted by net return. This is calculated by taking the average value of the rewards earned adding the average value of card benefits and subtracting any annual fees the card has.
Results will consist of credit cards from our partners as well as other top-rated credit cards in the market.
Find out which credit cards will offer you the most value based on the spend amounts you entered
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Results
These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card. They should be used for illustrative purposes only.
You can click on the estimated earnings to see the calculations or click on the card to learn more and apply for the card through our partners.
Do note that all spend amounts entered into the tool above will carry over to every credit card rewards calculator on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend if you choose to dive deeper into calculating rewards for credit cards on the site.
FAQ
What are no annual fee credit cards?
Credit cards that have no annual fee means that you do not have to pay an annual fee to hold the card. These type of cards usually offer less rewards and benefits than their annual fee counterparts.
Are annual fees worth it?
Annual fees can be worth paying if the card offers more value than the fee. To find out if an annual fee is worth it, you will need to run the calculations to see if the rewards you earn and the benefits the card offers outweighs the fees.
How can I find out if an annual fee is worth it?
You can use the Credit Card Comparison Tool to calculate the cash value of any credit card featured on the site. This will give you an idea on whether or not a card is worth the annual fee.
What is the best no annual fee credit card?
There is no 'best' card as everyones needs and spend habits are different, but there are cards that stand out above others. I recommend checking out the Top No Annual Fee Credit Cards.
We've run the calculations for you and here are our top picks for best credit cards of 2023:
- Best premium card for unlimited miles: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
- Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Best for everyday spend and travel: Citi Premier® Card.
- Best cash back card for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
- Best for dining and supermarkets: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- Best cash back business card: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the perfect card and offers based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let us do the work for you!
