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Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards

Top Picks & Rewards Calculator
Discover the top no annual fee credit cards for maximizing your rewards and enjoy the benefits without any extra costs.
By Robert Flowers III - 2023-11-05
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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.

Here are our top credit card picks for earning rewards at no annual fee:

Get Matched With The Best Credit Cards.

Quickly find the perfect credit card tailored to your unique spending habits and financial needs.

Input your monthly and yearly spend amounts into our calculator tool and be on your way to earning more rewards today!


Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Best For Supermarket, Gas, and Online Retail
  • 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.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Best For Travel Rewards
  • 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.

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

Best For Earning 1.5% Cash Back Worldwide
  • 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.

Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

Best For Dining & Entertainment
  • 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.

Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

Best For Automatically Maximizing Cash Back
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.
  • 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.

Citi® Double Cash Card

Best For Unlimited 2% Back
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.
  • 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.

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Best For Customized Rewards Categories
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.
  • 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.

Rewards Calculator: Which No Fee Card Is Best For You?

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.

Loading Calculator...
If the calculator doesn't load after a few seconds, click here to re-load calculator.
Calculator Options
What Type of Rewards Do You Want To Earn?
This calculator can output the best credit cards for a general rewards type or compile a list of the best credit cards for earning rewards with a specific loyalty program.
Frequent Flyer Programs
Select the frequent flyer program that you want to earn rewards for. Results will include all co-branded credit cards offered by the selected airline and all credit cards partners that allow you to transfer rewards to the selected airline.
Hotel Loyalty Programs
Select the hotel loyalty program that you want to earn rewards for. Results will include all co-branded credit cards offered by the selected hotel program and all credit cards partners that allow you to transfer rewards to the selected hotel program.
Other Loyalty Programs
Select the program that you want to earn rewards for. Results will include all credit cards offered by the selected program and all credit cards partners that allow you to transfer rewards to the selected program.
Personal Or Business?
Are you looking for personal (consumer) credit card or business credit cards? You can also include both in the results.
Include Intro Bonuses?
If set to yes, intro bonuses will be included for a card's calculation ONLY IF you have met the monthly spend criteria based on what's entered into the tool.
Do note that we do not have intro bonuses for all credit cards and we cannot calculate intro bonuses for some cards due to the complexity of some spend requirements.
Enter Your Monthly & Yearly Spend Amounts
Resets all fields in the Category Spending section for all columns. Also clears all saved spend values that carry from calculator to calculator.
Deletes all categories in the Category Spending section so you can start fresh.
Add Categories
Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add it to the calculator. If you want to be more specific, you can specify domestic or international spend.
Type at least 3 characters.
Category Currently Selected:
Spend Region:
About Spend Region: Some credit cards feature categories that only earn rewards when spending in a certain region. Changing this category to Domestic or International spend will calculate such for those cards, otherwise it's assumed by Default.

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  • There's no good card options based on the spend 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.

FAQs

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.