People have all kinds of different strategies when it comes to picking credit cards. While I think there’s a lot of value in getting a card with an annual fee, I know many people are simply opposed to cards with annual fees.
In this post, I’d like to take a look at what I consider to be the most rewarding no annual fee credit cards, including both personal and business options. If you are willing to pay an annual fee, take a look at my posts about the best cards with low annual fees (under $100), and the best high annual fee cards.
The best no annual fee personal credit cards
Just because you’re not paying an annual fee doesn’t mean you can’t get an awesome credit card. It’s quite easy to maximize your return on spending by getting a no annual fee card, so that’s the good news. The bad news is that you generally won’t get all that many valuable perks or travel and rental car protection on these types of cards.
That being said, there are some awesome no annual fee credit cards, so let’s take a look at them. Below are my favorite personal no annual fee cards, in no particular order.
Citi Double Cash Card
The Citi Double Cash® Card (review) has no annual fee, and offers 1x ThankYou points when make a purchase, and 1x ThankYou points when you pay for that purchase. Each point can be redeemed for one cent cash back, or alternatively, you can potentially convert these rewards into airline miles in conjunction with a card like the Citi Strata Premier® Card (review).
In general, I recommend earning at least two cents back on the dollar for your credit card spending (after paying your bill), so I view this as the gold standard.
Bilt Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard® (review) has no annual fee. Assuming you make at least five transactions per billing cycle, you can earn 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1x points on all other purchases, all with no foreign transaction fees. Getting that kind of a rewards structure for a no annual fee card is pretty amazing. And that doesn’t even account for the ability to earn points for paying rent.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Card
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) has no annual fee, and offers 5x points on Chase Travel bookings, 3x points on dining and drugstores, and 1.5x points on all other purchases.
On the surface, each point can be redeemed for one cent cash back. However, if you have the card in conjunction with a card earning “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review), then points can transfered to valuable airline & hotel partners, allowing you to maximize rewards.
Chase Freedom Flex Card
The Chase Freedom FlexSM Credit Card (review) is Chase’s other valuable no annual fee personal card, and it offers 5x points in rotating quarterly bonus categories (up to $1,500 in spending per quarter), 5x points on Chase Travel bookings, 3x points on dining and drugstores, and 1x points on all other purchases.
If you spend a lot in categories that often have quarterly bonuses and/or on dining, this could be a great card, and a good way to supercharge your points earning opportunities.
Capital One VentureOne Card
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card (review) has no annual fee, and offers unlimited 1.25x miles per dollar spent. There are a few things that make this card special — it has no foreign transaction fees (which is rare for no annual fee cards), it earns more than one mile per dollar spent, and it earns miles that can be transferred to over a dozen airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio.
Now, I think there’s a good argument to be made for picking up one of the more premium Capital One Venture products, like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review), but this post is about no annual fee cards.
The best no annual fee business credit cards
There are also some great business credit cards with no annual fees, though they’re not quite as numerous as the personal card options. Below are the no annual fee business cards that I consider to be most lucrative.
Amex Blue Business Plus Card
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and is pretty hard to beat for those looking to earn travel rewards. The card offers 2x Amex points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (and then 1x points). That makes this one of the all around best cards for everyday spending, and it doesn’t even have an annual fee.
Amex Blue Business Cash Card
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (review) also has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), and it’s the cash back version of the above card. The card offers 2% cash back on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (and then 1% cash back). For a business that spends up to $50,000 per year on domestic purchases, you can’t beat this.
Ink Business Unlimited Card
Chase is known for its excellent business cards, and the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (review) is among those. The card has no annual fee, and offers a huge welcome bonus, plus a great rewards structure. The card offers 1.5x points on all spending, which is a solid rewards structure.
On the surface, each point can be redeemed for one cent cash back. However, if you have the card in conjunction with a card earning “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, like the Sapphire Reserve for BusinessSM (review) or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), then points can transfered to valuable airline & hotel partners, allowing you to maximize rewards.
Ink Business Cash Card
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (review) is another no annual fee, and there are lots of reasons to get the card, including a huge bonus, among the biggest of any no annual fee card.
The card also has some great bonus categories — you can earn 5x points on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines, and 2x cash back on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations. Best of all, you can convert cash back into travel rewards in conjunction with other cards earning Ultimate Rewards points.
Capital One Spark Cash Select
The Capital One Spark Cash Select (review) has no annual fee, and offers a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases. While 1.5% cash back isn’t as good as 2% cash back, the major benefit here is that the card has no foreign transaction fees. Since some other cards charge foreign transaction fees of 3%+, this is a solid option for any business that has a lot of foreign purchases.
Also keep in mind that in conjunction with some other Capital One products, like the Capital One Venture X Business (review), rewards can be converted into Capital One miles at the rate of one cent per mile, which could be a great value.
Bottom line
While I think there’s plenty of value in getting cards with annual fees, I know that lots of people like to avoid credit card annual fees, especially if they don’t spend that much on cards. As you can see above, fortunately there are many great cards to choose from, no matter what you prioritize. From cards offering travel rewards to cash back, some of the most generous return on spending is available on no annual fee cards.
What’s your favorite no annual fee credit card?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees).
