Best Credit Cards For Shopping

Why We Like It: The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card can make costly shopping trips pay off big time, thanks to its initial rewards bonus offer of $250 for spending $3,000 within 6 months of opening an account. Cardholders also earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 spent per year), 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% back on all other purchases, received as rewards dollars (which can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout).

In addition, new cardholders can enjoy an introductory APR of 0% for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. Plus, there is a $0 intro annual fee the first year.

What We Don’t Like: Blue Cash Preferred has an annual fee of $95 from the second year on, as well as a high regular interest rate.

Who Should Get It: Apply for Amex Blue Cash Preferred if you have good credit or better, can comfortably qualify for the initial bonus offer, and plan to use the card mostly at U.S. supermarkets, for U.S. streaming subscriptions, and at U.S. gas stations.

Why We Like It: The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card is great to have when you’re shopping for travel accommodations, places to dine, and items from drugstores. Chase Freedom Unlimited has a $0 annual fee and gives 1.5 - 5% cash back on purchases: 5% cash back on travel through Chase, 3% back at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.

Cardholders also get an extra 1.5% cash back on everything they buy, up to $20,000 spent in the first year. Chase Freedom Unlimited can even help you save on interest after a big-ticket shopping trip, offering an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months.

What We Don’t Like: The regular APR can be pretty high, and you have to book travel through Chase to get bonus rewards on travel purchases.

Who Should Get It: Apply for Chase Freedom Unlimited if you have good credit and regularly make purchases in the card’s bonus rewards categories.

Why We Like It: The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is the best credit card for shopping because it offers a $0 annual fee, an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months from account opening, and above-average rewards wherever you shop. You’ll earn 2% in cash rewards on all purchases, with no limit to how much you can earn. Wells Fargo Active Cash also has an initial bonus of $200 cash rewards after spending $500 in the first 3 months.

What We Don’t Like: There is a high regular interest rate after the low-interest promotion ends.

Who Should Get It: Apply for Wells Fargo Active Cash if you want generous rewards without much hassle. You also need good credit or better.

Why We Like It: The Instacart Mastercard® is the best credit card for grocery shopping because it has a $0 annual fee and gives cardholders 5% cash back on Instacart purchases, a free year of Instacart+, and a $100 Instacart credit after approval for an account. Cardholders also earn 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase, plus 1% to 2% cash back on other purchases.   

What We Don’t Like: Your interest rate is likely to be high, and you won’t save much on groceries if you don’t use Instacart.

Who Should Get It: Apply for the Instacart Credit Card if you buy your groceries through Instacart and your spending habits generally match up well with the card’s ongoing bonus rewards categories.

Why We Like It: The best thing about the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® is its rewards rate for purchases made on Walmart.com or via the Walmart mobile app: 5% back on everything, including groceries that you order online but pick up at the store. Plus, you can get 5% back on purchases made at Walmart stores for the first 12 months you have this card, as long as you use Walmart Pay to complete the transactions.

In-store purchases normally yield 2% back, as do purchases made at Walmart and Murphy USA gas stations, purchases from restaurants, and travel expenses. All other purchases get you 1% cash back.

The Walmart Card also has no annual fee, and people with fair credit or better are eligible for approval.

What We Don’t Like: Carrying a balance from month to month will get expensive fast thanks to the card’s high APR.

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you have fair credit or better and regularly shop at Walmart.

Why We Like It: The Prime Visa has a $0 annual fee and offers a $100 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval. Most importantly, you will also get 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership, 5% back on Chase Travel purchases, 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare), as well as 1% back on all other purchases.

What We Don’t Like: This card has a high APR, and Prime membership is required but not included.

Who Should Get It: Apply for the Prime Visa if you’re a frequent Amazon shopper who has good credit or better and a Prime membership. If you don’t have Prime, consider the Amazon Credit Card instead.

Why We Like It: The Kohl's Credit Card is the best store credit card available right now because it offers great rewards and does not charge an annual fee. For starters, you can get an initial bonus of 35% discount on your first purchase. You will also earn 7.5% back in rewards on every qualifying purchase made at Kohl's.

What We Don’t Like: The card has a high APR, and it can only be used at Kohl’s.

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you have fair credit or better and regularly shop at Kohl’s.
 

Why We Like It: The Target Credit Card offers 5% discount at Target and Target.com. Plus, you can get an initial bonus of $50 off a future qualifying purchase over $50. The card also gets you free two-day shipping for online orders and 30 extra days to return items purchased either online or in store.

What We Don’t Like: You can only use this card for Target purchases, and interest charges will prove very costly if you don’t pay your bill in full monthly.

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you have fair credit or better and regularly shop at Target.

Why We Like It: Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers top-notch purchase protection as well as attractive travel rewards. New cardholders can get 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, plus ongoing rewards of 1 - 10 points per $1. As a result, a few big shopping trips can lead to free travel in the future, and you may be eligible for a refund if something you buy with this card gets lost or stolen.

What We Don’t Like: Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a high annual fee ($550). If you don't want to pay an annual fee, Chase Freedom Unlimited® also offers Chase's top-ranked purchase protection.

Who Should Get It: Apply for Chase Sapphire Reserve if you’re a big spender with excellent credit who likes to travel.

Why We Like It: The Capital One Savor Card and its sibling, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, offer the market’s best price protection, earning a WalletHub score of 75%. Either card’s price protection policy could get you a refund for the difference if you find an item advertised for a lower price within 120 days after buying it*.

In addition, Capital One Savor offers a $300 initial bonus for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, as well as ongoing earning rates of 1 - 5% cash back.

What We Don’t Like: There is a $95 annual fee. Plus, you have to file a claim to get reimbursed through the price protection benefit. Some bonus rewards also require making purchases through Capital One and its partners.

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the Capital One Savor Card if you have good credit and you want to earn bonus rewards on dining and entertainment.

*For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Why We Like It: The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is the best rewards credit card for people with damaged credit. The Discover it Secured Credit Card offers at least 1% cash back on all purchases, with the first $1,000 spent per quarter at gas stations and restaurants yielding 2% back. Plus, after the first year, Discover provides a bonus equal to your total rewards earnings from the first 12 months. That’s a great deal, making shopping just about as rewarding as it can be with a low credit score, especially since there’s no annual fee.

What We Don’t Like: You will need to place a refundable security deposit of at least $200, the amount of which will be the account’s spending limit.

Who Should Get It: Apply for the Discover it Secured Credit Card if you have bad credit or limited credit and want to earn rewards on purchases while you improve your credit score.

Why We Like It: The Citi Double Cash® Card is the best credit card available to people with fair credit. The Citi Double Cash Card gives 2% cash back on every purchase (1% when you buy and 1% as you pay for those purchases), plus 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24, and it has a $0 annual fee.

Plus, cardholders can get an introductory APR of 0% for 18 months on balance transfers and an initial bonus of $200 for spending $1,500 in the first 6 months.

What We Don’t Like: The Citi Double Cash Card has a balance transfer fee of 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer. It also has a high regular APR: 19.24% - 29.24% (V).

Who Should Get It: Apply for the Citi Double Cash Card if you have fair credit or better and you want to earn rewards at a flat rate on all purchases. You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub.

Why We Like It: Chase Freedom Rise℠ is the best unsecured rewards credit card available to people with limited credit who aren’t currently in college. The Chase Freedom Rise℠ gives 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and it has a $0 annual fee.

What We Don’t Like: Chase Freedom Rise℠ has a high APR.
 
Who Should Get It: Apply for Chase Freedom Rise℠ if you have limited credit experience.
 

Why We Like It: Montgomery Ward sells a wide range of goods online. You can buy everything from clothing and electronics to furniture and small appliances. The Montgomery Ward Credit Account makes it easier to complete those purchases and gives people with damaged credit a chance to rebuild at a low cost. Montgomery Ward Credit Account accepts applicants with bad credit and does not charge an annual fee, a monthly fee, or any kind of one-time initial fee.

What We Don’t Like: You can only use this card for Montgomery Ward purchases, and the interest rate is high.

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you have bad credit, you don’t want to put a security deposit down for a secured credit card, and you don’t mind shopping at Montgomery Ward.