There are lots of reasons why you might want a credit card, this site primarily focuses on credit card rewards. If you’re reading this site then it’s assumed that you will always pay your credit card bill on time and and in full to avoid late payment fees and the high interest rates that credit cards charge. If you can do that then credit cards can be extremely lucrative. A lot (but not all) credit cards offer a rewards program these days, but the difference between the best and worse cards is huge.
Generally there are two main types of credit card bonuses:
- Sign up bonuses. These are a one time reward you receive for signing up for a card and meeting a minimum spend requirement (e.g spend $1,000 within your first three months of being a card member and receive a sign up bonus of $200).
- On going spend/category bonuses. These reward you every time you spend one dollar, in some cases you’ll earn the same rate on all purchases but some cards offer spending bonuses for specific categories (e.g earn 1% cash back on all purchases and 3% cash back on grocery store purchases)
Sign up bonuses are typically the most lucrative and you can earn enough from a single sign up bonus for a round trip flight or multiple nights at a hotel. That being said if you spend a lot of money in a specific category it might make sense to get a card that earns at a high rate in that category. Or if you just spend a lot of money in general then you could get a card that earns at a high rate on all purchases. It’s important to remember that you still want to be able to pay your card off in full every month to avoid any interest charges otherwise any rewards you earn are quickly counteracted. It’s also a good idea to remember that some cards also come with annual fees.
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The Doctor of Credit Difference
Unlike other sites we take putting our readers first seriously. One of the ways we do this is by not using credit card affiliate links, this means we don’t have any incentive to suggest one credit card or the other and will always share the best deals with our readers.
Helpful Resources
If you’re just getting started in the credit card rewards hobby or your a seasoned veteran then chances are we have some useful information for you.
General Information
- All of our credit card reference pages can be found here. If you have a question, chances are that it’s answered here.
- View Your Pre-Approved & Pre-Qualified Credit Card Offers
- Comprehensive information for individual card issuers:
Sign Up Bonuses
We keep a few pages regularly updated that you’ll find useful if you chase sign up bonuses.
- Best Current Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses. Useful if you want to know what the best credit card offers are at a quick glance.
- Spreadsheet containing a list of all the current sign up bonuses and their historical highs. Very useful if you want to sign up for a credit card and want to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
- Best Cash Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses. Don’t care about travel rewards? Only care about cash? This is for you.
- Credit Card Bonuses With No Minimum Spend Requirements. Struggling to meet minimum spend requirements? These cards don’t have any, the sign up bonus will post after your first purchase.
- Credit Card Bonuses With Low Minimum Spend Requirements (Under $500 & $1,000). Same as above but focuses on cards with low minimum spend requirements.
- What’s The Best Credit Card For People With Very High Spend? If you spend a lot of money then this card shows you the best options.
- Best Chase Credit Card Offers For Cards That Don’t Follow 5/24 Rule. If you’re not familiar with the Chase 5/24 rule, I’d recommend reading up on it here. If you are then this post should make sense.
- Best Store Credit Cards – Get Up To 10x Points With No Cap. A lot of people chasing rewards completely discount store cards as they are not known for offering good rewards but this isn’t always the case.
- Best Secured Credit Cards. If you have bad credit then getting a rewards card can be difficult, but you still have options. I’d also recommend reading our post on the easiest cards to get.
Ongoing Spend
If you spend a lot of money in a specific category, then these posts will show you what the best card is for each category:
- Best Credit Cards For Every Day Purchases. If you don’t spend a lot of money in any single category, this post will show you the cards that earn at the highest rate on all purchases.
- Best Credit Cards For Restaurant Spend.
- Best Credit Card For Grocery Store Purchases.
- Best Credit Cards For Office Supply Purchases.
- Best Credit Cards For Home Improvement Stores.
- Best Credit Cards For Telecommunication Expenses.
- Best Credit Card For Department Store Purchases.
- Best Credit Card For Drugstore Purchases.
- Best Credit Card For Charity Donations.
- Best Gas Credit Cards
- Best Credit Cards For Amazon Purchases – Up to 5x Points/5% Cash Back. I’d also recommend reading our complete guide to saving money on Amazon.
Questions?
Do you have any questions? If so feel free to ask them in the comments and I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible, although you’re probably find that most questions have already been answered on the site (using the search bar is your friend). If you like credit card rewards then chances are you will probably like bank account bonuses and high interest savings accounts as well, so be sure to check out those sections on our website.
Do you do anything with business credit?
Thanks
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-current-credit-card-sign-bonuses/
@doc is there a write up anywhere of best balance transfer/ 0% intro apr cards?
Yes, check nerdwallet. Search “best 0 apr credit cards” and it’s probably the first one on the list.
I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred about a year ago, and I had my wife as an authorized user. I met the requirements for the bonus and closed the account a couple months ago before the next AF kicked in.
The question is whether she could apply for the same card now as the primary, or is she on the same 24 month clock that I am? I haven’t been able to find the answer anywhere.
FWIW, I was told that Chase is offering $250 bonus after $500 spend on the Freedom Flex card if opened in branch. (It’s $200 if opened online.)
US Bank Business Card and Plastiq
LIMITED TIME OFFER
The Plastiq fee is waived on your first $5,000 in Plastiq payments – a savings of up to $142*.
Enroll by 12/31/2021
*Savings will be automatically reflected when making a Plastiq payment for new Plastiq customers only.
https://www.plastiq.com/us-bank/?utm_source=usb&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=usbcoupon&utm_content=usb2021
with the new contactless debit card, when and how do you enter your security code?
I have only done it once or twice, but IIRC it runs it like a signature transaction, not a debit PIN. You don’t enter your PIN or CVV code, which is “more secure” and can’t get spied on/skimmed.
https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/privacy-security/contactless-credit-cards/
Basically, anyone with your card can buy stuff…. it’s how we do things!
What’s your opinion on this new, unique credit card from SkyOne: http://www.SkyOne.org/Platinum-Elite. It’s called Platinum Elite and comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 points ($300) if you spend $4,000+ in the first 3 months, and annual fee is waived if you are approved before December 31, 2020. The best part about Platinum Elite is YOU choose your rewards, as of January 1, 2021. The first two categories you earn 3% cash back. Next two categories, you earn 2%. And 1% on all other categories. You may change categories each quarter. Also, starting in 2021, the card will be tungsten.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this card and where you think it ranks among rewards-based cards. It also has a potential for low rates and the rate WILL NOT exceed 18% APR.
Thank you for your feedback.
Kind of belated here, but SkyOne was one of my least favorite banks to deal with when doing a checking bonus; constantly felt like they were a scam. Terrible website, too. Unless you have seriously high spend, SUBs are what you’d want anyway (and for cashback, another card or mix of cards will probably work even better; BOA Cash Rewards with a high Preferred Rewards tier comes to mind.
SkyOne is offering 5% cash back on all grocery store purchases, restaurants, and most streaming services. Plus, NO annual fee, NO cash advance fee, and NO balance transfer fee. Check it out here: https://www.skyone.org/spend/credit-cards/platinum-visa-card-promotion/ Hurry, the offer ends July 31.
Is the general rule of thumb still that one should open multiple cards in one day (rather than a longer period of time) in order to minimize the negative impact of your credit score?
Chase 5/24 rule: I got a credit card despite having opened around 10 accounts in the past 2 years.
I got a Chase “pre selected” offer for a card. I was aware of the 5/24 rule, so I was almost sure that it would be denied. But the 200$ promo bonus was too attractive to not try. My score is around 720. I applied towards the end of the application date, when the offer had almost expired. I have heard that the card companies are required to accept a certain minimum percentage of pre approved offers. If that is the case, they might have almost finished their share of denials before they got to me lol. Just a theory.
Correct. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/new-way-bypass-chase-524-online-need-datapoints/