Best rewards credit cards of August 2023

It takes a bit of work to maximize the Freedom Flex’s rotating quarterly categories, but as long as you’re willing to do that, this card has generous cash-back potential. Add in intro APR periods and a valuable welcome offer and this no-annual-fee card is hard to beat.

• Annual fee: $0.
• Rewards: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in categories that rotate quarterly (requires activation), 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Welcome bonus: Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
• Foreign transaction fees: 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: Though marketed as a cash-back card, the Flex earns points, where 1 point is worth 1 cent in cash back. Points earned on this card can also be pooled with points earned on a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card and redeemed for travel bookings for potentially greater value. There’s a low intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers. Rotating categories must be activated each quarter or you won’t earn the elevated cash back on purchases in those categories.

Paying rent by credit card typically involves a transaction fee. But what if you could pay rent by credit card without that fee, earn rewards for doing so and get access to a stellar list of airline and hotel transfer partners too? With the Bilt World Elite Mastercard®, you can. Getting this card is a no-brainer for anyone who rents and wants to earn points that can be redeemed for award travel.

• Annual fee: $0.
• Rewards: 1 point per $1 on rent payments without a transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each year), 2 points per $1 on travel (when booked through the Bilt Travel Portal or directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company), 3 points per $1 on dining and 1 point per $1 on other purchases. At least five transactions must be made per statement period to earn these rewards.
• Welcome bonus: None.
• Foreign currency conversion fee: None.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: Points transfer 1:1 to popular airline and hotel partners. But beware that you must make five transactions per billing period in order to earn rewards.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the most premium travel credit cards available. It charges a hefty annual fee, but in exchange comes with an up to $300 annual travel credit, a top-notch list of travel partners you can transfer points to, a Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership (enrollment required) and a long list of travel benefits and protections.

• Annual fee: $550 plus $75 per authorized user.
• Rewards: 5 points per $1 on flights and 10 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3 points per $1 on other travel and dining and 1 point per $1 on other purchases.
• Welcome bonus: 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
• Foreign transaction fees: $0.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: Points can be redeemed for 50% more value for travel bookings through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal or transferred 1:1 to travel partners. The card also comes with a powerful lineup of travel benefits such as Priority Pass airport lounge access (enrollment required) and trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card * The information for the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. does something almost unheard of—it offers the opportunity to earn cash back at a higher rate at various popular merchants than you’d earn when using the merchant’s store card. For someone looking to maximize their cash-back rewards, that’s a pretty powerful value proposition. It’s true the card charges an annual fee after the first year, but you can recoup that with $1,585 in spending on purchases earning 6% back.

• Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Rewards: 6% cash back each quarter on combined purchases from two retailers of choice ($1,500 limit), 5.5% cash back on prepaid car and hotel reservations booked through the Rewards Center, 3% cash back each quarter in one everyday category of choice ($1,500 limit) and 1.5% cash back on everything else.
• Welcome bonus: $250 bonus after spending $2,000 in eligible purchases in the first 120 days of account opening.
• Foreign transaction fees: 3% of each foreign transaction.
  Other benefits and drawbacks: You must make three enrollments per quarter—two for your 6% retailers and one for your 3% category—or your spending will earn just 1.5% cash back.

If you’re a devoted Amazon Prime member who uses the online giant for everything from streaming to groceries to books—yes, they still sell those—why not earn rewards at the generous rate of cash back per dollar spent? Getting the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa just makes sense, especially with no annual fee other than the required Prime membership.

• Annual fee: $0 with Prime membership.
• Rewards: 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership, 5% back on travel booked through Chase, 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare), and 1% back on all other purchases.
• Welcome bonus: $100 Amazon gift card for Prime members upon approval.
• Foreign transaction fees: $0 with Prime membership.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: While the $100 Amazon gift card for Prime members upon approval for this credit card is nice in that it doesn’t have a spending requirement, it’s somewhat low compared to welcome bonuses that can be found on some other rewards cards—which can be worth $200 or more. Also, know that you must have a Prime membership to be eligible for this card. There’s also a non-Prime Amazon credit card issued by Chase, but it earns at a lower cash-back rate.

Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are a valuable rewards currency for anyone interested in award travel. However, not everyone wants to pay $550 a year to carry the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. That’s where the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes in. In some ways, it might seem like a slimmed-down version of the Reserve—but for a much easier-to-stomach $95 annual fee, the Preferred still manages to pack a lot of value into its offerings.

• Annual fee: $95.
• Rewards: 5 points per $1 on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3 points per $1 on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per $1 on all other travel purchases and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• Welcome bonus: 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
• Foreign transaction fees: $0.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: Points can be redeemed for 25% more value toward travel booked via the Chase portal or transferred 1:1 to the same lineup of partners as the Sapphire Reserve offers. The card also offers a $50 annual hotel credit for stays booked through Chase’s portal and travel protections such as trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card * The information for the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. comes with a unique rewards program—the card will automatically detect where you spend the most from a list of eligible categories, and will earn 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent each month and 1% cash back on all other purchases, so it doesn’t make sense for the Custom Cash to be the card you put the bulk of your spending on.
But if you use another card as your daily driver and keep the Custom Cash on hand for one of the categories eligible for the elevated cash back, that’s where this no-annual-fee rewards card will truly shine.

• Annual fee: $0.
• Rewards: 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent each month and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Welcome bonus: $200 cash back, in the form of 20,000 ThankYou points, after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.
• Foreign transaction fees: 3%.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: This card offers intro APR periods on both purchases and balance transfers. Also, if you use both the Citi Custom Cash and the Citi® Double Cash Card * The information for the Citi® Double Cash Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , you can combine the rewards earned with both cards into one pool for easier redemptions.

For a reasonable annual fee, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express * The information for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. (terms apply) earns a generous cash-back rate of 6% at U.S. supermarkets (up to the annual spending cap) and on select streaming services. Plus, the 3% back you’ll earn at gas stations and on transit is the icing on the cake.

• Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Rewards: 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit and 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.
• Welcome bonus: $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first six months of card membership.
• Foreign transaction fees: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars..
• Other benefits and drawbacks: This card comes with intro APR periods on purchases and balance transfers.

Many travel rewards credit cards charge annual fees of $95 or more. By contrast, the Navy Federal Credit Union Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Card * The information for the Navy Federal Credit Union Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is much more accessible for just $49 a year. If you’re eligible to join Navy Federal Credit Union, and you travel even occasionally, this card is worth considering.

• Annual fee: $49.
• Rewards: 3 points per $1 on travel and 2 points per $1 on everything else.
• Welcome bonus: 40,000 points (a $400 value) after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. Plus, get a year of free Amazon Prime (a $139 value). Offer ends August 31, 2023.
• Foreign transaction fees: None.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: You must have a military connection to join Navy Federal Credit Union. NFCU membership is open to active and retired military service members and veterans, family members and U.S. Department of Defense civilian personnel.

Does your perfect shopping trip look like making a run to Costco for bulk groceries and toiletries, picking up one of the famous Costco rotisserie chickens for dinner and hitting the gas station on your way home to fill up the tank? If so, the Costco Visa from Citi just might be the rewards credit card you need. You’ll earn 4% cash back on gas and EV charging for the first $7,000 per year then 1%, 3% cash back on restaurants and travel purchases, 2% cash back at Costco and Costco.com and 1% cash back on all other purchases. A Costco membership is required to apply, and there’s no annual fee—other than the required Costco membership.

• Annual fee: $0.
• Rewards: 4% cash back on gas and EV charging for the first $7,000 per year then 1%, 3% cash back on restaurants and travel purchases, 2% cash back at Costco and Costco.com and 1% cash back on all other purchases. A Costco membership is required to apply.
• Welcome bonus: None.
• Foreign transaction fees: None.
• Other benefits and drawbacks: Cash back is only disbursed once per year—after your February billing statement closes—in the form of a reward certificate that you can redeem for cash or merchandise at Costco warehouses in the United States.