Below we list some of the best credit cards on the market right now, with an emphasis on cash back and travel rewards cards:

Best Cash Back Credit Cards

Chase Freedom Flex℠ – Why We Like It: Good everyday earnings, plus the opportunity to earn 5% cash back in certain purchases throughout the year. Earn: 5% on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate, 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 3% on drugstore purchases, 1% on all other purchases. NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card – Why We Like It: Offers generous cash back in everyday categories where you are likely to be doing real spending, with no annual fee! Earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), plus 1% on all other purchases. EARLY SPEND BONUS: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® – Why We Like It: Good cash-back on everyday categories, and a nice “catch all” reward rate on other purchases, with no annual fee. Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), 3% on drugstore purchases, and 1.5% on all other purchases. INTRO OFFER FOR NEW CARDHOLDERS: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). Could be worth up to $300 cash back 👀

US Bank Altitude Go – Why We Like It: Perhaps the best dining rewards credit card on the market, plus strong rewards at grocery stores, gas stations/EV stations, and other everyday purchasing categories. Earn: 4 points per dollar on dining, takeout and restaurant delivery purchases, 2X points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, streaming services, gas stations and EV charging stations, 1X point on all other eligible purchases. NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend at least $1,000 in the first 90 days after opening your account — a $200 value redeemable for cash back as well as travel rewards, gift cards and more.

Updated May 19, 2022 – Comenity Bank and its sister company Comenity Capital Bank are the issuers behind many retail store credit cards and other credit cards. (Both banks are subsidiaries of Bread Financial, formerly named Alliance Data.) If you have a credit card from one of the companies listed below, it’s not issued by the store whose name is on the front, but instead by Comenity:

• Academy Sports Credit Card
• AKC (American Kennel Club) (Card no longer offered)
• Alphaeon Medical Credit
• Ann Taylor
• Appliances Connection
• Arhaus
• Ashley Stewart
• Avenue
• Bealls Florida Credit Card
• Bealls Outlet / Burkes Outlet
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Big Lots
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Blair

(This is a regularly updated post; last update 4/3/22.) If you’ve ever been pitched on opening a new credit card at a retail store while making a purchase, you know that some stores are more than happy to give you instant credit — you apply on the spot, get approved, and you can use the card immediately. Below we offer a list of such cards, including regular bank credit cards as well as retail credit cards. Apply online and get shopping today. (Note that instant approval is not guaranteed.)

• Chase Credit Cards – Most Chase consumer credit cards (not business cards) now offer a “Spend Instantly” feature that gives you the potential for instant approval and then same-day usage through digital wallets Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. (You add your new Chase card to the digital wallet via the Chase mobile app.)
• American Express Cards – Most American Express credit cards and charge cards now offer the possibility of an “Instant Card Number” upon approval. Your “eligibility is based on our ability to instantly validate your identity.” If you are eligible, you’ll get an Instant Card Number that you can use even before you have the physical card in hand. Note, however, that you may not be able to access your card’s complete credit line instantly.

Below are the current AAA Five Diamond hotels for 2022. (The 5 Diamond list was originally announced in April of 2022.)

Five Diamond Hotels in the United States

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Arizona

• Fairmont Scottsdale Princess – Scottsdale
• Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North – Scottsdale
• The Phoenician – Scottsdale
• The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician – Scottsdale
• The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain – Marana (Tucson)

California (listed north to south):

Northern:

• The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe – Truckee
• The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco – San Francisco
• Chateau du Sureau – Oakhurst

Los Angeles & Surrounding:

• Ojai Valley Inn – Ojai
• Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village – Westlake Village
• The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows – Beverly Hills
• The Peninsula Beverly Hills – Beverly Hills
• Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills – Beverly Hills
• Hotel Bel-Air – Los Angeles
• The Resort at Pelican Hill – Newport Beach
• Montage Laguna Beach – Laguna Beach
• Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach – Dana Point
• The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel – Dana Point

San Diego & Surrounding:

• Park Hyatt Aviara Resort – Carlsbad
• Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa – Rancho Santa Fe
• Fairmont Grand Del Mar – San Diego
• The Lodge at Torrey Pines – La Jolla / San Diego

Visa Infinite is the highest designation among Visa-branded credit cards in terms of benefits offered to cardholders. (See a potential list of Visa Infinite benefits here; not every benefit will be available on every Visa Infinite card, however.) The list of Visa Infinite cards available is fairly short, and includes these higher-end credit cards:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Visa Infinite credit card offers the desirable features of more expensive travel cards, but strips away the fluff to keep the annual fee reasonable. That annual fee is $395, but you can get up to $300 in travel credits when you book through Capital One Travel, and there is an Early Spend Bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. The Anniversary Miles Bonus kicks in starting on your first anniversary, with 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel).

In terms of rewards on everyday purchases, earn unlimited 10 miles per dollar in purchases on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, plus unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases. And don’t forget airport lounge access through the Priority Pass network & the new Capital One Lounges, plus quite a bit more.

The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is a credit card targeted to bad credit customers and sometimes customers with no credit history. Most potential cardholders will probably be those who’ve had credit in the past and whose poor history makes it difficult to get an unsecured credit card from a major credit card issuer.

If you have bad credit, you probably already know that most credit cards offered to people like you come with less-than-ideal terms — higher interest, lower credit lines, and annual fees. The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is no exception. This is not so much a strike against it as it an acknowledgment that Indigo is serving customers that the major card issuers don’t trust due to past credit problems (or possibly no credit history at all). Those with bad credit essentially have to pay more as they try to re-establish themselves as worthy credit customers.

5% Discount at Buc-ee’s, But…

The Buc-ee’s Mastercard is a no-annual-fee credit card that gives you a 5% discount on Buc-ee’s purchases, whether you’re talking about gas purchases or purchases inside Buc-ee’s stores. If you’re buying at Buc-ee’s on a regular basis, this is a card you’d definitely want to consider. (The 5% credit card discount program is good at most Buc-ee’s in Texas and other states, but not at Buc-ee’s in Florida and Alabama.)

However, as far as we can tell, the card does not give any type of reward on other purchases you make with the card, so the allure here is mostly (maybe only) the Buc-ee’s discount.

First things first: Apple and its credit card issuing partner Goldman Sachs publish very little information on card approval odds or credit scores needed to qualify for the Apple Card credit card. Most of this article is based on information from past successful (and unsuccessful) applicants. It is an educated guess — but still a guess!

That said, the Apple Card is relatively easy to be approved for compared to other credit cards on the market. But that doesn’t mean everyone will be approved.

Apple Card Approval Odds / Credit Score Needed

Your chances of approval for the Apple Card will obviously be higher if your credit score is higher. Based on approved scores we’ve seen:

• A credit score of 700 or over gives you a very high chance of approval, probably 75%-80% of applicants with a score above 700 will be approved. If you have at least a year of credit history, your chances should be even better.
• If you’re between a 650 and 700 credit score, your odds of approval are still better than 50-50 — we’d say you have about a 60-65% chance of approval. Again, your chances will be better if you have at least a year of clean credit history. (No late payments beyond 30 days in particular.)
• If your score is 600 to 650, your approval odds definitely go down, but it is not hopeless. Based on information on this Apple Card page, 600 seems likely to be the lowest credit score that might be approved for the Apple Card. However, your odds of approval at a 600 credit score are probably still 25% at best, and then your chances go up a little bit with every point above that. (If declined, you *might* get invited into the Path To Apple Card program, which could lead to eventual approval.)

No credit card reward is more flexible than cash. That’s why cash back credit cards are the favorite type of card for most people. Depending on where your purchasing dollars are spent each month, you might consider one or more of these credit cards that return some of your hard-earned cash to you:

Chase Freedom Flex℠ – Why We Like It: Good everyday earnings, plus the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on certain purchases throughout the year. Earn: 5% on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate, 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 3% on drugstore purchases, 1% on all other purchases. NEW CARDHOLDER BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express – Why We Like It: 6% cash back on up to $6,000 per year in purchases at U.S. supermarkets (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back on transit purchases, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. NEW CARDHOLDER WELCOME BONUS OPPORTUNITY: Earn a $300 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. See Rates & Fees. Terms Apply.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® – Why We Like It: Good cash-back on everyday categories, and a nice “catch all” reward rate on other purchases, with no annual fee. Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), 3% on drugstore purchases, and 1.5% on all other purchases. INTRO OFFER FOR NEW CARDHOLDERS: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). Could be worth up to $300 cash back 👀

If you can only get behind a credit card made of metal, here’s the short list of Capital One cards that get the metal treatment:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Why We Like It: Offers the desirable features of more expensive travel cards, but strips away the fluff to keep the annual fee reasonable. That annual fee is $395, but you can get up to $300 in travel credits when you book through Capital One Travel, and there is an Early Spend Bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. The Anniversary Miles Bonus kicks in starting on your first anniversary, with 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel).

In terms of rewards on everyday purchases, this heavy metal Capital One card earns unlimited 10 miles per dollar in purchases on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, plus unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases. And don’t forget airport lounge access through the Priority Pass network & the new Capital One Lounges, plus quite a bit more.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card – Why It Makes The List: If the Venture X listed above has too high of an annual fee for you, this alternate Capital One travel credit card still offers plenty at a more do-able $95 annual fee. (It’s a little lighter on the metal, too, when compared to the Venture X.) Earn unlimited 2 miles per dollar on every purchase (but 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel), and use those miles to pay for travel or even transfer them into the loyalty programs of Capital One travel partners. Other perks include a credit toward your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application (up to $100 when paid with the card), Hertz Five Star status, no foreign transaction fees on purchases outside of the United States and more. EARLY SPEND BONUS: Earn 60,000 bonus miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases with the card within the first 3 months from account opening.