Like almost anything in life, the right choice for a credit card is the one that meets your specific needs. 

Premium credit cards such as the American Express Centurion Card might be attractive to those who like to flash their cash—it has an initiation fee of $10,000 and a $5,000 annual fee—but for the rest of us, a simple $0 annual fee credit card makes perfect sense from a financial planning perspective. 

“The best credit card is the one that fits your needs the most — so take some time to think through how you spend your financial resources and what you value most when it comes to spending money,” Yahoo Finance reported comments from Bobbi Rebell, CFP and personal finance expert at CardRates.com. “The answer can be a few cards that you use for different purposes.”

Consumers and business people who want perks with their cards but don’t want to spend a fortune each year on the annual fee should be pretty happy with all five of these no-annual-fee credit cards. 

Wells Fargo Active Cash Card

When you open your account, you’ll get a $200 cash reward bonus if you spend $500 in the first three months. In addition, you’ll pay 0% interest on unpaid balances for the first 12 months. 

One nice perk is the cell phone protection against damage or theft. You pay a $25 deductible, and Wells Fargo pays up to $600. That’s a valuable perk, considering you don’t pay an annual fee.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

American Express issued its first credit card in 1958. It knows something about creating benefits and rewards for its members. 

If you travel frequently, this co-branded card with Hilton is sound. It has no annual fee. If you spend $2,000 in the first six months with the account open, you’ll get 80,000 Hilton Honors bonus points. 

When you stay at a Hilton hotel, including its many other brands, you’ll get seven bonus points for every $1 spent. In addition, you immediately gain Hilton Honors Silver status upon joining, which gets you several perks, including an additional 20% increase in Honors base points you would earn for a night’s stay.  

In addition, you’ll get five points for every $1 spent at U.S. restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations and 3 points for every $1 spent on other eligible purchases.  

Note: American Express cards require a good credit score (680 or higher) to receive approval for their cards.  

Chase Ink Business Unlimited

This card is for small business owners and freelancers who don’t want a complicated card for company spending. 

It provides a cashback reward of 1.5% on everything you pay for using the business credit card. The rewards are paid out in points. For every dollar spent, you get 100 points. Also, through March 2025, it will provide an additional 3.5% cash back on Lyft rides. On a $20 ride, you’ll get $1 in cashback rewards. 

When you sign up, you’ll pay 0% interest on unpaid balances for the first 12 months. In addition, if you spend $6,000 in the first three months after opening the account, you’ll receive 90,000 bonus points, which you can redeem for $900 cash back. 

And because it’s a business card, you can get additional cards for your employees, setting whatever spending limit you deem appropriate for their level of responsibility and spending requirements. 

Discover it Cash Back Credit Card

When you open an account for a Discover it card, you’ll get 1% cash back with no cap on everything you buy. You’ll get 5% back on different categories each quarter when you activate these rewards. At the moment, the 5% cash back is for Walmart and grocery stores through the end of September.

While it’s not advisable to carry a balance on your credit card, when you sign up for this $0 annual free cashback credit card, you pay 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months rather than the 12 months offered by others. 

One useful perk is the Cashback Match. At the end of your first 12 months with the card, Discover will match the cash back you earned in your first year. If you spend the money anyway, you might as well take advantage of the Cashback Match. And there’s no limit to the amount it will match. 

Capital One SavorOne Rewards Card

The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study found that this Capital One rewards card ranked highest in customer satisfaction among bank rewards credit cards with no annual fee for a second consecutive year.

The card is for hospitality-focused spenders. It provides 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and grocery stores, and a 1% cashback reward on everything else.  

Along with the $0 annual fee, it provides 0% interest on unpaid balances for the first 15 months, and if you spend $500 in the first three months, you get $200 as a one-time bonus. 

Lastly, some of the credit card benefits it provides for all its cardholders, no matter the annual fee, are worth exploring more closely. 

For example, Capital One offers a complimentary concierge service that provides assistance in dining, entertainment, and travel—24 hours a day, 365 days a year—which helps explain its high customer satisfaction.

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