The Three Best Credit Cards

In their “100 Best” issue, Money Magazine recently rate the three best credit cards for various purposes. We updated this page to show the current offers by each issuer mentioned.

First off, Discover it is a great card if you carry a balance. They have a 0 percent introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 14 months. And if you don’t pay it off before the introductory period expires, their rates aren’t crazy. There is a balance transfer fee of 3 percent of the amount of each transfer.

Next up… Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express is the best cash back reward card for big spenders. I’ve talked about this before, but with Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, you can get 3 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets, up to $6,000 per year in purchases, 2 percent cash back on gasoline at U.S. gas stations and 2 percent cash back at select U.S department stores, and 1 percent cash back on other eligible purchases. The first $6,000 of purchases at U.S. supermarkets in a calendar year qualifies for 3 percent cash back; 1 percent thereafter. Your cash back is earned only on eligible purchases and is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. The cash back program has no enrollment and no rotating rewards categories. Terms and Restrictions Apply.

Finally, the Chase Freedom is the #1 reward credit card for smaller spenders. This card pays 5 percent rewards on purchases in quarterly rotating categories which you need to activate each quarter. The only downside here is that the reward falls back to the base 1 percent once you’ve made $1500 in eligible purchases in a quarter.

All in all, this list is in close agreement with my own views. In fact, we have both a Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express and a Chase Freedom. We use the American Express card whenever possible, with the Chase card serving as a backup.