7 Best No-Annual-Fee Credit Cards with Rewards (April 2024)

Today’s credit card marketplace is brimming with options for rewards. And consumers will have no difficulty finding a credit card that doesn’t charge an annual fee. But finding a no-annual-fee credit card with rewards is an extra special treat.

Many credit card issuers tack on fees or higher interest rates to offset the cost of the rewards they pay to cardholders. By leveraging a card with no fee that still pays rewards, you can earn money for spending money. Who doesn’t want that?

Our list of the best rewards cards that charge no annual fee also features hotel and travel rewards options, as well as business credit cards and options for consumers who have bad credit, so you aren’t just limited to cash back or points.

Overall
Cash Back | Travel | Business | Bad Credit

With the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card, you can earn cash back rewards on every purchase that never expires or caps out. And, not only will you never pay an annual fee to use this card, but you can also take advantage of the 0% APR introductory period that Chase often offers with this card.

If the rewards, lack of annual fees, and the 0% introductory APR period weren’t enough, this card also has a cash signup bonus after you meet the minimum spending requirement on purchases during the first three months of activating your card. Most people can hit that mark simply by charging a few of their monthly bills to the card and then paying them off after the charges post to their account.

Cash is still king in the financial world, and cash back cards are among the most popular rewards a credit card issuer can offer. These cards allow you to earn a percentage of each purchase back in the form of cash or a statement credit.

When you combine that with a no-fee card, like those below, you’re maximizing your savings and cutting the cost of the items you purchase.

The Discover it® Cash Back card is one of the most popular cash back cards on the market — thanks, in part, to its quarterly bonus categories and unique rewards offer in the first year of account membership.

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card pays out an unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment purchases, and grocery stores as well as 1% on all other purchases. The card also offers a promotional 0% APR introductory period with no annual fee or foreign transaction charges.

With the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card, you can take advantage of a 0% APR introductory period while earning up to top cash back in quarterly category spending. Thanks to the Credit Journey℠ program, you’ll also receive a free weekly credit score update.

Just about everyone loves to travel, but few people enjoy the costs associated with taking a trip. Airfare, rental cars, taxis, hotels, and other expenses add up and can take away from your entertainment or souvenir budget.

The list below includes the best travel rewards credit cards with no annual fee. With one or more of these cards in your pocket, you can earn credits that pay for all, or part, of those pesky expenses that keep most people glued to their couch.

The Discover it® Miles card pays rewards miles for every $1 spent and comes with Discover’s unique year-end bonus after the first year as a cardholder. This card is great for people who have a big trip planned in the future because it allows you to save your miles over time and use them all at once to pay for a big portion of your vacation.

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card doesn’t limit how you use your earned miles. No blackout dates or restrictions apply because you redeem your miles earned on each $1 spent as a statement credit that reimburses all or part of a travel-related expense.

This allows you to travel any way you want without having to read the fine print to make sure your purchases qualify for reimbursement.

You can earn an unlimited 1.5X points for every $1 you charge to your Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card. Points act the same as miles and you can redeem them as statement credits to pay for flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, and baggage fees.

No matter the size of your business, you’re probably accustomed to paying fees for just about everything you need. You can avoid at least one of those fees by signing up for one of the cards below.

These business credit cards offer rewards that match the needs of most entrepreneurs — without tacking on an annual fee for the privilege.

8. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

at Chase'ssecure website

BUSINESS CARD RATING

★★★★★

4.7

OVERALL RATING

4.6/5.0

Our Review »

• Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
• No Annual Fee
• Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Earn rewards faster with employee cards at no additional cost. Set individual spending limits for greater control.
• Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases

• See application, terms and details.

Intro (Purchases)	Intro (Transfers)	Regular APR	Annual Fee	Credit Needed
0% Intro APR on Purchases 12 months	N/A 12 months	18.49% - 24.49% Variable	$0	Good/Excellent

The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card pays flat-rate cash back on every purchase you make, so you never have to worry about which purchases earn the most rewards. There’s no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn, even though you’ll never have to pay an annual fee.

With the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit, you can earn cash back on all purchases and a one-time cash bonus when you charge enough to the card within three months after opening your account. The free employee cards also earn cash back that you can use to help fund your business operations.

You can earn as much as 5% cash back with the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and still take advantage of a 0% introductory APR offer. You can also obtain employee cards at no extra charge and earn bonus cash back if you meet the spending requirement within your first three months after card activation.

Secured credit cards often come with high fees and no rewards, but the Discover it® Secured Credit Card bucks both trends by offering cash back rewards on all purchases.

As with most secured credit cards, Discover requires a refundable cash deposit to open your account. The amount of your deposit will equal your credit limit.

The card issuer reports your payment history to the credit reporting bureaus, which can improve your credit score and help you graduate to one of Discover’s many unsecured credit cards.

Fees aren’t fun — and they certainly aren’t for everyone — but, in some cases, an annual fee can unlock some serious benefits. Many fees can also pay for themselves if you take advantage of the abundant rewards these cards offer.

Take the Chase Sapphire Reserve® as an example. The $550 annual fee on this card likely seems outrageous to most people, but to understand the card’s appeal, you have to look at what you get for the money.

As a cardholder, you’ll receive a $300 annual travel credit that reimburses you for airfare costs, hotel stays, or other travel-related charges. You’ll also receive access to over 1,000 Priority Pass™ airport lounges, a $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®, and several other money-saving perks.

You’ll also earn 3X points on travel and dining purchases. New cardholders also receive a generous signup bonus.

So, as you can see, these cards aren’t meant for people on a tight budget. But if you travel often and make many charges to your card, the annual fee can pay for itself with the money-saving features and other perks.

Other cards may offer higher-than-average cash back yields, annual perks (such as reimbursement for TSA Precheck or Global Entry fees), or access to better rewards redemption rates that make them more beneficial to many consumers.

In most cases, the only way to avoid an annual fee is to sign up for a credit card that doesn’t charge an annual fee in the first place.

Very rarely will a credit card issuer simply waive a fee because you request it. That doesn’t mean it will hurt you to contact your card issuer and ask — but don’t expect a positive response.

Some people have found success when asking if they threaten (nicely) to cancel their account, if they leverage their long-term loyalty to the card issuer as a reason for waiving the charge, or if they downgrade their account to a new card in the issuer’s portfolio that doesn’t charge an annual fee.

Requests may be denied because the annual fees most cards charge cover many of the expenses the bank incurs when it pays out rewards and other perks. That’s why you can often find additional charges associated with many cards that yield higher rewards, such as higher APRs.

But the cards listed above truly offer no annual fees or other hidden charges. Many even offer introductory periods of 0% interest, which provides fee-free financing for a set period.

Some cards will also allow you to use your accrued rewards to cover your annual fee. In some cases, you can simply transfer the rewards over and erase the fee. In other instances, you may have to redeem your cash back and use the funds to pay the fee.

In most cases, we advise against canceling a credit card because of the impact it can have on your credit score. It’s understandable, though, that you may want to avoid paying an annual fee on a card you don’t use much.

Credit scoring agencies factor credit utilization into their calculations to determine your credit score. You can find your current utilization by dividing your current total balance by your overall credit limit.

For example, a card with a $2,000 credit limit and a $1,000 current balance has a 50% utilization rate. Lenders want to see low utilization on your credit cards. The more credit you use, the more financial trouble you appear to be in.

Your utilization ratio accounts for 30% of your FICO credit score. Any slight shift to that number can impact your score — for better or worse — pretty quickly.

When you cancel a card that has low utilization, you erase that available credit from your credit report. That instantly increases your current utilization and can decrease your credit score.

But you likely don’t want to pay a hefty annual fee just to preserve some points on your credit score. In this case, you can call your credit issuer and inquire about switching your card to an offering that doesn’t charge an annual fee.

By doing so, you may preserve your available credit and avoid the fee. You’ll also maintain the card in case of an emergency.

People typically earn rewards for a service or a job well done, so you shouldn’t have to pay for rewards if you don’t want to. With one of these no-annual-fee credit cards with rewards, you can earn perks without having to negate the rewards with an annual fee.

And these cards won’t limit you only to cash back — you have your choice of travel rewards, business benefits, or even unheard of rewards from a secured card. So, even with bad credit, you can get rewarded for the money you spend.