What Are the Best Overall Credit Cards In 2019?

Your credit score is the biggest determining factor in what credit card you can get, so that should be the first place you start. If you have a FICO score above 720+ and a credit history longer than 2 years, you'll likely qualify for most offers. If you have a worse credit score, make sure to look above for our card recommendations that cater to a specific credit score; no credit (student), bad credit (FICO below 620), or average credit (FICO between 620 and 680).

Second, if you carry a balance on your credit card from month to month, you should get a low interest credit card (such as a balance transfer card). Prioritize this over rewards. No amount of rewards you earn can make up for a credit card's high interest rates. For most people, the Chase Slate® will be the best option.

If you never carry a balance, you should get a rewards credit card. The average consumer that spends $1,000 or less on their card each month will get the best results with a cash back credit card. These typically have no annual fees, are extremely simple to use, and put the most money back in your pocket on everyday purchases like gas, groceries and restaurant dining.

Individuals spending over $1,000 should consider a travel credit card. While these charge annual fees, at that level of spending travel cards typically produce the best net returns. They have significantly bigger bonuses (worth hundreds of dollars) that can offset the cost of the annual fee for up to 5 years. Anyone spending over $1,000 monthly will have no trouble qualifying for these bonuses.

You should only get a co-branded airline or hotel credit card if you are a loyal customer of that particular brand. These cards have the richest rewards of any credit card on the market. However, they also come with the most restrictions, which are usually a deal breaker for a casual consumer that just wants to occasionally get cash back or pay for a flight with points/miles. Co-branded cards are worth it if you're looking to enhance your relationship with a brand you already support.

In an effort to provide readers with the most comprehensive list of best-in-class credit cards, our research team started with a database of 401 credit cards. We've been collecting data on credit cards for the last five years, meticulously cataloging interest rates, rewards, bonuses, features and fees. Our credit card database contains products from America's top 10 largest banks and credit unions. We also include the most popular credit cards from smaller, regional banks and financial institutions. Lastly, we're also always on a lookout for stellar cards that are under the radar, which we find by going through online message boards, blogs and review sites.

Once we had a comprehensive list of cards, we began to narrow down the list by identifying cards that were worse than the industry average in specific categories, like fees and rewards. We did this for each of the popular consumer categories (like airline, travel, rewards, cash back, balance transfer, etc.). Once we identified the top 5% in each group, we modeled and pitted the cards in 1v1 comparisons to each other to see which ones win out on both quantitative and qualitative features.

For 2019, we're using a new grading system that allowed us to judge cards within each category based on rigorous criteria. The new methodology gave us a better, more well rounded look at each card and what it offered.

Rewards rates above 2%. Among the most outstanding credit cards, consumers should be able to get above a 2% return on their most important shopping categories. For example, if most of your monthly expenses go towards gas and groceries, the best credit card you can get in this category should give you 2% back or more on every one of these types of purchases. Anything lower will not be the best credit card for you.

Net 2-year rewards and 2-year savings. We considered average consumer spending and average credit card debt, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve. For each, we modeled the returns consumers can expect from cards over a 2-year period. We’ve calculated that consumers should be walking away with no less than $700 in net rewards with the best card options. A balance transfer credit card ought to translate to a savings of around $300 over two years.

Fees. Our team evaluated the merit of each card’s fees (foreign transaction, annual membership, etc.). We considered whether these fees were reasonable given the specific category a card was in, relative to what consumers were getting out of it. For example, it may be appropriate for a good credit card to charge a $450 annual fee given that it provides a $300 travel credit, and a extremely high rewards compared to other cards.

Interest Rates and Promotions. Interest rates and promotions were used when evaluating balance transfer credit credit cards. The average interest rate among all credit cards is 15%, but so long as a card charges less than 20% it still falls within the normal parameters. Interest rates are less important when it comes to rewards credit cards, because any rewards card user should never carry a balance on their credit card.

Point Transferability and Flexibility. We believe the strongest credit cards should not restrict its users unduly. Our analysts looked through each card rewards programs’ redemption flexibility. For example, we'd give strong preference to a card that allows users to use its points to book airfare with 10 different airlines as opposed to a card that only allows you to book flights with one.

Citi® Double Cash Card: The Citi® Double Cash Card is one of the better cards for earning cash back rewards as it awards 1% cash back on purchases and then another 1% back as you pay for those purchases. However, the card suffers from its lack of sign-up bonus, which is a feature that's present in most cash back cards. Even cards that don't offer a sign-up bonus have some way to compensate, such as a first-year match. Ultimately, we felt the Discover it® Cash Back offered more value to most consumers since it wouldn't take much spending it its rotating categories to outearn the cash back offered by the Citi® Double Cash Card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®: This is an excellent travel card, but unfortunately, its high annual fee means that this card won't be worthwhile for everybody. Yes, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers greater rewards than the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, but the $450 annual fee means users will have to spend a lot of money on the card and use the $300 annual travel every year to break even on the fee. Both cards are some of the best when it comes to travel rewards and points, but if we were forced to pick one, we'd prefer the lower annual fee option.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card offers one of the top sign-up bonuses and excellent rewards on travel, but only for Southwest frequent flyers. Unfortunately, the card comes with a few restrictions that hold it back. The points you earn can't be transferred to other airlines, so it’s usefulness is limited. Since Southwest doesn't have a wide selection of international destinations, it limits the card's utility to domestic travelers.