Best Charge Cards

The main difference between a credit card and a  charge card is that charge cards don’t allow you to carry a balance from one month to the next, while credit cards do. Both types of cards allow you to buy now and pay later, but charge cards require that payment to be for the full amount you owe at the end of the billing cycle. Traditional credit cards require you to pay just a portion of your balance by the due date each month to keep your account in good standing.

It’s important to note that a charge card actually is a type of credit card – just a unique one. Charge cards and other credit cards are different in more ways, too.

Credit Cards vs Charge Cards: Main Differences

• Amount Due: Charge cards require you to pay your bill in full each billing cycle, while credit cards only require a minimum payment (a portion of your entire balance) and revolve the rest of your balance to the next billing cycle. Unless the credit card offers an introductory 0% APR though, you’ll have to pay interest on the unpaid portion of the balance.
• Credit/Spending Limit: Charge cards generally don’t have preset spending limits, while credit cards will assign a credit limit based on your creditworthiness.
• Debt, Interest and Fees: Charge cards will not allow you to accrue debt as you’re required to pay off your balance every month. Not paying your balance in full by the due date will attract considerable late fees though. Credit cards will only attract late fees if the minimum payment is not made by the due date. However, credit cards will accrue interest on any unpaid balance, unless they offer an introductory 0% APR for a certain period of time.
• Credit Score Impact: Credit utilization isn’t part of the scoring criteria for charge cards, as they have no preset spending limit. Credit utilization for credit cards, on the other hand, is recommended to be kept no higher than 30-40%.
• Annual Fees: Charge cards tend to charge high annual fees, while credit cards make for a more diverse offering, covering the whole spectrum of credit, from bad and limited, to excellent credit.

Charge Card vs. Credit Card:

Some hybrid cards do have some sort of short-term financing. For example, American Express has a feature called "Pay Over Time" on some of their cards. That lets you carry a balance between months on certain eligible charges, with interest, up to a limit. Not all cardholders are eligible and all charges that are not included in the Pay Over Time balance must be paid in full by the due date.

Now that you’re familiar with the fundamental differences between charge cards and credit cards, you can take a look at some of the best that both types have to offer.

2022’s Best Charge Cards vs. Best Credit Cards

Overall, credit cards tend to be better than their charge card counterparts for most people. Credit cards provide financing capabilities, for one thing, and some of them are much easier to obtain. Charge cards can be very attractive to a certain segment of the market, though – people with good or better credit who always pay in full and want premium rewards.

The two most important factors to consider when selecting a charge card are the rewards and the annual fee.

In addition to earning points on your spending, some charge cards offer relatively extensive additional benefits such as a 24/7 concierge service, discounted tickets to concerts and sporting events, and airline and hotel perks. However, the more rewards a card provides, the higher its annual fee will likely be.

So before applying for any charge card consider whether you will truly make use of its additional benefits. If you expect to only take advantage of the points earned on purchases, concentrate on finding the charge card with the lowest annual fee.

There are no charge cards for bad credit.

Unfortunately, if you have bad credit, your credit card options are limited and at the present time to secured credit cards and unsecured credit cards for bad credit.

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card might be your best option. Great benefits and rewards.

There aren’t any retailers that offer store charge cards. Many people refer to store cards as charge cards. It’s common to hear reference to a Walmart charge card, a Kohl's charge card or a Target charge card as a result. But store cards are credit cards on which you can carry a balance from month to month, not charge cards whose balance must be paid in full each month. A good rule of thumb to remember is that if it has an interest rate, it's not a charge card.

There are benefits to using both charge cards and debit cards. Charge cards allow you to build credit history and do not require immediate payment for purchases, which provides both flexibility and added protection from fraud. You must simply pay your balance in full at the end of each month in order to retain purchasing privileges and avoid late fees.

Additionally, charge card accounts provide far more lucrative perks and rewards than do debit cards. The only benefit that a debit card has over a charge card is that it makes it impossible to spend more than you can afford. Therefore, you should only use a debit card if you seek this type of inherent discipline.

A charge card is a credit card that requires the balance to be paid in full every month.

Many people use charge cards because they force more disciplined spending than credit cards. Because charge cards require payment in full each month, consumers cannot adopt an "I'll pay for it later" type of approach and continue to amass more and more debt. If they do not pay their balances in full by a specific time (usually within 25 days of the bills arrival) they cannot make any more purchases.

Additionally, many people enjoy the rewards and exclusivity garnered from charge cards. Users often earn points on their purchases and receive other perks like concierge service and discounted tickets to concerts and sporting events.

No, there aren’t any charge cards on the Visa network at the moment. All charge cards in the U.S. are either on the American Express or the Mastercard network right now.

Charge cards are a special type of credit card where you must pay the balance in full each month. All the Visa credit cards are regular credit cards that require only a minimum monthly payment. You can carry the remaining balance to the following month, but in most cases, you’ll pay interest on the unpaid balance. You do have the option of paying a credit card’s entire balance each month to avoid interest charges.

No, there aren’t any Capital One charge cards. All Capital One credit cards allow users to carry a balance from month to month. A charge card requires full payment by the due date each month, with some minor exceptions on some cards. If that’s what you want, try one of these: The Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Green Card.

You should really use all Capital One rewards cards like a charge card, though. They have high regular APRs, like rewards cards from any issuer, so you don’t want interest to rob your rewards.

No, there are no Chase charge cards. A charge card is a type of credit card where the cardholder must pay off the balance in full every month. Chase does not offer any cards that meet this description. All Chase credit cards allow the cardholder to carry a balance between months in return for paying interest. American Express and Capital One are the only major credit card issuers that currently offer charge cards. Chase does have a range of excellent regular credit cards, though.

Best Chase credit cards to pay in full every month:

Even though Chase cards don’t make you pay in full every month, you can still say that you “charge” purchases to your Chase credit card. Eligible Chase cards can also be used with various digital payment options, from wearables to mobile apps, to make a “charge”. The app lets you make purchases without swiping, dipping or waving your card, but the purchases still get charged to your account like normal.  

A charge card works a lot like a regular credit card, but without the option of making a partial payment. In other words, the main difference is that cardholders typically must pay their entire statement balance each billing period with a charge card. For that reason, the minimum payment on a charge card is usually the same as the statement balance. That said, some charge card issuers such as American Express have started to allow cardholders to pay off certain purchases over time. This turns the card into a hybrid between a charge card and a regular credit card.

Charge cards also have no pre-set spending limit. This doesn’t mean that you’ll have no credit limit at all. Instead, it means that your credit limit will change over time based on a number of factors, including how you use the card. You likely won’t know what your limit is until you’re notified by the card issuer that you’ve gotten close to or reached it, and the limit could easily be higher or lower the following month. This can negatively affect your credit score, too, depending on how the card issuer reports the card to the credit bureaus.

Key Things to Know About How Charge Cards Work

• Cardholders usually must pay their statement balance in full each billing period.
• There is no pre-set spending limit.
• Charge cards report to credit bureaus and impact credit scores.

Besides these unique features, charge cards work much like regular credit cards. Cardholders borrow money from the card issuer to make purchases, and then they pay off their purchases at a later date. Charge cards typically offer rewards, too, and they are reported to the credit bureaus, like normal credit cards.