Charge Cards
WalletHub makes it easy to find the best charge card for you.
Here are the best charge cards in 2018:
- No 1st Year Fee: Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
- Luxury Travel: The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Business: The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
- Low Annual Fee: American Express® Green Card
- VIPs: Centurion® Card from American Express
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Rates & Fees | Terms Apply
- Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- 3X points for flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points at US restaurants, US gas stations, and at US supermarkets. 1X points on other purchases.
- $100 Airline Fee Credit. Up to $100 per calendar year for baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline.
- Get a $75 hotel credit on qualifying charges, plus a room upgrade upon arrival, when available with The Hotel Collection at americanexpress.com/hc.
- Terms Apply.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Over 1.5 million more places in the U.S. started accepting American Express® Cards in 2017.
- $0 Intro Annual Fee for the 1st year, then $195.
- See More Details & Reviews About ThePremier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
Rates & Fees | Terms Apply
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
- Up to $200 for Uber rides annually. Credit and Uber VIP status available to Basic Card Member only.
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on eligible hotels booked on amextravel.com.
- As a Platinum Card Member, you can enjoy access to the Global Lounge Collection, the only credit card airport lounge access program that includes proprietary lounge locations around the world.
- Receive complimentary benefits with an average total value of $550 with Fine Hotels & Resorts. Learn More.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit, up to $200 per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline.
- Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- Terms Apply.
- Earn double Membership Rewards points at amextravel.com. Terms apply.
- 1X Points for every eligible dollar you spend.
- You can use Membership Rewards points for all or part of your flight, hotel booked and paid in advance, vacation or cruise booking with American Express Travel.
- Membership Rewards® points can be used towards travel, dining, shopping, and merchandise.
- Points have no expiration date and there's no limit to the amount of points you can earn.
- Take advantage of Travel & Shopping benefits. Terms apply.
- Amex Offers rewards you at places you like to shop, dine, travel, and more.
- Get free 2-day shipping on eligible items at a growing network of 140+ online stores with ShopRunner. Enrollment is required.
- Exclusive access to ticket presales and Card Member-only events. Check out Broadway shows and concert tours, family and sporting events, and more.
- See More Details & Reviews About TheAmerican Express® Green Card
- 1X Membership Rewards point for every eligible dollar you spend.
- Membership Rewards® points can be used towards travel, dining, shopping, and merchandise.
- Points have no expiration date and there's no limit to the amount of points you can earn.
- This card requires a $7,500 initiation fee.
- See More Details & Reviews About TheCenturion® Card from American Express
WalletHub Editors Best Charge Cards
The best charge card is The Platinum Card® from American Express because it has an initial rewards bonus of 60,000 points and gives cardholders up to $500 in credits for Uber rides, airline fees and purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue each year. Those yearly credits help cancel out Amex Platinum’s $550 annual fee. So will 5 points per $1 spent on eligible travel and elite status in the Hilton and Starwood hotel loyalty programs.That’s not the only attractive option available, though. There are several others, including some with much lower fees.
You can find our editors’ picks for the best charge cards below.
Best Charge Cards of 2018:
| Best For... | Card Name | Annual Fee | Initial Bonus |
| No 1st Year Fee | Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express | None 1st yr, $195 after | 25,000 points |
| Luxury Travel | The Platinum Card® from American Express | $550 | 60,000 points |
| Business | The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN | None 1st yr, $175 after | 50,000 points |
| Low Annual Fee | American Express® Green Card | None 1st yr, $95 after | N/A |
| VIPs | Centurion® Card from American Express | $2500 | N/A |
Before applying for a card, you should also make sure to check your latest credit score, which you can do for free on WalletHub. This will give you a sense of your approval odds. Our editors’ picks for the best charge cards all require at least good credit for approval.
Questions & Answers
Comparing can be tough. But you’ve got the knowledgeable WalletHub community on your side. We encourage everyone to share their knowledge while respecting our content guidelines. Please keep in mind that editorial and user-generated content on this page is not reviewed or otherwise endorsed by any financial institution. In addition, it is not the financial institution’s responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered....show moreshow less
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Do any retailers offer store charge cards? Reply
Many people refer to store cards as charge cards, making talk of a Sears charge card, a Walmart charge card, a Kohl's charge card or a Disney charge card quite common.
However, in most cases, store cards are credit cards, not charge cards, and they do not require that you pay your balance 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.
What does No Preset Spending Limit (NPSL) mean? Reply
A charge card with No Preset Spending Limit is one that does not have a pre-determined credit line. This does not mean that consumers will be able to spend limitlessly with No Preset Spending Limit credit cards and charge cards though.
An issuer uses various factors including your income, credit score, payment history and spending patterns in order to determine how much money you can spend in a given month. This amount may change from month-to-month and you may not be able to find out what it is.
Are there any charge cards for bad credit? Reply
No. Unfortunately, if you have bad credit, your credit card options are limited and at the present time there are no charge cards for people with bad credit.
How to pick the best charge card? Reply
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.
What is a charge card and why use one? Reply
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.
Featured Credit Cards
Ask the Experts
- What types of people should consider getting a charge card?
- Do you think charge cards are effective at promoting disciplined spending and payment habits among users?
- Do you think a charge card is inherently less valuable than a normal credit card given the lack of financing functionality?
- Does a charge card need to offer better rewards and charge lower fees to compete with standard rewards credit cards?
- Why don't more credit card companies offer charge cards?
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Dina F. El Mahdy
Associate Professor of Accounting at Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management, Morgan State University
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J. Russell Hardin
Chair, Department of Accounting, Professor of Accounting at Mitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama
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Jason Beck
Associate Professor of Economics at Georgia Southern University
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Tracey Wilen-Daugenti
Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Media X Program
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† Approval Odds are WalletHub estimates intended to gauge your likelihood of approval for a particular product. Approval Odds are based on WalletHub data and are not provided or endorsed by the lender. Approval Odds are not meant to imply or guarantee that you will be approved by the lender or that credit will be extended.
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