Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit

• Why people trust WalletHub
• Our picks
• How we picked the best credit cards for excellent credit
• Tips for credit cards for excellent credit
• The competition
• Sources
• About the author
• User questions & answers
• Expert opinions

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

 

Why We Like It: The best credit card for excellent credit is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card because it offers elite rewards at an affordable price. Capital One Venture gives a bonus of 75,000 miles (worth $750 in travel) for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. That bonus covers the cost of the Venture card’s annual fee for several years. So the 2 - 5 miles per $1 spent that the card yields on purchases will be pure savings.

 

What We Don’t Like: The annual fee is $95, and carrying a balance from month to month will result in expensive interest charges.

 

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for the Capital One Venture Card if you like to travel but don’t want to commit to a single airline or hotel chain.

 

Alternatives to Consider: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a supercharged version for big-spenders.

 

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Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

 

Why We Like It: Wells Fargo Active Cash is the best everyday rewards credit card for people who want hassle-free cash back earnings. It gives 2% cash rewards on purchases, which is roughly twice what the average cash back credit card gives. Wells Fargo Active Cash also offers an initial bonus of $200 cash rewards after spending $500 in the first 3 months. It has a $0 annual fee, too.

 

What We Don’t Like: This card has a high regular APR.

 

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Wells Fargo Active Cash if you want to earn generous rewards without much hassle.

 

Alternatives to Consider: The Citi Double Cash Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® are excellent options for earning cash rewards and avoiding annual fees.

 

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

 

Why We Like It: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best credit card for excellent credit for people who want a big initial bonus and a high credit limit. Sapphire Preferred starts new cardholders with a spending limit of at least $5,000 and gives a bonus of 60,000 points for spending $4,000 within 3 months of opening an account. That bonus is worth $750 in travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Plus, cardholders earn 1 - 5 points per $1 in rewards on purchases.

 

What We Don’t Like: There is an annual fee of $95 and a high APR.

 

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Chase Sapphire Preferred if you’ll be able to comfortably spend $4,000 in the first 3 months after opening an account.

 

Alternatives to Consider: Big-spenders might enjoy the Chase Sapphire Reserve® even more.

 

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Wells Fargo Reflect® Card

 

Why We Like It: The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card is the best 0% APR credit card for people with excellent credit. It offers an introductory APR of 0% for 21 months from account opening on new purchases and qualifying balance transfers. It also has a $0 annual fee.

 

What We Don’t Like: The regular APR is 17.99% - 29.99% Variable, and the balance transfer fee is 5% (min $5).

 

Who Should Get It: Apply for the Wells Fargo Reflect Card if you needs months to pay off big-ticket purchases or to get rid of lingering high-interest debt.

 

Alternatives to Consider: The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is another great option for balance transfers.

 

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Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit

 

Why We Like It: The Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit is one of the best rewards credit cards for business owners with excellent personal credit, in large part because of its big initial bonus. New cardholders get $500 for spending $4,500 in the first 3 months. Plus, you’ll earn 1.5 - 5% cash back on purchases normally, and the card has a $0 annual fee.

 

What We Don’t Like: Carrying a balance from month to month would be expensive with this card, given its high APR.

 

Who Should Get It: Consider applying for this card if you’re a small business owner who wants simple yet generous rewards.

 

Alternatives to Consider: There are lots of really good business rewards credit cards available to applicants with excellent credit. Check out the rest of the best options.

 

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At the end of the day, credit cards for excellent credit tend to be the best cards on the market. But it’s still important to compare your options before applying if you really want to find an excellent credit card deal – at least the right one for your needs. WalletHub’s editors compared 1,000+ offers to find the very best credit cards for people with excellent credit scores. You can see a recap of their top picks in the most popular categories below.
 

Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit Comparison

It’s important to note that you don’t have to pick just one of the best credit cards for excellent credit. You could try the Island Approach, by getting a card for each of your biggest needs. For example, you could apply for a rewards credit card to use for everyday expenses and later get a 0% credit card to avoid interest on big purchases or balance transfers. It's a great way to save because you can assemble the best rewards and the best rates rather than settling for average terms on a single card. Just don’t apply for multiple cards at once.

That’s not our only tip, either. If you’d rather come to your own conclusions about which excellent-credit credit card best meets your needs, take these pointers to heart. It will lead to the best results.

To find the best credit cards for people with excellent credit, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare more than 1,500 credit card offers in search of the most elite options in the most popular usage categories. We consider a range of card terms, from rewards and fees to interest rates and special promotions, and crunch the numbers to find the cards best positioned to maximize cardholder savings.

1. Cut your options in half

Do you want rewards or financing? It’s as simple as choosing between paper and plastic at the grocery store, and this decision will split the universe of credit cards for excellent credit into an even smaller segment. It all comes down to whether you plan to pay your bill in full each month. If you do, go with rewards. If you don’t, focus on 0% cards.
From there, you can reduce your list of viable options even further by choosing between cash back and travel rewards or 0% purchases and 0% balance transfers.

2. Be realistic about your travel habits

A lot of people want travel rewards credit cards but don’t really need them. If you’re in the market for rewards, as opposed to 0% rates, you need to consider what type of card will allow you to earn the most value and redeem often enough to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. So leave the travel cards to frequent travelers, not the folks who take a trip or two per year.

3. Use the Island Approach 

No credit card is perfect, offering the best possible terms in every category, from fees to rewards to interest rates. So don’t go looking for a single card to meet all of your needs. Instead, consider using a few different cards, each of which is designated for a specific type of transactions. For example, one card could be for gas rewards, another for everyday cash back and another still for paying down a big-ticket purchase over time. That’s called the Island Approach.

4. Don’t be scared of annual fees

Paying an annual fee isn’t necessarily a bad thing when you have excellent credit. If doing so enables you to get far better terms than are available from no annual fee credit cards and thus save more money overall, then it’s money well spent. You just have to factor such fixed costs into your calculations.

5. Understand excellent credit won’t always cut it

Excellent credit doesn’t guarantee you approval for an excellent-credit credit card. A number of other factors are in play, too, including your income and existing debt obligations. So if you want to maximize your chances of getting your top credit-card choice, focus on improving your complete financial picture.
Finally, if you’d prefer not to do the legwork, you can simply sign up for a free WalletHub account to get customized card recommendations as well as free credit scores, reports and 24/7 monitoring.

There are lots of really good credit card for excellent credit offers on the market right now. The following offers didn’t quite make the cut for our editors’ best-card selections, but they can still save cardholders a lot of money.

WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best credit cards for excellent credit for different applicants as well as derive market-wide takeaways and trends. The underlying data is compiled from credit card company websites or provided directly by the credit card issuers. We also leverage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop cardholder profiles, used to estimate cards’ potential savings.