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Best Mastercard Credit Cards
WalletHub experts track 1,500+ offers to help you get the right Mastercard credit card
FILTER MASTERCARD CREDIT CARDS
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- 20,000 miles initial bonus
- Unlimited 1.25 miles per $1 on every purchase
- Miles are redeemable for any travel-related expense on your bill
- 0% intro APRs
- No annual fee
- Balance transfer fee
- Potential for a very high regular APR

- Low balance transfer intro APR for 21 billing cycles
- Low purchase intro APR for 21 billing cycles
- No annual fee
- Balance transfer fee of 3%
- Very high regular APR
- Excellent credit required

- 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases
- 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers
- $0 annual fee
- 5% (min $5) balance transfer fee
- Foreign transaction fee
- High regular APR
- No rewards

- $200 initial bonus
- 1.5% cash back on all purchases
- No annual fee
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
- Potential for a very high interest rate
- Balance transfer fee
- Requires good/excellent credit

- No membership fees
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers
- No balance transfer fee
- High rewards rate
- No intro APR on purchases

- $200 initial bonus
- High rewards rate
- $0 annual fee
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
- High regular APR
- Balance transfer fee
- Requires good/excellent credit

- Offers 2% cash back
- $0 annual fee
- Multiple redemption options
- Low intro APR on balance transfers
- 3% foreign transaction fee
- No initial rewards bonus

- No annual fee
- Available to people with limited credit
- Free credit-score access
- No foreign transaction fee
- No rewards
- High regular APR
- No reduced introductory rates

- No membership fees
- 0% intro APR on purchases
- High rewards rate
- 15,000 points initial rewards bonus
- No balance transfers allowed
- High regular APR
- Requires good/excellent credit

- $200 initial bonus
- $0 annual fee
- Up to 5% cash back
- 0% introductory APRs
- Bonus rewards limit
- High regular APR
- Foreign transaction fee
Why people trust WalletHub
Unlike other sites that only promote cards they're paid by, WalletHub's editors focus on finding the best cards. WalletHub makes it easy to find the best Mastercard credit card.
Our picks for best Mastercard credit cards
Citi Premier® Card
Why We Like It: The Citi Premier® Card is the best Mastercard credit card because it offers 1 - 3 points per $1 on purchases, plus an initial bonus of 60,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
What We Don’t Like: The Citi Premier card has an annual fee of $95, and a high APR will apply to balances carried from month to month.
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Citi Premier if you have good credit or better and can comfortably afford to spend $4,000 in the first 3 months after opening an account.
Alternatives to Consider: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also offers a lot of bonus rewards, including on travel and dining purchases, but it’s on the Visa network.
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
Why We Like It: The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is the best Mastercard for bonus cash back rewards. For starters, it currently offers $300 to new cardholders who spend $3,000 within 3 months of opening an account. Capital One Savor has great ongoing rewards, too, giving unlimited 1 - 5% cash back on purchases, depending on the category.
What We Don’t Like: This card has an annual fee of $95, and a high APR will apply to balances carried from month to month.
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Capital One Savor if you have good credit or better and want a way to save on dining, entertainment, travel and grocery store purchases in particular.
Alternatives to Consider: The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers similar rewards and has a $0 annual fee.
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
Why We Like It: The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer is the best Mastercard credit card with no annual fee because it also offers great rewards. Cardholders earn a total of 2% cash back on all purchases – 1% when a purchase is made and another 1% when the bill gets paid. Citi Double Cash can even help you reduce the cost of existing debt with its 0% introductory balance transfer APR.
What We Don’t Like: There is a balance transfer fee of 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer, and the card’s regular APR is pretty high.
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Citi Double Cash if you want to earn above-average rewards on all purchases without worrying about how those purchases are categorized. You also need at least fair credit for approval.
Alternatives to Consider: The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is another great flat-rate cash back credit card, but it’s on the Visa network.
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card
Why We Like It: The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card is the best Mastercard for bad credit because it has a $0 annual fee and rewards cardholders with 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
What We Don’t Like: This card requires a security deposit of at least $200. Fortunately, this deposit is fully refundable when you bring your balance to $0 and close your account.
Who Should Get It: Consider applying for Capital One Quicksilver Secured if you have limited or bad credit and want to save money as you improve your credit standing.
Alternatives to Consider: There are several secured credit cards offering attractive rewards right now.
As you can see, there are many Mastercard credit cards to choose from, for all types of people. WalletHub’s editors compared more than 300 Mastercard credit card offers based on their rewards, rates, fees and approval requirements to help you find the right option for your needs. We then selected the best Mastercard in a range of popular categories. For your convenience, we’ll recap those selections in the following comparison table.
Best Mastercard Credit Cards Comparison
Credit Card | Category | Annual Fee |
Citi Premier® Card | Winner | $95 |
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer | No Annual Fee | $0 |
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card | Bad Credit | $0 |
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card | Cash Rewards | $95 |
Having a credit card on the Mastercard (or Visa) network is especially important if you plan to travel abroad. Mastercard and Visa are the most widely accepted card networks globally, and their currency-exchange rates are much lower than what local banks and airport kiosks tend to charge. In fact, you can save up to 11% on currency conversion with a no-foreign-transaction-fee Mastercard or Visa.
Furthermore, we recommend checking your credit score for free before applying for a new card. This will help you find the best deal and determine whether you’re likely to get approved.
The competition
There are lots of really good Mastercard credit card 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.
Info | ![]() Citi Rewards+® Card | ![]() Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card | ![]() Chase Freedom Flex℠ |
---|---|---|---|
Annual Fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Bonus Offer | 25,000 points | $200 | $200 |
Rewards Rate | 1 - 2 points / $1 | 1 - 5% Cash Back | 1 - 5% Cash Back |
Purchase Intro APR | 0% for 15 months | 0% for 15 months | 0% for 15 months |
Transfer Intro APR | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: 3% | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater in the first 60 days (5%, min $5 after) |
Regular APR | 18.49% - 28.49% (V) | 19.74% - 29.74% (V) | 19.99% - 28.74% (V) |
Editors' Rating | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5 |
Details, Rates & Fees | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Learn more about Mastercard credit cards
Mastercard is one of the two major worldwide card networks, along with Visa. There are more than 230 million Mastercard credit cards in circulation in the U.S. alone. Roughly 1 of every 4 general-purpose credit card offers available to new applicants right now are on the Mastercard network. And Mastercard credit cards are accepted in more than 210 countries and territories worldwide – more than Visa, Discover and American Express.
Although Mastercard is one of the world’s most recognizable brands, there is still a lot that people don’t know about the company and its role in the credit card landscape. We’ll tackle a handful of topics people often wonder about below.
First four digits of a Mastercard
All Mastercard credit card numbers begin with “5.” The next few numbers depend on which bank or credit union issues the Mastercard credit card in question. For example, a Mastercard credit card issued by Bank of America might have a card number with these digits first: 517572. But a Mastercard issued by Capital One might start with 549139.
It’s possible to decipher this because credit card numbers follow a general pattern. The first digit of a credit card number is called the Major Industry Identifier. It will tell you which network a card is on. Mastercard uses 5, while 4 is for Visa, 3 is for American Express and 6 is for Discover. The first six digits are called the Issuer/Bank Identification Number. They will tell you both the card network and card issuer. To learn more, check out our detailed guide about credit card numbers.
Mastercard annual fee
Mastercard credit card annual fees can be as low as $0 or as high as $450+, depending on the card and market conditions. But Mastercard does not assess any fees to credit card users directly. Annual fees are charged by the banks and credit unions that issue credit cards on the Mastercard network. As a result, Mastercard credit cards are no more likely to charge annual fees than Visa cards, for example.
Mastercard grace period
Most Mastercard credit cards have a grace period of 21-25 days, from when the account’s monthly statement becomes available until the due date for payment. The exact number of days varies by issuer, but the overall significance of a credit card’s grace period does not. Interest will not accrue during the grace period, if you always pay your full balance by the due date.
Carrying a balance beyond the due date results in the loss of the grace period. Payments then begin accruing interest right away. But cardholders can restore their grace period by paying their full balance due two months in a row.
Mastercard benefits
Unlike with rewards, rates and fees, credit card networks like Mastercard are directly responsible for many of the secondary benefits available to cardholders. But not all Mastercard credit cards have the same perks. Mastercard actually has three benefits tiers: standard, World and World Elite. Credit card issuers can decide which benefits to include on each of their Mastercard offers.
Standard Mastercard credit card benefits include $0 liability for unauthorized charges as well as perks such as rental car insurance, price protection, and an extended warranty benefit.
World Mastercard benefits include multiple types of travel insurance, purchase protection, and some shopping perks – on top of what a basic Mastercard would provide.
World Elite Mastercard benefits include everything you’d get on other Mastercard offers, plus access to unique experiences and special savings opportunities.
Taking full advantage of credit card perks can save you a lot of money and hassle, and it’s becoming easier for tech-savvy cardholders to do so. For instance, cardholders can now even explore their Mastercard credit card benefits in augmented reality in order to learn how to get more from the perks they’re entitled to but may not be using.
How we picked the best Mastercard credit cards
To identify the best Mastercard credit cards, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare all of the Mastercard offers from our database of 1,500+ credit cards. First, we calculate the average person’s expected savings with each card, by estimating how much a cardholder would earn in rewards or spend on interest charges and then subtracting relevant fees. We leverage consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in doing so.
We also consider approval requirements and special perks to help group and ultimately rank-order the cards. This enables us to select the best Mastercard credit cards for rewards, business, bad credit and other popular categories.
Sources
WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best Mastercard credit cards 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.
Best Mastercard Credit Cards FAQ
Comparing Mastercard credit cards 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 more
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Expert Opinions
You can’t master credit cards without a good understanding of Mastercard’s role in the market. So we posed the following questions to a panel of experts to help you get better acquainted.
- Should every person have at least one Mastercard credit card?
- What, if any, differences do you think there are between Visa and Mastercard in the eyes of the average consumer?
- What, if anything, would you say Mastercard credit cards are known for?
- What do you think are the biggest misconceptions people have about Mastercard credit cards?
Associate Professor & Chair, Alma College
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Vice Provost, Global Initiatives, Professor, University of Memphis, Fogelman College, Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management
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Clinical Professor, Consultant and Attorney at Law, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Department of Marketing, University of Maryland
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Associate Professor, School of Business, Felician University
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Clinical Professor of Law, College of Law, DePaul University
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Ph.D., Associate Professor, Economics Department, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, St. Mary's University, Texas
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