No Annual Fee Credit Cards

The best travel credit card with no annual fee is Capital One VentureOne. Not only does it have a sizeable initial bonus (20,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months), but it also gives you 1.25 miles per $1 spent (on nearly all purchases). The only exception is if you book your hotel stays through hotels.com/venture, which gets you 10 miles per $1. There’s also a 0% APR on purchases for the first 12 months, and no foreign transaction fee. If you don’t want to pay for the privilege of having a travel card, this one is good all around.

But VentureOne is far from the only travel card on the market with no annual fee. You’ll find lots of other good options, like Bank of America Travel Rewards, Discover it Miles and the Expedia+ card from Citi.

Here are the best travel credit cards with no annual fee:

• Capital One VentureOne: 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. 1.25 miles per $1 on all purchases, except those from hotels.com/venture, which get you 10 miles per $1. No foreign transaction fee. 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. Good credit required.
• Bank of America Travel Rewards: 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days. 3 points per $1 at the BofA Travel Center, 1.5 everywhere else. 10% more points if you have a BofA checking or savings account. No foreign transaction fee. 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. Excellent credit required.
• Discover it Miles: 1.5 miles per $1 on all purchases. Discover matches first year’s miles (after first account anniversary. No foreign transaction fee. 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. Good credit required.
• Expedia+ Card from Citi: 15,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. 3 points per $1 on Expedia, 1 everywhere else. Expedia+ silver status. 3% foreign transaction fee. Excellent credit required.
• Amex Blue Delta SkyMiles: 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $500 in the first 3 months. 2 miles per $1 at U.S. restaurants and on Delta purchases, 1 everywhere else. 20% statement credit for food, beverage and headset purchases on Delta flights. Good credit required. 
• PenFed Pathfinder Rewards American Express: 25,000 bonus points when you spend $2,500 in the first 3 months. 3 points per $1 on travel (4 with PenFed Honors Advantage), 1.5 on all other purchases. $100 annual air travel credit. $100 TSA Pre-check application fee credit. No foreign transaction fee. Excellent credit required.

These are the no annual fee credit cards with the best travel-specific rewards. But other types of rewards cards with no annual fee could still be useful for travel. For example, Capital One SavorOne doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee or an annual fee, and it offers a $150 bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months, plus 3% cash back on dining.

Discover it Secured is the best secured credit card with no annual fee because it offers great rewards: 2% cash back on your first $1,000 spent at restaurants and gas stations each quarter, and 1% everywhere else. It also reports to all 3 major credit bureaus each month and won’t charge you extra for making purchases abroad. So it might be more accurate to call Discover it the best secured credit card with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee for rebuilding credit. But that’s a mouthful, and it’s not the only option. For example, the secured Mastercards from Capital One and Citi also are among the top secured cards with $0 annual fees.

Here are the best secured credit cards with no annual fee:

• Best rewards – Discover it Secured
  $0 annual fee. $0 foreign transaction fee. 2% cash back on your first $1,000 per quarter at restaurants and gas stations, 1% everywhere else. $200 minimum deposit.
• Lowest deposit – Capital One Secured Mastercard
  $0 annual fee. $0 foreign transaction fee. No rewards. $49, $99 or $200 minimum deposit depending on your creditworthiness. $200 credit limit.
  
• Harley-Davidson rewards – Harley-Davidson Secured
  $0 annual fee. 3% foreign transaction fee. 1 Harley-Davidson rewards point per $1 spent. 2,500 points gets you a $25 gift card. Entered for a chance to win a free motorcycle every time you use your card through 12/31/2018.
• Another reliable option – Citi Secured Mastercard
  $0 annual fee. 3% foreign transaction fee. No rewards. $200 minimum deposit.

Even if your credit is damaged, there are several great options for a secured credit card with no annual fee. You may even be able to get some rewards. And once you get a secured card, you can start building up a positive payment history and rebuilding your credit score.

Many of the market’s best overall credit cards charge annual fees. And while that’s counterintuitive in the sense that no one would opt for a card with a fee over a no fee card if all else were equal, you have to remember that other factors are in play. In most cases, rewards are the explanation.

It doesn’t really make sense to pay a fee to use a 0% credit card, after all, since your goal in that situation is to reduce the cost of your debt. But paying a fee for one of the best rewards cards can help you get the most total value. It just depends on your spending habits and available options. You generally won’t qualify for rewards worth paying for until you have at least good credit.

So the moral of the story is that you can’t assume a no fee credit card is automatically better than a card with a fee. You have to compare the total package offered by each to see which is right for your particular needs.

The best airline credit cards with no annual fee are Capital One VentureOne and Discover it Miles if you want a general miles card, or the Blue Delta SkyMiles, China Airlines and Frontier Airlines cards for those who want to earn airline-specific miles without paying an annual fee. The earning rates on the airline-specific cards aren’t quite as good, though, and you’ll only be able to use them for flights on one airline.

Here are the best airline credit cards with no annual fee:

• Capital One VentureOne: 20,000 bonus miles for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. 1.25 miles per $1 on all purchases (10 at hotels.com/venture). 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. No foreign transaction fee. You need good credit.
• Discover it Miles: 1.5 miles per $1 on all purchases. First year’s miles matched. 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. No foreign transaction fee. You need good credit.
• Amex Blue Delta SkyMiles: 10,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in the first 3 months. 2 miles per $1 spent at U.S. restaurants and on Delta purchases (1 point per $1 on everything else). 20% statement credit on food, beverages and headsets purchased on Delta flights. 2.7% foreign transaction fee. You need good credit.
• China Airlines Credit Card with No Annual Fee: 2,500 bonus miles for making your first purchase in the first 3 billing cycles. 1 mile per $1 in China Airlines purchases, and 1 mile per $2 spent elsewhere. No foreign transaction fee. You need good credit.
• Frontier Airlines Credit Card with No Annual Fee: 10,000 bonus miles for making your first purchase. 1 mile per $1 in Frontier Airlines purchases, and 1 mile per $2 everywhere else. 0% APR on balance transfers for 15 months (3% fee). 3% foreign transaction fee. You need good credit.

Overall, there aren’t too many airline credit cards with no annual fee. Most travel rewards credit cards charge, but many also offer more than enough rewards to make up for it, as long as you regularly make purchases and pay your bill in full every month. So you may want to waive your no-annual-fee rule if you spend at least $1,000 per month. That’s how much you have to shell out each of the first three months to get the Capital One Venture Card’s $500 initial bonus, for example. And that alone covers more than six years of annual fees, since Venture’s $95 charge is waived the first year.

But if you don’t spend quite that much, Capital One VentureOne or Discover it Miles is definitely the way to go. Keep in mind that Discover it has no foreign transaction fees, but it also has lower global acceptance than Visa or Mastercard. 

The best credit cards with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee are the Capital One VentureOne Visa and the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard. That’s because they offer the most rewards in addition to their lack of fees. Capital One VentureOne gives you a 20,000-mile bonus for spending $1,000 in the first three months, 10 miles per dollar at Hotels.com, and 1.25 miles per dollar everywhere else. With the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard, you get 1.5% cash back on all purchases. You also get a $150 initial bonus for spending $500 in the first three months, and 10% of all the cash you’ve earned over the year as an anniversary bonus

But the best credit card with no annual or foreign fees really depends on your credit standing and what type of rewards you’re looking for. Fortunately, there’s a whole range of attractive possibilities.

Here are the best credit cards with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee:

• Travel Rewards: Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card - 20,000-mile initial bonus for spending $1,000 in the first three months. 10 miles per $1 spent on hotels booked through hotels.com/venture, and 1.25 miles per $1 on all other purchases. The VentureOne card requires good credit.
• Cash Back: HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard - 1.5% cash back on all purchases. $150 bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months, and 10% of all the cash you’ve earned in the past year as an anniversary bonus. You’ll need good credit to get the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard. The Capital One Quicksilver Card is a close second.
• Hotel Points: Best Western Credit Card - 16,000 bonus points after you make your first purchase, and another 16,000 after your first Best Western stay. 13 points per $1 on Best Western stays, and 2 points per $1 on all other purchases. 10% discount when you book a room at the Rewards Member Rate on the Best Western site.This card requires good credit.
• Airline Miles: United TravelBank Card - $150 in TravelBank cash for spending $1,000 in your first three months. Each TravelBank dollar can be redeemed for $1 toward a United flight. 2% back on United tickets, and 1.5% on all other purchases. 25% off in-flight purchases on United flights. This card requires excellent credit.
• Bonus Rewards: Discover it - 5% cash back on a new set of bonus categories every three months, plus 1% cash back on all other purchases. 1st year anniversary bonus matches all the cash back you’ve earned. You need good credit to get this card.
• Dining: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Card - $150 bonus for spending $500 in your first three months of card membership. 3% cash back on dining, 2% on groceries, and 1% on all other purchases. This card requires good credit.
• Students: Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students - 20,000-point bonus for spending $1,000 in purchases within 90 days of opening your account. 3 points per $1 at the Bank of America Travel Center, and 1 point per $1 everywhere else. You can get this card with limited credit.
• Small Business: Capital One Spark Cash for Business - $500 bonus for spending $4,500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening. 2% cash back on all purchases. You need excellent credit to get this card.
• No Credit: Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card - 1.5% cash back on all purchases. 50% statement credit for your Spotify Premium subscription until April 2018.
• Bad Credit: Discover it Secured Credit Card - 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations, up to $1,000 spent each quarter. 1% cash back everywhere else. 1st year anniversary bonus matches all the rewards you’ve earned. You can get this card with bad credit.