No Annual Fee Credit Cards

No annual fee means you will not be charged every year for using your credit card. You will save anywhere from $25 to $550 in annual fees, depending on the credit card.

Annual fees are often tied to high-end rewards cards, travel rewards cards, business cards and secured cards for people with fair, limited, or bad credit. The annual fee helps the issuer recoup the costs of rewards and benefits the card offers.

However, there are a number of no annual fee credit cards that offer rewards such as cash back or rewards earned on purchases. But you will need good credit or better to qualify for most of these cards.

A good go-between is a credit card that waives the annual fee for the first year you have the card. After the first year, the fee will be charged to your account. If, after that first 12 months, you’ve determined that having the card isn’t beneficial, you can close the account. Keep in mind that closing a credit card account, especially after only a year, could have a negative effect on your credit score. In addition, when your card is closed, you will be unable to redeem any rewards you’ve earned with the card.

Whether you should have a no annual fee card depends on your spending habits and preferences. If you’ll earn enough in rewards to warrant the cost of an annual fee, it might be worth the investment. But if you know you won’t make too many purchases over the course of a year, your best bet would be to stick with the no annual fee card.

Elite credit cards with $0 annual fee include the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer and the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card. These high-end cards require a minimum of good credit for approval and offer perks such as high everyday earning rates, big initial bonuses and 0% introductory APRs. Capital One VentureOne gives 1.25 miles per $1 on all purchases and a 20,000 miles initial bonus. Citi® Double Cash Card gives 2% cash back on all purchases. And the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card offers an intro purchase APR of 0% for 15 months.

Here are some of the top elite credit cards with no annual fee:

• Travel: Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

  This is an elite $0 annual fee credit card due to its ample rewards. It gives 20,000 miles bonus when you spend $500 in your first 3 months. And you get 1.25 miles per $1 on all purchases. Capital One VentureOne comes with an intro APR of 0% for 12 months on purchases and its regular APR is 15.49% - 25.49% (V). Good credit is required.

• Cash Back: Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer

  This is an elite $0 annual fee credit card because it gives one of the highest cash back rates on the market for all purchases: 2% cash back when you pay at least the minimum due on time. And there’s a 0% for 18 months intro APR for balance transfers. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% (min $5). This card’s regular APR is 13.99% - 23.99% (V). Good credit is required.

• Balance Transfer: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card

  This credit card is elite because of its very long 0% intro APR period. You get 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 20 months. The card’s regular APR is 14.49% - 24.49% (V). Transfers must be requested in the first 60 days to get the 0% rate, and there’s a 3% (min $5) transfer fee. You also get free cell phone protection. Excellent credit is required.

• 0% Purchases: The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express

  This card is elite because of its 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Amex EveryDay® Credit Card’s regular APR is 12.99% - 23.99% (V). You get 2 points / $1 at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year and 1 point / $1 on all other purchases. Using your card 20 times in a month gets you 20% more points. There’s also a 10,000 points bonus when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months. Good credit is required.

• Business: Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

  This is an elite $0 fee card because it has a lot of bonus categories. You get 1 - 5% cash back cash back, depending on the type of purchase. You get a $750 cash back bonus when you spend $7,500 in your first 3 months. There’s a 12 months intro APR on purchases. This card’s regular APR is 13.24% - 19.24% (V). You get employee cards at no cost. Good credit is required.

At the end of the day, elite and no annual fee are not always synonymous when it comes to credit cards. Cards with annual fees tend to offer more rewards and benefits. Generally, the higher the annual fee, the more rewards you get. Some of the most elite credit cards with fees include the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

The best travel credit card with no annual fee is the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card because it offers an initial bonus of 20,000 miles for spending $500 in the first 3 months. It also rewards cardholders with at least 1.25 miles / $1 spent on all purchases. VentureOne has a $0 foreign transaction fee in addition to its $0 annual fee. 

If you aren’t planning to go anywhere too adventurous, consider the Discover it® Miles. Discover’s not accepted in as many international locations as Visa or Mastercard, but its US acceptance is pretty good. Discover it Miles also has good rewards. It offers 1.5 miles per $1 on all purchases, doubled the first year. 

The best credit card with no annual fee and cash back is the Citi® Double Cash Card, which gives unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. But there are plenty of other great contenders. Some of them are the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® card, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and the Discover it® Student Cash Back card.

The price you pay for no annual fee and cash back is a good or excellent credit score needed for high approval odds. The one exception is the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, which people with bad credit can get, as long as they’re willing to pony up a $200 refundable security deposit.

Here are the best credit cards with no annual fee and cash back:

• Citi® Double Cash Card: $0 annual fee, unlimited 2% cash back, no initial bonus. 0% for 18 months introductory APR for balance transfers.
• Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card: $0 annual fee, unlimited 1.5% cash back, $200 cash bonus for spending $500 in 3 months. 0% for 15 months introductory APR for purchases.
• Discover it® Student Cash Back: $0 annual fee, up to 5% cash back in certain categories that change every three months, 1st year’s cash back doubled. 0% for 6 months intro APR for purchases and 10.99% for 6 months for balance transfers.
• Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa® card: $0 annual fee, unlimited 1.5% cash back, $150 bonus for spending $500 in 3 months. Introductory APR of 0% for 15 months for purchases and 0% for 15 months on qualifying balance transfers.
• Discover it® Secured Credit Card: $0 annual fee, 1 - 2% cash back, 1st year’s cash back doubled.
• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: $0 annual fee, 3% cash back on first $6,000 spent on groceries per year, 2% cash back at gas stations and select department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. $200 bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. 0% for 15 months intro APR for purchases.

Cash back gives flexibility and freedom when it comes to earning rewards. You’ll get a percentage back on every purchase, and you can spend your rewards however you like. Most of these cards offer great financing options as well. So, pick a card based on whatever secondary benefits work best for you.

The best airline credit card with no annual fee is the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card because it offers 20,000 miles bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months, and 1.25 miles per $1 on all purchases. Plus, Capital One VentureOne has a $0 annual fee and a $0 foreign transaction fee. You can redeem Capital One VentureOne miles for flights on any airline, or any other travel expense, too.

The earning rates on airline-specific credit cards aren’t quite as good. And you’ll only be able to use them for flights on one airline or group of airlines.

Best Airline Credit Cards with No Annual Fee

• Capital One VentureOne – Best Overall
• Discover it Miles – Best for a Miles Match
• Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card – Best for Delta Flights
• JetBlue Card – Best for JetBlue Flights
• AAdvantage MileUp Card: Best for American Airlines Flights

Overall, there aren’t too many airline credit cards with no annual fee. But if you really want to earn airline-specific miles without paying an annual fee, Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is a good option. It gives 10,000 miles bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months, as well as 2 miles / $1 spent at restaurants and on Delta purchases (1 mile / $1 on everything else). It also has a 0% foreign transaction fee.

The best no annual fee credit card for no credit is the Capital One Platinum Card. In addition to its $0 annual fee, the Platinum Card has a $300 initial credit limit and gives access to a higher limit after the first 5 on-time payments. Capital One Platinum does not have rewards, but no annual fee and rewards are a tough combination to find if you have no credit.

You could consider secured cards, too. You’ll have to put up a security deposit to open the account and set your credit limit. But it’s fully refundable once you close your account with a $0 balance. One of the best secured cards is Discover it Secured. It gives 2% cash back on restaurant and gas purchases (first $1,000 spent per quarter). All other purchases get you 1% back. The minimum security deposit is $200.

One-third of Chase credit cards have no annual fee. Some offer sign-up bonuses, worth up to $500, and points, miles or cash back on every purchase. Others have 0% introductory APRs. The vast majority of the no annual fee Chase credit cards require good credit or excellent credit for approval.

The best Chase credit card with no annual fee is Chase Freedom Flex℠ because it offers a $200 bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months and 5% back on the first $1,500 spent per quarter in rotating categories. Another top contender is Chase Freedom Unlimited® ($200 bonus and 1.5 - 5% cash back on purchases).

Here are the Chase credit cards with no annual fee:

• Chase Freedom Flex℠
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Chase Slate®
• Chase Freedom® Student credit card
• Amazon.com Credit Card
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
• United Gateway℠ Credit Card
• IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card
• Amazon Business Prime American Express Card
• Disney Rewards Credit Card

A Chase credit card with no annual fee will save you money in the long run, as you’re not paying to use the card every year. But that shouldn’t deter you from applying for a Chase card that charges an annual fee. If you travel regularly or plan to make a big purchase, you may end up earning enough rewards where the annual fee will pay for itself.

For example, if you earn the 80,000 points initial bonus with Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, those points are worth either $800 statement credit or $1,000 in travel rewards. That pays for the card’s $95 annual fee for about 5 years.

No, there is not a Southwest credit card with no annual fee. The lowest annual fee for a Southwest credit card is $69 with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.

Even though all of the Southwest credit cards currently have annual fees, they come with plenty of benefits, like 2 free checked bags and upgraded boarding, to make that fee worth it for frequent Southwest Airlines flyers. Moreover, all Southwest credit cards come with signup bonuses, from 40,000 to 70,000 points and they also offer good ongoing rewards rates.

Unlike some other airlines, Southwest doesn’t have any airline transfer partners. That means you can’t get a $0 annual fee credit card from another airline and transfer the rewards to Southwest. Because of that, Southwest credit cards are really only intended for frequent Southwest Airlines flyers.

There are a few credit cards whose rewards you can transfer to Southwest through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Those cards include the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. However, each of those credit cards has an annual fee. The best card for transferring points to Southwest is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, because it has the lowest annual fee at $95 and comes with a big signup bonus: 80,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.

There are also a few credit cards from other airlines that have no annual fees.

The only United Airlines credit card with a $0 annual fee is the United Gateway℠ Credit Card. You’ll get a 20,000 miles bonus when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months, and 1 - 3 miles per $1, depending on the type of purchase.

A credit card with no annual fee can save you anywhere from $25 to more than $550 a year over cards that charge annual fees. An annual fee will appear on your statement, usually on the statement following your card anniversary date. The fee is entered on your statement as a charge, just like a purchase. It will also reduce your credit limit by the amount of the fee. Annual fees do not earn reward points or miles.

There are a few reasons why a credit card would charge an annual fee. The primary reason for airline rewards cards such as United is that some of the rewards and benefits its cards offer are not cheap. Charging an annual fee allows them recoup some of the costs of all of those perks.

Here are some good miles credit cards with no annual fee:

• United Gateway℠ Credit Card: $0 annual fee.
• American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: $0 annual fee.
• American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Credit Card: $0 annual fee.
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: $0 annual fee.
• Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card: $0 annual fee.

The truth is, some cardholders regard an annual fee as the cost of doing business, and will pay the fee once a year, knowing that it will pay for itself down the road.

The flipside is that others may never fly or earn enough rewards to justify the cost of any annual fee. If you’re an infrequent traveler, or don’t plan to make any big purchases over the course of a year, sticking with a United Airlines credit card with no annual fee is probably the safer bet.

A black credit card with no annual fee is the RBC Bank Visa Signature Black Credit Card. You’ll earn 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases. There’s also 0% interest for 6 months on purchases and balance transfers, with a 3% transfer fee. You’ll also get hotel upgrades, discounts on fine dining, and other travel privileges.

Black credit cards are a class of super-exclusive, high end credit cards that are black in color. While the RBC black card offers a decent set of benefits for no annual fee, it is hardly in the same league as the Black Gold Standard of black cards: The American Express Centurion card.

Shrouded in secrecy, the Centurion reportedly requires you to spend at least at least $250,000 a year on American Express cards. And that’s just to get an invitation to apply. If you are lucky enough to garner an invitation, you’re still on the hook for some hefty fees. The initiation fee is rumored to run between $5,000 and $7,000, and the annual fee is $2500.

The Mastercard Black Card doesn’t require an invitation or an initiation fee like the Centurion, but it does command a $495 annual fee.

A black credit card with no annual fee is a good deal when compared to its high-priced brethren. But for customers who don’t have the money high-end cards require, there’s much better value in rewards cards of all colors.

Rewards cards such as the Capital One Venture, Citi Double Cash and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards offer little in terms of social status. But cardholders will come away with a solid array of rewards and benefits without the ridiculously high fees.