Credit cards bring a lot more to the table than convenience, rewards, financing capabilities and the opportunity to improve your credit score. They also provide a host of unheralded secondary benefits that have the potential to save cardholders a lot of money. This includes extended warranties, price protection, travel insurance and rental car insurance, just to name a handful of perks. But far too few consumers know enough about these features to truly take advantage of them.
Inconsistency has a lot to do with that. Benefit terms vary by credit card company, for one thing. And even cards from a single issuer offer very different packages of perks. When you further consider the loopholes and fine print that characterize many of these perks, it’s even more understandable why secondary credit card benefits aren’t as popular as they could be.
With that in mind, WalletHub decided to identify the best credit cards for benefits to help consumers save more money and better protect their finances, perhaps even using features they already have access to. We compared all of the non-co-branded consumer cards offered by the 10 largest issuers in terms of six different types of credit card benefits. This led us to an overall benefits score for each card. You check out the results below.
Some of the cards listed on this page originate from our partners, but that did not impact our conclusions. Offers information was collected on Nov 8, 2017 and is likely to have changed since. Information listed here is no longer accurate.
Key Findings
The credit cards with the best benefits are:
Rank | Cards | WalletHub Score |
---|---|---|
1 | Citi ThankYou Preferred Card | 91.25% |
2 | Citi Double Cash , Citi Simplicity & Citi Diamond Preferred Card | 90.88% |
3 | Citi ThankYou Premier Card | 89.58% |
Price and Return Protection are the least common credit card benefits, as 52% and 58% of the cards evaluated in this report do not have them, respectively.
- Cardholders generally do not have to sign up for individual credit card benefits. Citi cards are the notable exception, as users must register on an annual basis for certain benefits.
- Each credit card benefits policy has certain exclusions. The most common exclusions are:
- Return Extension and Price Protection: Jewelry
- Extended Warranty: Refurbished items
- Purchase Protection: Items stolen from a vehicle and electronic components damaged by an electrical current
- Rental Car Insurance: Certain SUVs, international rentals and accidents occurring on dirt and gravel roads
- Travel Insurance: Only 42% of cards cover lost luggage and 22% cover delayed luggage
- To make a claim, cardholders typically need to provide an itemized receipt and a credit card statement as proof.
The Coverage You Can Expect
The following table compares the coverage provided by the credit card with the best overall combination of benefits to that offered by a card with a benefits package representative of the market average. Some individual cards may offer better terms in individual benefit categories.
Benefit | Best Card | Average Card |
---|---|---|
Return Extension | Up to $1,000 in annual refunds for items purchased with your credit card that are not eligible to be returned to the retailer within 90 days of being purchased | None |
Rental Car Insurance | Reimburses a cardholder for costs stemming from damage to or theft of a rental car for rental periods of up to 15 days | Reimburses a cardholder for costs stemming from damage to or theft of a rental car for rental periods of up to 15 days in your country of residence and up to 31 days otherwise |
Extended Warranty | Extends the terms of the original warranty on eligible items for up to 1 year | Extends the terms of the original warranty on eligible items for up to 1 year |
Travel Insurance | Up to $500,000 in the event of death or dismemberment, $3,000 for lost luggage and $500 for delayed luggage | Up to $100,000 in the event of death or dismemberment and $3,000 for lost luggage |
Price Protection | Up to $2,500 in annual refunds for the price difference on items whose prices drop in the 90 days after being purchased with a credit card | Up to $1,000 in annual refunds for the price difference on items whose prices drop within 60 of being purchased with a credit card |
Purchase Protection | Up to $50,000 in annual refunds, repairs or replacements for items stolen or accidentally damaged within 60 days of being purchased with a credit card | Up to $50,000 in annual refunds, repairs or replacements for items stolen or accidentally damaged within 90 days of being purchased with a credit card |
Cards Offering This Type Of Policy | Chase Sapphire Preferred | Wells Fargo Visa Signature |
Detailed Scoring
Card Name | Return Extension | Rental Car Insurance | Extended Warranty | Travel Insurance | Price Protection | Purchase Protection | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weight | 20.00% | 15.00% | 20.00% | 15.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 100.00% |
Citi ThankYou Preferred Card | 16.50% | 14.33% | 19.00% | 14.63% | 16.80% | 10.00% | 91.25% |
Citi Double Cash | 16.50% | 14.33% | 19.00% | 14.25% | 16.80% | 10.00% | 90.88% |
Citi Simplicity | 16.50% | 14.33% | 19.00% | 14.25% | 16.80% | 10.00% | 90.88% |
Citi Diamond Preferred Card | 16.50% | 14.33% | 19.00% | 14.25% | 16.80% | 10.00% | 90.88% |
Citi ThankYou Premier Card | 16.50% | 14.33% | 19.00% | 12.95% | 16.80% | 10.00% | 89.58% |
Citi Prestige Card | 18.50% | 14.33% | 19.00% | 10.25% | 16.80% | 10.00% | 88.88% |
Chase Sapphire Preferred | 17.70% | 13.65% | 17.30% | 13.20% | 17.50% | 9.25% | 88.60% |
Chase Freedom | 15.90% | 13.65% | 17.30% | 15.00% | 17.50% | 9.25% | 88.60% |
Chase Freedom Unlimited | 15.90% | 13.65% | 17.30% | 15.00% | 17.50% | 9.25% | 88.60% |
Chase Sapphire Reserve | 17.70% | 13.65% | 17.30% | 10.50% | 17.50% | 9.85% | 86.50% |
Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard | 17.70% | 13.28% | 14.30% | 12.45% | 15.90% | 8.55% | 82.18% |
Barclaycard CashForward | 17.70% | 13.28% | 14.30% | 0.00% | 15.90% | 8.55% | 69.73% |
Wells Fargo Visa Signature | 0.00% | 13.13% | 17.60% | 14.63% | 14.20% | 8.40% | 67.95% |
USAA Rate Advantage Platinum Visa | 13.00% | 12.08% | 14.80% | 12.23% | 14.00% | 0.00% | 66.10% |
Blue Sky From American Express | 15.60% | 12.68% | 18.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 65.33% |
Blue Cash Everyday From American Express | 15.60% | 12.68% | 18.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 65.33% |
Blue Cash Preferred From American Express | 15.60% | 12.68% | 18.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 65.33% |
EveryDay From American Express | 15.60% | 12.68% | 18.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 65.33% |
Blue From American Express | 15.60% | 12.68% | 18.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 65.33% |
EveryDay Preferred From American Express | 15.60% | 12.68% | 18.00% | 7.95% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 63.53% |
Wells Fargo Propel | 15.60% | 12.23% | 13.80% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 60.68% |
Wells Fargo Propel 365 | 15.60% | 12.23% | 13.80% | 8.85% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 59.78% |
Chase Slate | 0.00% | 13.65% | 17.30% | 0.00% | 17.50% | 9.25% | 57.70% |
USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express | 0.00% | 13.28% | 15.20% | 13.13% | 16.00% | 0.00% | 57.60% |
USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature | 0.00% | 13.28% | 15.20% | 13.13% | 16.00% | 0.00% | 57.60% |
J.P. Morgan Reserve Credit Card | 17.70% | 0.00% | 17.30% | 10.50% | 0.00% | 9.85% | 55.35% |
Green Card From American Express | 15.60% | 0.00% | 18.00% | 7.95% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 50.85% |
Mastercard® Black Card | 0.00% | 11.40% | 15.70% | 0.00% | 15.90% | 6.75% | 49.75% |
Mastercard® Gold Card | 0.00% | 11.40% | 15.70% | 0.00% | 15.90% | 6.75% | 49.75% |
Mastercard® Titanium Card | 0.00% | 11.40% | 15.70% | 0.00% | 15.90% | 6.75% | 49.75% |
Capital One Platinum | 0.00% | 12.08% | 13.80% | 9.75% | 14.00% | 0.00% | 49.63% |
Premier Rewards Gold Card From American Express | 15.60% | 0.00% | 18.00% | 6.15% | 0.00% | 9.60% | 49.35% |
Capital One QuicksilverOne | 0.00% | 12.08% | 13.80% | 8.85% | 14.00% | 0.00% | 48.73% |
Platinum From American Express | 15.60% | 0.00% | 18.00% | 5.25% | 0.00% | 9.60% | 48.45% |
Capital One Quicksilver | 0.00% | 13.28% | 17.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 8.40% | 48.43% |
Capital One VentureOne | 0.00% | 13.13% | 17.00% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 8.40% | 48.28% |
U.S. Bank Cash+ | 0.00% | 12.30% | 16.30% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 8.20% | 46.55% |
Capital One Venture | 0.00% | 13.13% | 17.00% | 7.95% | 0.00% | 8.40% | 46.48% |
U.S. Bank FlexPerks Select+ American Express | 0.00% | 12.60% | 14.70% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 8.70% | 45.75% |
U.S. Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature | 0.00% | 12.30% | 16.30% | 8.85% | 0.00% | 8.20% | 45.65% |
Bank of America Travel Rewards | 0.00% | 11.85% | 15.70% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 7.90% | 45.20% |
Bank of America Cash Rewards | 0.00% | 11.85% | 15.70% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 7.90% | 45.20% |
USAA Cash Rewards Visa Signature | 0.00% | 0.00% | 15.20% | 13.13% | 16.00% | 0.00% | 44.33% |
USAA Cash Rewards American Express | 0.00% | 0.00% | 15.20% | 13.13% | 16.00% | 0.00% | 44.33% |
Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards | 0.00% | 13.13% | 15.00% | 0.00% | 16.00% | 0.00% | 44.13% |
U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express Card | 0.00% | 12.60% | 13.80% | 7.95% | 0.00% | 8.70% | 43.05% |
U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express Card | 0.00% | 12.60% | 14.70% | 6.75% | 0.00% | 8.70% | 42.75% |
USAA Rewards Visa Signature® Card | 0.00% | 13.28% | 15.20% | 13.13% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 41.60% |
U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite® Card | 0.00% | 12.30% | 16.30% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 8.40% | 37.00% |
U.S. Bank Platinum | 0.00% | 12.30% | 16.30% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 8.20% | 36.80% |
Discover it | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 9.75% | 17.40% | 7.80% | 34.95% |
Discover it Miles | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 9.75% | 17.40% | 7.80% | 34.95% |
Bank of America Premium Rewards | 0.00% | 11.40% | 14.90% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 8.50% | 34.80% |
BankAmericard | 0.00% | 11.40% | 12.50% | 9.75% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 33.65% |
Discover it Chrome | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 17.40% | 7.80% | 25.20% |
Discover it - 18 Month Balance Transfer Offer | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 17.40% | 7.80% | 25.20% |
U.S. Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards American Express | 0.00% | 0.00% | 16.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 8.70% | 24.70% |
Wells Fargo Rewards | 0.00% | 13.13% | 0.00% | 10.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 23.63% |
Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card | 0.00% | 13.13% | 0.00% | 10.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 23.63% |
Wells Fargo Platinum Visa Card | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 10.50% | 0.00% | 8.40% | 18.90% |
Ask The Experts: Assessing The Value Of Credit Card Benefits
Ancillary credit card benefits can be quite helpful, but they also tend to be complex and under-utilized. For more insight into how consumers can better take advantage of these account features and what such perks may look like in the future, we consulted a panel of leading experts in the fields of personal finance, marketing and consumer studies. You can check out their bios and responses to the following questions below.
- Which credit card benefits do you think are most advantageous for users? Which do you think are most underutilized?
- Do you believe such benefits increase consumer loyalty? If so, do you think it's more with card issuers or card networks?
- What benefit that credit cards do not currently offer would you like to see added?
Ask the Experts
Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Law in Practice Program at University of Minnesota Law School
Read More
Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Law in Practice Program at University of Minnesota Law School
Read More
Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Law in Practice Program at University of Minnesota Law School
Read More
Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Law in Practice Program at University of Minnesota Law School
Read More
Professor of Marketing and Director of the Office of Consumer Research at Middle Tennessee State University
Read More
Professor of Marketing and Director of the Office of Consumer Research at Middle Tennessee State University
Read More
Methodology
This report was intended to help consumers more easily determine which individual credit cards provide the best combination of benefits so they can better target card comparison and application efforts, ultimately ending up with a better result. After all, comparing credit cards based on fees, interest rates and rewards has become easier in recent years, following the Great Recession and CARD Act, but ancillary benefits are still relatively misunderstood and difficult to distinguish across issuers. Offers information was collected on Nov 8, 2017 and is likely to have changed since.
With that in mind, WalletHub evaluated the benefits offered by all non-co-branded consumer credit cards (excluding student and business card offers) from the 10 largest issuers by purchase volume. We first analyzed the major types of ancillary credit card benefits in a series of six individual reports: Return Extension, Extended Warranty, Price Protection, Purchase Protection, Travel Insurance and Rental Car Insurance. For the purpose of this report, we determined each card’s score by multiplying its scores in the previous six reports by the weights listed below. All of the reports were originally completed at the individual card level, with the exception of Extended Warranty and Rental Car Insurance, which were done at the card network level. As a result, we scored each individual card using the same methodology as these two reports, excluding the “Card Ubiquity” category. We did this for two reasons: policies can differ between cards on the same network, and a card ultimately has the benefit or does not.
- 2017 Return Extension – 20% Weight
- 2017 Extended Warranty – 20% Weight
- 2017 Price Protection – 20% Weight
- 2017 Purchase Protection – 10% Weight
- 2017 Travel Insurance – 15% Weight
- 2017 Rental Car Insurance – 15% Weight
Based on the above methodology, we determined not only whether each card offers a given benefit, but also the amount of coverage it provides and how that coverage compares to an ideal policy, according to our subjective opinion of what a consumer would expect based on commonsense, rather than an unlikely in-depth review of the card’s terms and conditions.