Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping for 2024

Between buying gifts, going out, and traveling, the holiday season is often the most expensive time of the year. It helps to be prepared, and one way to make the most of those upcoming purchases is with one of the best holiday credit cards.

A new rewards credit card could earn you lots of bonus points or cash back on your holiday shopping. Or, if you want some extra time to pay off gifts without interest charges, there are credit cards with a 0% intro APR. No matter what you're looking for, our experts have put together a list of all the best credit cards for the holidays.

How to pick the best credit card for holiday shopping

You have many types of credit cards to choose from for your holiday shopping. Picking the best one is all about narrowing down your choices based on the features you like the most.

Most holiday shoppers want a card that will help them maximize credit card rewards (if you're more interested in a zero-interest offer, we'll cover that further below). There are a few things to take into consideration when choosing a rewards card for the holidays:

Type of rewards: The two most common types of rewards are cash back and travel points. Cash back credit cards are the most popular, and they're easy to use. However, travel enthusiasts often like travel credit cards. These usually earn credit card points and are a bit more complicated, but they're great for saving money on trips.

Rewards rate: The rewards rate is how much a credit card earns on purchases, whether it's in cash back, points, or credit card miles. Some cards offer the same rate across all categories, such as an unlimited 2% back. They work well if you have balanced spending everywhere. Others offer bonus categories, such as 4% back on dining or 3% on online shopping. Those can be more rewarding if they have bonus categories that match your holiday spending.

Sign-up bonus: A sign-up bonus, also called a welcome bonus, is an offer available to new cardholders. Most of the best sign-up bonuses only require that you meet a spending minimum, such as $3,000 in three months to earn a $500 bonus. Since you'll be spending more over the holidays, it's the perfect time to snag a big bonus from one of the top credit cards.

Annual fee: Credit cards have a wide range of annual fees. There's everything from no annual fee cards to cards that cost over $500 per year. As you evaluate credit cards, make sure to look at how the value of their benefits compares to the annual fees they charge.

Those are the features to keep in mind when choosing a holiday credit card. Their order of importance is for you to decide.

Some consumers prioritize a valuable sign-up bonus, whereas others prefer a low annual fee or a high rewards rate. If you have quite a bit of holiday spending planned, you might also want to look specifically at high limit credit cards. With a higher credit limit, you'll be able to spend more.

You'll find the best rewards credit cards all provide a great mix of benefits. It's just a matter of finding the one that works for you.

How to pick a holiday credit card to save on interest

If you want to stretch your holiday budget, a new credit card could help with that too. In this situation, look at 0% intro APR credit cards.

This type of credit card offers a 0% APR on purchases for an introductory period, such as 12 or 15 months. You can put your holiday shopping on your credit card, and then pay off the balance over time. As long as it's paid off by the end of the introductory period, the card issuer won't charge you any interest. Even compared to a good credit card APR, an intro 0% APR will save you a lot of money on holiday credit card debt.

LEARN MORE: What Is APR and What Does It Mean for Your Credit Cards?

Another great thing about intro 0% APR cards is that many of them offer sign-up bonuses and purchase rewards. That means you don't need to compromise on your card's benefits. You could, for example, apply for a card that offers:

• A 0% intro APR on purchases
• Cash back on your purchases
• A sign-up bonus after you hit a spending minimum

You'll save money on your holiday shopping courtesy of your card's sign-up bonus and cash back. To make it even better, you'll be able to pay off the balance interest free over monthly payments during the intro period.

If you don't qualify for these shopping credit cards, check out our list of the best credit cards for bad credit.

Tips on maximizing credit card rewards over the holidays

The first step in maximizing your holiday rewards is choosing the right credit card. Once you've done that, make the most of your card by following these tips.

Learn about the terms of the rewards program

Credit cards have rules for how their rewards work. Take some time learning these rules so you don't miss anything important.

For example, if your card has rotating bonus categories that change every quarter, you probably need to activate those categories. Otherwise, you won't earn any bonus rewards. If you didn't know that, you'd miss out on lots of bonus points on your holiday shopping.

Plan your shopping around your card's bonus categories

If you choose a rewards credit card with bonus categories, try to use those categories for as much holiday spending and everyday purchases as possible.

Imagine you have a card that earns more back at Amazon and Target.com. In that case, it could make sense to do most or all of your gift shopping online. This strategy is easy to follow, and those extra rewards can really add up.

Watch for special offers

Credit card companies frequently choose the holidays to roll out promotional offers. These could be discounts in select stores or bonus rewards on certain types of eligible purchases.

See if your online credit card account has a special offers section, and if so, check it once every week or so. You can also opt in to promotional emails so your card issuer will send you the latest limited-time deals.