This article was updated on June 25, 2018.
Within a decade, the value of annual online retail sales is expected to top $1 trillion as more and more people get much of their shopping done online. Already, a heck of a lot of folks are online shoppers -- more than 1.6 billion last year, according to one report. Many items, such as laptops, diapers, shoes, and eyeglasses, tend to cost less, overall, online than they do in brick-and-mortar stores, helping you save money.
Another great way to save significant sums is by using some of the best credit cards for online shopping. Some of the best offers you'll see at various sites include cards with low fees, signup bonuses, and generous points or rewards earned when you purchase things online. (With some cards, some rewards are even doubled.)
Image source: Getty Images.
Following are some of the top credit cards for shopping online that can help you keep more dollars in your pocket, along with some tips on how you might go about comparing and evaluating credit cards of interest.
Great credit cards for online shopping
So what are the best credit cards for online shoppers, with great rewards, reasonable fees, attractive bonuses, and other good offers? Here are some strong contenders for your business:
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Credit Card |
Best Features |
Fool Card Review Link |
|---|---|---|
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Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card |
Amazon Prime members receive a $70 Amazon.com gift card upon signing up and earn a whopping 5% cash back on all Amazon purchases, along with 2% back on spending at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else. |
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Barclaycard CashForward™ World Mastercard® |
Earn a $200 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days and earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. |
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Chase Freedom Unlimited® |
Earn a $150 bonus after spending $500 in the first three months and 1.5% cash back on purchases. |
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Citi® Double Cash Card |
Earn 2% cash back on all purchases -- 1% when you purchase and 1% when you pay it off. |
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Discover it® Cash Back |
Earn 5% cash back in rotating categories you actives such as online stores and restaurants (on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter) and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Get double your cash back in the first year. |
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Target REDcard |
Receive 5% savings when shopping at Target and Target.com, along with free shipping on most items at target.com. |
N/A |
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Walmart Credit Card |
Save 3% on Walmart.com purchases, plus 2% on Murphy USA and Walmart gas, plus 1% on everything else. |
N/A |
Data source: Motley Fool reviews of best cards and author research.
There are plenty of other solid shopping credit cards, too. Think about and make a list of the retailers you visit most often, and then look into whether they have a credit card associated with them. If they do, assess its attractiveness by checking out the benefits it offers and its terms. Some of many retailers with cards that you might look into include Costco, Gap, Kohl's, Lowe's, Staples, and TJX.
Also, if you travel a lot, there's a huge world of travel-related cards. Check out the best travel credit cards and see which ones would best serve you, given your globe-trotting spending habits.
Image source: Getty Images.
Comparing offers: Look at rewards, points, fees, and more
It's not enough to just look for great rewards, though. You want to make sure any card you consider serves you well on other counts, too. Here are five of the most important points that distinguish the best credit cards:
- No annual fee. This is an easy hurdle to clear, as most credit cards don't charge an annual fee. That said, though, it can be OK to opt for a card with a relatively modest annual fee, if it's more than made up for by the card's rewards, bonuses, or other offers. (By the way, you can often have annual fees waived or reduced just by calling your card company and asking.)
- Low interest rates. If there's any chance that you will frequently or occasionally be carrying a balance, you should favor cards with a relatively low interest rate range. Try not to carry a balance, though! In late October 2017, the average variable credit card APR, per bankrate.com, was 16.71%.
- No penalty APR. Speaking of low interest rates, they can easily disappear if your card features a penalty APR. That's when card companies raise your interest rate, often to 25% or more, if you're late paying a bill or commit some other transgression. Look in a card's fine print to see whether there's a penalty APR, and consider avoiding the credit card if it's there. Plenty of cards don't have this feature. If you're carrying, say, $6,000 in debt and you're socked with a 25% annual interest rate, that's a whopping $1,500 in interest!
- No foreign transaction fees. Without this feature, if you spend money abroad or with a foreign-based retailer, you'll see currency-exchange-related fees on your statement. (They're often 3% of the value of the transaction, so charging a $1,000 plane ticket at a foreign carrier's website can cost you an extra $30.) Plenty of cards don't charge this fee, so consider looking for that feature if it will make a difference to you.
- Access to your FICO credit score. It can be helpful to be able to check your credit score now and then, especially if you're working on paying off debt and increasing your score. Many cards these days let you see your score, with some even printing it on each statement.
Using credit cards that best fit your needs and spending habits can put a few hundred dollars in your pocket each year.
