If you're in the market for a new credit card, consider getting one of the best Visa cards. Much like Mastercard, but with a few differences, the best Visa cards have features such as giving you cash back when you spend on purchases, letting you earn and redeem bonus points, helping you build credit, and various travel and dining perks, too.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is one of the best Visa cards -- here's a look at it and eight other appealing pieces of plastic.
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Visa cards vs. Mastercard cards
First, let's review the difference between Visa and Mastercard cards. In most respects, there really isn't a huge difference between the two. They're both accepted by tens of millions of merchants worldwide. (There are relatively few retailers who accept only one of the two, and Costco is an example, only accepting Visa cards after having terminated a long-standing arrangement with American Express.) Both Visa and Mastercard offer a wide range of credit cards aimed at those who seek rewards, cash back, low interest rates, good balance-transfer terms, low fees, travel discounts, or combinations of such features.
Of course, within each card family, you'll find great cards and not-so-great cards. Each has its own hierarchy of cards, with different kinds of benefits. Mastercard, for example, has three lines of cards: basic, World, and World Elite, while Visa has basic cards and its Visa Signature line of cards. The basic cards for both providers offer car rental insurance, extended warranties for items you purchase, emergency assistance when you're traveling, and rapid card replacement when necessary. The higher level cards offer extras such as concierge service, travel and dining discounts, access to airport VIP lounges, and more.
Image source: Getty Images.
Voila! -- the best Visa cards
Without further ado, following are some of the best Visa cards that you might want to consider. The table highlights some key features of each card, and there's also a link for most cards to our full reviews of them, with a much closer look at their pros and cons.
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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 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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Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card |
There's no annual fee, and you'll earn a $150 bonus when you spend at least $500 on purchases in the first 90 days. Earn 3% cash back on gas, 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (on up to $2,500 per quarter in combined bonus category purchases). There's also a 0% intro APR. |
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Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card |
There's no annual fee, and you'll earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on purchases. Qualifying new cardholders can also earn 20,000 bonus points (which is worth $200 in travel-related statement credits) after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. |
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Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
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There's a $95 annual fee that's waived in the first year and 50,000 bonus miles (worth $500 in travel statement credits) available once you spend at least $3,000 on new purchases in the first three months. |
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Chase Freedom®
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There's no annual fee, and you'll get a $150 sign-up bonus once you spend $500 in the first three months. You'll earn 5% cash back when making purchases in categories that rotate each quarter (on up to $1,500 of qualifying spending per quarter). All other purchases earn 1% cash back. There's also a 0% APR for 15 months for balance transfers and purchases. |
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Chase Freedom Unlimited® |
There's no annual fee, and you'll earn a $150 bonus after spending $500 in the first three months and 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There's also a 0% APR for 15 months for balance transfers and purchases. |
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
For a $95 annual fee (that's waived in the first year), this card offers a hefty 50,000 bonus points once you spend $4,000 on new purchases in the first three months. Redeem your points through Chase Ultimate Rewards® instead of just getting cash back and you'll get 25% more value. (That's $625 in value from the 50,000-mile bonus.) You'll earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel and restaurant purchases and 1 point per dollar for all other purchases. |
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Citi Simplicity® Card-No Late Fees Ever |
This card features no annual fee, along with "no late fees ever" and "no penalty rate ever." For balance transfers, it charges a fee of 3% of the value of your transfer or $5 -- whichever is greater. Its initial APR is 0% for 21 billing cycles for both purchases and balance transfers. (Note that there are no rewards or cash back.) |
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Costco Anywhere |
Only available to Costco members (memberships start at $60 for a household), this card offers 4% back on gas spending (up to $7,000 in spending per year), along with 3% back on qualified travel and restaurant spending, 2% back on purchases at Costco (and Costco.com), and 1% back on everything else. There's no annual fee as long as you have your Costco membership. |
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Data source: Motley Fool reviews of best cards, plus author research.
The best features: low fees, cash back, travel and dining perks, bonus points, and more
These Visa cards are best for most people, but they won't all serve you equally well -- and there may be some other card that serves you even better. For best results, spend a little time thinking about what you need from a credit card -- for example, whether your main priority is getting out of debt via balance transfers and 0% initial APRs or collecting the most cash back possible from your purchases.
Once you know your needs, compare contenders and find the credit card that's best for you. Understand, too, that most of the best credit cards require a high credit score. If yours is low, it could be worth spending a little time increasing your credit score before applying for a new card.
