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It can take years to build up a high credit score, but that work can pay off big time. An excellent credit score is the key to unlocking all manner of credit perks, not the least of which is having your pick of the best credit cards around. Want a luxury travel rewards card? How about high-rate cash back credit cards? Maybe you just want a 0% intro APR deal. With excellent credit, the card possibilities are endless.
The downside to those endless possibilities is actually picking a card. We chose the cards on our list based on their best-in-class rewards or perks. They include some of our favorite travel rewards cards, as well as top-tier cash back options. We also picked cards that trade rewards for some of the longest intro APR offers we could find. And we went for a healthy mix of cards with and without annual fees.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Great for: Travel and points transfers
On Chase's Secure Website.
On Chase's Secure Website.
With a big sign-up bonus, the sky’s the limit for this top-rated travel rewards card. Plus, the premium points program for travel and dining make it a no brainer for travel enthusiasts everywhere. Read Full Review
Great for: Travel and dining
On Chase's Secure Website.
On Chase's Secure Website.
The sign-up bonus, premium rewards for travel & dining, and wide array of valuable travel credits make this a compelling offer that will offset the cost of the annual fee for many. The array of limited time offers make it even more compelling. Read Full Review
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Great for: U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations
On American Express' Secure Website.
Terms apply
On American Express' Secure Website.
Terms apply
The U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations rewards are clear standouts, in addition to a big welcome bonus and a nice 0% intro APR offer. Read Full Review
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Great for: Premium travel
On American Express' Secure Website.
Terms apply
On American Express' Secure Website.
Terms apply
The high annual fee is justifiable for frequent travelers who can take full advantage of a deep bench of valuable perks, including the big welcome bonus, robust rewards, and lucrative annual travel credits. Read Full Review
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Great for: Travel card with no annual fee
On Bank of America's Secure Website.
On Bank of America's Secure Website.
No-annual-fee travel cards typically skimp on the sign-up bonus, but this card delivers with its intro bonus offer, unlimited rewards on purchases, and other wallet-friendly perks. Read Full Review
Great for: Dining and U.S. supermarkets
The welcome offer, lucrative rewards at restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and on travel more than justify the annual fee for most who spend in these categories. Read Full Review
Great for: 0% intro APR offer and no late payment fee
On Citi's Secure Website.
On Citi's Secure Website.
Intro APR
Purchases: 0%, 12 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 21 months
Regular APR
16.99% - 26.99% (Variable)
Rewards
N/A
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer
N/A
With a long 0% intro APR offer, no late fees, no annual fee, and no penalty rate, this card is an unmatched pick. Read Full Review
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Great for: Bonus cash back of your choice
On Bank of America's Secure Website.
On Bank of America's Secure Website.
Includes a big bonus in the no-annual fee category, a great 0% intro APR offer, and a flexible cash rewards program that enables you to earn premium cash back in a category of your choice. Read Full Review
Great for: Long 0% intro APR offer
On U.S. Bank's Secure Website.
On U.S. Bank's Secure Website.
With a 20 billing cycle intro APR offer for both balance transfers and purchases, this is one of the best low interest credit cards we've come across. Read Full Review
With excellent credit, you can get just about any credit card you like, which can make it hard to pick the right one from all the options. When comparing credit card offers, you'll need to consider what you want out of your credit cards.
While folks with average or low credit scores are limited in the cards they can get, applicants with excellent credit aren't limited by their own creditworthiness. On the contrary, excellent credit means you'll pass muster for nearly any credit card you could want. Here's a look at just a few of the best credit cards available to you when you have excellent credit.
Great for: Transferable points and benefits
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a mid-tier travel rewards card that earns bonus points on travel and dining purchases. Users earn Ultimate Rewards points, valuable rewards that can be transferred to Chase travel partners.
Read the full Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review
Great for: Travel rewards and perks
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium travel rewards card that earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel and dining purchases. The card also comes with a plethora of travel perks, including an annual travel credit, airport lounge access, and trip insurance.
Read the full Chase Sapphire Reserve® review
Great for: U.S. supermarkets and streaming rewards
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of the best everyday rewards cards around, offering 6% cash back on up to $6,000 in U.S. supermarkets purchases each year. You'll also earn 6% back on select streaming services, as well as 3% back on transit purchases and at U.S. gas stations. Terms apply.
Read the full Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express review
Great for: Travel rewards and lounge access
The Platinum Card® from American Express is a top-rated travel card that offers high rewards rates on select hotel and airline purchases, as well as a ton of travel perks. Users get annual credits with Uber, access to more than 1,300+ airport lounges, and hotel elite status. Select enrollment required, terms apply.
Read the full The Platinum Card® from American Express review
Great for: Travel rewards with no annual fee
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a no annual fee travel rewards card that provides unlimited 1.5x miles per dollar on purchases. However, miles can't be transferred; instead, they're redeemed for statement credit to cover travel and dining purchases.
Read the full Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card review
Great for: Restaurants and U.S. supermarkets rewards
The American Express® Gold Card is ideal for foodies of all kinds, offering 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in eligible purchases), as well as 4x points per $1 at restaurants. Users also get annual dining and Uber credits. Select enrollment required, terms apply.
Read the full American Express® Gold Card review
Great for: 0% intro APR offer and no late payment fee
The Citi Simplicity® Card packs in one of the best 0% intro APR offers we've come across for balance transfers. Other standout features are no late payment fee and no penalty APR.
Read the full Citi Simplicity® Card review
Great for: Choosing your rewards
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card lets cardholders choose their own 3% cash back rewards category from a list of options that includes things like travel, gas, and drugstores. You'll also earn 2% back on groceries and at wholesale stores. Bonus rewards are capped at $2,500 in purchases each quarter.
Read the full Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card review
Great for: Choosing your rewards
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card matches the competition well in its category, including rewards and a nice sign-up bonus. But where the card excels is with its travel-related statement credits and up to 25% to 75% bonus points for Preferred Rewards members.
Read the full Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card review
Great for: Long 0% intro APR offers
The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card has the longest 0% intro APR offer we've come across at 20 billing cycles for both purchases and balance transfers.
Read the full U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card review
In general, you can consider your credit score to be excellent if it falls within the top 10% of the range for the scoring model being used. That said, the exact definition of an excellent credit score can vary based on the model and lender.
Learn more: Complete Guide to Understanding Your Credit Score
The majority of lenders will use some version of a FICO® Score when evaluating your credit. Most FICO® Score models use a range of 300 to 850, with 850 being the highest possible score. So, a FICO® Score of 800 to 850 would definitely be considered an excellent credit score. However, in practice, any score over 780 will likely qualify you for most credit products.
An excellent credit score comes with a ton of benefits, many of which can save you money. Let's take a look at a few of them.
We’ve all had that edge-of-our-seats wait while a credit card or loan application is being evaluated. But having excellent credit means you have one less thing to stress about when you click "Apply."
It’s worth noting that excellent credit isn’t a guarantee of approval. Issuers could still reject your application for any number of reasons. If your income is too low to qualify for the card’s minimum credit limit, for instance. And some issuers will turn you down for a new card if you’ve opened too many other card accounts in the last year or two. (Chase is notorious for this!)
Learn more: The Chase 5/24 Rule
Your credit score has a huge impact on the interest rate you're charged by various credit products, including:
The better your credit, the lower the interest rate you'll be charged. This can easily save you thousands of dollars over the course of a loan, especially long-term loans like home mortgage loans.
Learn more: How Credit Card Interest Works
Although we often associate credit scores with products like credit cards and loans, lots of places will check your credit before doing business with you. This can include:
With excellent credit, you're less likely to have to put down a deposit to open an account or obtain a rental. Even if you do need to make a deposit, chances are good it will be much lower than would be required if you had a lower credit score.
Your income certainly plays a role in how much credit you can get. However, having an excellent credit score will go a long way toward being approved for higher credit limits. This can mean higher credit limits on your credit cards, as well as the ability to get approved for larger loans.
Related: Best High-Limit Credit Cards
We’ve found reports of people getting credit card limits of $50,000 or more at approval. Excellent credit can help you after the fact, too. Improving your credit score can get you credit limit increases on your existing cards.
Learn more: How to Increase Your Credit Limit
The credit card market is full to bursting with different types of credit cards, so there's no "best" credit card for everyone. The best card for you will depend on things like your spending habits and the type of rewards you want to earn.
Learn more: How to Choose a Credit Card
Happily, when you have excellent credit, you can take your pick of just about any credit card you want. This includes credit cards for good credit, as well as premium options reserved for those with the best credit scores.
For example, if you want to earn travel rewards, you could choose one of the top-tier travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the The Platinum Card® from American Express. On the other hand, folks who want to maximize their everyday purchases would likely enjoy the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express or the American Express® Gold Card.
Learn more: The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Building an excellent credit score takes several years of responsible credit use, including paying your debts on time every month, keeping low balances, and being conscientious about opening new credit. To get a better idea of what's involved in understanding your credit score, let's look at the five factors that go into your FICO® Score calculation:
We put together a brief list of different card types to help you get started:
If you want travel rewards:
If you want grocery and U.S. supermarkets rewards:
If you want flat-rate rewards:
If you want a 0% intro APR:
If you want a $0 annual fee:
There is so much hype placed on your credit scores that it can seem like the only factor when it comes to applying for a card. But most of us in the credit card game have been turned down for a card at least once despite having great credit scores.
Why does it happen? Your credit score is just one of the things issuers consider when you apply for a new card. Many other factors can also play a role, including:
Any of these things (or something else entirely) could be behind your rejection. In most cases, the issuer will send you a letter telling you why you were turned down. If you need more information, contacting the issuer may also shed some light on the situation.
Card | Rating | Great For |
---|---|---|
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
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Great For: Travel and points transfers |
|
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
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Great For: Travel and dining |
|
Terms apply
![]() |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations |
Terms apply
![]() |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: Premium travel |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: Travel card with no annual fee |
|
Terms apply
![]() |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: Dining and U.S. supermarkets |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: 0% intro APR offer and no late payment fee |
|
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: Bonus cash back of your choice |
|
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: Bank of America loyalists |
|
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
|
Great For: Long 0% intro APR offer |
In general, an excellent credit score is one that falls into the top 10% of the scoring range. For FICO® Scores with a range of 300 to 850, an excellent credit score is typically a score of 800 or higher.
Having an excellent credit score unlocks a multitude of benefits, many of which can save you money. These can include:
Excellent credit can also be helpful when applying for various insurance products, though this varies by product and company.
You can have your pick of most credit cards when you have excellent credit, so choosing a card really comes down to what you need from your new card. You'll want to consider the type of rewards it earns, as well as the rewards rates and any cardholder perks. You should also look at the annual fee and interest rates.
For example, if you travel frequently, you'll likely want to focus on cards that earn transferable travel rewards and that offer bonus rewards on travel purchases. On the other hand, if you spend a lot on groceries or dining, look for cards that offer high rewards rates on those purchases.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
For rates and fees for the American Express® Gold Card, click here
For rates and fees for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here
For rates and fees for the The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here
The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Amex.
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