Shebudget’s Best Reward Credit Cards for 2016

We know you love free stuff, and that’s why you’re looking to compare the best reward credit cards on the market going into the New Year. After all, free money, free hotel stays, free flights and free bonuses do make a nice start to the New Year. We’ve rounded up the best of the best reward credit cards on the market for 2016 in addition to preparing a little bit of advice for you on how to make the most of your reward credit card so that you get the best deals, make the most money and end up with the best results.

Before we get into the best reward credit cards available to consumers with great credit, we want to make sure that you’re not going to get yourself into debt with your new card. So many consumers blame their credit cards on their poor spending habits and debt, but it’s all you. The first rule of thumb is to only spend what you can afford. If you don’t have the cash to pay for something otherwise, don’t use your card to buy it. If you have to use your card for some sort of emergency, pay it off as quickly as you can to avoid interest charges. Pay your balance on time, and always try to pay the balance in full or at least more than the minimum amount due.

To make the most of each of the best reward credit cards on the market, start putting your day-to-day living expenses on the card and then use the cash you typically pay for your mortgage, gas, groceries and everything in between with to pay off your card at the end of the month. Having the best reward credit card on the market means nothing if you are not able to earn as many points and rewards as possible; and that’s why we like the idea of paying for everything with your card and then paying it off at the end of the month. It allows you to rack up the rewards and live pretty fancy when it’s all said and done.

Now that you know how to use the best reward credit card for you, let’s figure out which card is best for you. We’ve rounded up the 10 best reward credit cards for 2016 so that you can see which one is right for you in order to make the most informed, best educated decision imaginable.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

This card makes the list of best reward credit cards for 2016 because of the sign up bonus offer. When consumers apply for this card and then spend $4000 on purchases in the first 90 days of owning the card, they automatically receive 40,000 reward points. When you break that down into travel rewards, you end up with $500 in travel rewards using those points. This means a free flight, hotel fees, cruises or anything else that you might want to enjoy. You can earn an additional 5,000 bonus points when you add an authorized user to the card and use that card to make any purchases within the same 90 day period.

Other great ways to earn rewards are through your purchases. You’re going to earn a point for every dollar you spend most everywhere you go, but you will earn twice the points when you dining and spend on travel related expenses. Let’s do some math. If you spend $3000 per month on the card on general purchases and then another $2000 per month on travel and dining, you’re earning 7,000 points per month. That’s 84,000 points per year to add to your 45,000 point sign up bonus. If you do the math, that’s more than $1612 in free travel for the year just for paying for what you normally pay for on a daily basis.

American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card

What makes the American Express Premier card one of the best reward credit cards available is the sign up bonus. All new customers who spend $2000 in 90 days receive 25,000 bonus points to use toward travel. This card offers great ways to earn points, too. All restaurant purchases, gas purchases and supermarket purchases receive 2 points for every dollar spent. If you book airline travel with this card, you receive 3 points per dollar. Without any foreign transactions and without any annual fee for the first year, this is a profitable card to have. Do note, however, that the annual fee beginning year two is $195, which is high. However, all cardholders with a preferred airline get up to $100 off airline prices every year, and booking two or more consecutive nights at a Hotel Collection hotel earns you a $75 credit for the room on your statement.

Citi Double Cash Card

There is no sign up bonus with this credit card, yet it still makes the list of best reward credit cards for 2016. The reason is that this card has a lot to offer otherwise, such as no annual fee and no interest for 15 months. Additionally, the APR is very competitive and the cash back you earn with this card is impressive. All your purchases earn 1 point for every dollar spent, and then you earn another point for every dollar you pay off each month. Essentially, paying off your card in full each month allows you to earn 2 points for every dollar you spent. That’s impressive, and it’s also great incentive to pay off that card in full each time you receive a statement in the mail.

BankAmericard  Travel Rewards Credit Card

If you are looking for the best reward credit card with no annual fee, this is the card for you. You are going to get a staggering 1.5 points on every dollar spent when you use this card, and you get 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1000 on the card in the first 90 days of opening your account. These points can be turned into a $200 statement credit to break down your amount due. There is no annual fee associated with this card and all points redeemed for travel are good anytime – there are no blackout dates. Your first year with this card is interest-free, and you are eligible for 10% more bonus points on every purchase if you also have a Bank of America savings or checking account.

Chase Freedom

The Chase Freedom card makes the list of best reward credit cards on the market for 2016 because it offers great cash back rewards on purchases that are not excessively expensive. If you spend $500 on the card within 90 days of opening this account, you get an automatic $100 cash back bonus. Adding an authorized user that makes a purchase in the same time frame means that you get another $25 cash back bonus. Other great features include no interest any purchases for 15 months, 1% cash back on everything you buy and special cash back bonuses on other purchases. Each quarter the card company offers a few different categories that are eligible for 5% cash back on purchases up to $1500. Categories typically include gas, groceries, dining and entertainment. Finally, you do not pay an annual fee and your points are good forever – there is no expiration date so you can hoard them as long as you’d like.

Blue Cash Preferred Card from AmEx

This is the best reward credit card for those who spend a lot of money on gas and groceries (and this applies to pretty much all families with children). The sign up bonus is straight up cash, which we love. You get $150 cash back when you spend $1000 in 3 months. The annual fee is $75, but the rewards make that price worth it to have this card. All cardholders receive 6% cash back on all grocery purchases up to $6000 per year, 3% cash back on all department store and gas purchases each year and the bonuses are good for gift cards, as well.

British Airways Visa Signature Card

How would you like to earn some serious bonus points with this Chase-issued credit card? It’s one of the best reward credit cards on the market because the points system is one of the most impressive. To earn 50,000 points, you’ll need to spend $2000 in three months. You can up that to 75,000 points if you spend $10,000 on your card in one year’s time – 100,000 bonus points if you spend $20,000 the first year you have this card. That might seem a bit too expensive, but it equals out to just under $1667 in purchases per month. If you use this card to pay your mortgage payment and a few other monthly expenses every month and pay it off in full each month, you’ll reach that milestone. If you can spend $30,000 per calendar year with this card, you get two free airline tickets anywhere in the world – first class, of course. Additionally, you get 1 point for every dollar you spend anywhere in the world, and 3 points per dollar on all purchases with British Airways.

The Platinum Card from American Express

What makes this Amex one of the best reward credit cards is that it’s not a credit card; it’s a charge card. What this means is that you pay it off in full each month, so you never have to worry about running up your debts. However, the annual fee is hefty at $450. But, you do get to earn 40,000 reward points when you spend $3000 in 3 months, you get 1 point for every dollar spent anywhere and you earn 2 points for every dollar you spend through amextravel.com. It is a great card for those who aren’t sure they have the discipline to pay off big balances in full every month. This card makes sure you think long and hard about every purchase you make knowing it’s due at the end of the month. With a high annual fee, many people choose to forgo this card. However, you do have to consider that it’s a great card for anyone looking to remain out of debt and in good financial standing at all times.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

What makes this particular card one of the best reward credit cards on the market is its simplicity and flexibility. Cardholders earn 2 points for every dollar spent on every purchase, and there is no question as to how many points you earn when you use this card – they’re all the same. By spending at least $3000 in 3 months, you earn 40,000 bonus points – the equivalent of $400 in free travel. There is no annual fee the first year and the fee after that is only $59 per year, which is much lower than some of the other cards on this particular list of best reward credit cards.

Discover it

We love the Discover card, and it usually makes our list of the best reward credit cards and best credit cards in general because of all that it has to offer. One of the best points associated with this particular card is the fact that it allows you to earn 5% cash back on different purchases every quarter. For example, one quarter you might earn 5% cash back on all purchases you make when you’re dining in restaurants and all gas purchases. The next quarter it might apply to all supermarket purchases. You can earn 5% cash back on the revolving categories up to $1500 each quarter, which means excessive points are available to all cardholders. All other purchases are good for 1% cash back, which is still quite impressive.

A few of the other great incentives that make this card one of the best reward credit cards available is the $0 annual fee and the 0% APR on all purchases for the first year – this includes balance transfers. Furthermore, interest rates are highly competitive with this card, which is always a bonus.

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