How We Choose the Best Credit Cards

Investopedia is dedicated to helping you find the right credit card for your needs. To determine the best credit cards for our 2026 awards, our research and editorial teams examined 165 cards across 56 criteria, totaling 9,240 data points. Our criteria were grouped into seven categories and weighted based on their relative importance to the average credit card user.

How We Research Credit Cards

To identify cards to research, we compiled a list of popular and valuable credit cards from major card issuers and credit unions, as well as smaller, lesser-known issuers. We conducted a competitive analysis and surveyed the credit card landscape to find new and discontinued cards. We excluded cards that did not fit our “Best” categories, such as co-branded cards with smaller retailers.

Most point and mile valuations for credit card, airline, and hotel loyalty programs were calculated and are managed by AwardWallet.

The data collection and evaluation process was conducted from December 27, 2025, to February 2, 2026.

We developed a quantitative model to score each credit card in seven major categories. Of our 56 criteria, we scored and weighted 53; the remaining 3 were collected for qualitative and categorization purposes.

Rewards Value

Our Rewards Value category covers credit card rewards and bonus offers, along with the average value of points earned when redeemed for flight and hotel bookings.

Total Annual Earnings

To estimate the total annual reward earnings for each card, we started with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2024 Consumer Expenditure Surveys, the most recent data available. These surveys measure how much the average U.S. household spends in select categories throughout the year.

Total annual earnings were scored on a continuous scale, with higher annual earnings getting higher scores. 

The annual reward value of each card was calculated by multiplying the average American household’s spending on various types of expenses by the card’s rewards-earning rates for those expenses by the value of each point or cash back. We first calculated total annual earnings for the following spending categories for all cards:

We also calculated reward earnings for all other spending that could typically be made with a credit card, outside of typical bonus-earning spending categories. Examples include hairdresser fees, auto maintenance expenses, and lawn service bills. Most cards offer 1% cash back or 1 point per dollar spent on non-category expenses, though some offer more.

Calculating the average earnings for a cash-back card is relatively straightforward. For example, average grocery spending per household in 2024 was $6,224. A card that earns 3% cash back on groceries would provide $186.72 in cash back per year. The same type of calculation was made for gas, dining, and all other spending. These amounts were then added up to determine total annual earnings.

For cards that earn points instead of cash back, we used average point valuations to calculate annual earnings. For example, if a card earns 2X points on groceries (2 points for every dollar spent on groceries) and each point is worth 1.5 cents, the cash-back equivalent is 3%. Therefore, the total annual grocery earnings for this card would be $186.72.

Other Rewards-Earning Criteria

For certain card types, we also looked at reward rates for several other spending categories for which no average spending data was available. We used only the card’s earning rates rather than the total annual earnings because the relevant average spending data was unavailable.

Travel Earning Categories

For travel credit cards, we examined the following criteria:

• Car rental earning rate: What percentage of cash back or the equivalent in points does the card earn when you book a rental car?
• Airline earn valuation: What is the value of the point(s) or cash back earned when you use your card for an airline purchase? 
• Hotel earn valuation: What is the value of the point(s) or cash back earned when you use your card for a hotel purchase?

Here again, we used point valuations from AwardWallet.

Business Earning Categories

The following criteria were scored for all business credit cards:

• Car rental earning rate: What percentage of cash back or the equivalent in points does the card earn when you book a rental car?
• Office supply stores earning rate: What percentage of cash back or the equivalent in points does the card earn on purchases at office supply stores?
• Cable/satellite/telecom earning rate: What percentage of cash back or the equivalent in points does the card earn on cable, satellite, or telecom bill payments?
• Shipping earning rate: What percentage of cash back or the equivalent in points does the card earn on shipping services?

Each criterion was scored on a continuous scale, with higher reward rates getting higher scores. 

Welcome Bonus Value

Many reward cards provide welcome bonuses when you open a new card, such as 10,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first three months. We calculated the monetary values of welcome bonuses. For bonuses that provided points rather than cash back, we multiplied the number of bonus points earned by the value of each point. For example, a bonus of 10,000 points, when each point is worth 1 cent, is equal to $100. This allowed us to compare bonuses from point cards and cash-back cards. For cards that earned bonuses in the form of cash back or statement credits, the bonus amount and bonus value were the same. 

Bonus value was scored on a continuous scale, with higher bonus amounts earning higher scores.

If we saw that a bonus offer was only good for a limited time, we used historical data from the previous year instead of the promotional offer data.

Bonus-Spend Proportion

Credit card welcome bonuses usually come with a spending requirement. We looked at the bonus value and the spending requirement, and calculated the percentage return you get for the required spending. For example, a $100 bonus that requires $1,000 in spending yields a 10% return.

This criterion was scored on a continuous scale, with higher bonus-spend proportions receiving higher scores.

Bonus Spend Period

Welcome bonuses usually require you to meet the spending requirement within a certain period, such as three months after card approval. We scored this factor on a continuous scale, awarding more points to longer spending periods because they give the cardholder more time to earn the bonus.

Point Valuation (Airline Redemption)

With travel cards, the value of the miles or points you earn depends on how you redeem them. Most airline reward programs give you the most value when you redeem your miles for award flights. For instance, a $300 flight might only cost you 20,000 points, which means the value of those miles is 1.5 cents each. Often, the value of a point or mile is even higher when redeemed for international flights. 

General travel cards often have partnerships with a number of different airlines that allow you to redeem your card points for miles on those partner airlines. Those relationships become part of the calculation of point valuations for airline redemptions, along with other flight-redemption options such as using points to book flights through the card’s travel portal. We used point valuations provided by AwardWallet to determine average point values for flight redemptions for each card.

We scored this criterion on a continuous scale, with higher valuations earning higher scores.

Point Valuation (Hotel Redemption)

Similar to the airline point redemption explanation above, hotel card points can usually be redeemed for free stays at affiliated hotels, and the value of points depends on how many points are required for the average stay. General travel cards may also have hotel transfer partners or allow you to redeem points for hotel stays booked through their travel portals. These different methods are used to calculate the value of a card’s points when redeemed for hotel stays. 

We used point valuations provided by AwardWallet to determine average point values for hotel booking redemptions. We scored this criterion on a continuous scale, with higher valuations earning higher scores. 

Rewards Expiration

Some reward programs have points that never expire, while others—like those offered by certain airline and hotel brands—have points that do expire after a certain period of time. 

We scored rewards expiration on a binary scale (yes/no). Cards with points that do not expire were given a score of 1, and cards with points that do expire were given a score of 0.

Costs and Interest

Credit cards come with several fees and other costs, including interest, annual fees, and late fees. Our Costs and Interest category includes all of the typical fees an average credit card user will encounter, along with details about introductory purchase and balance transfer APR offers.

3-Year Annual Fee Average

Some credit cards have annual fees, and in some cases, the annual fee is waived for the first year. Therefore, we looked at the average cost of annual fees over the first three years of card membership. This criterion was scored on a continuous scale, with lower annual fee averages getting higher scores.

Average APR

Many people carry a balance on their credit cards, accruing interest from month to month, so annual percentage rate (APR) may be an important consideration. We calculated average credit card APRs using minimum and maximum APRs; for cards with only one APR option, that percentage was used. Average APR was scored on a continuous scale, with lower APRs earning higher scores.

Purchase Intro Period

Certain credit cards offer a reduced purchase APR (often 0%) for a set number of months. These offers allow you to carry a purchase balance without accruing interest, as long as you meet the minimum required payment every month. Introductory purchase APR offers vary in length and were scored on a continuous scale, with longer periods earning higher scores.

Balance Transfer Intro Period

Credit cards may offer a reduced APR for balance transfers for a certain number of months, allowing you to pay off an eligible existing debt for no extra cost. Introductory balance transfer periods were scored on a continuous scale, with longer periods earning a higher score.

Balance Transfer Intro Rate

Introductory balance transfer offers are usually for 0% APR. In some cases, however, the offer is for a reduced rate that is above 0%. This criterion was scored on a continuous scale only for card categories with introductory balance transfer offers above 0% APR. 

Balance Transfer Intro Fee (%)

Credit card balance transfer offers usually have a fee, even if the introductory APR is 0%. This fee is a percentage of the transferred balance, sometimes with a minimum dollar value. We scored introductory balance transfer fee percentages on a continuous scale, with lower fees getting higher scores.

Balance Transfer Fee (%)

Many credit cards allow balance transfers outside of introductory offers, and these transfers come with fees as well. We scored regular balance transfer fees on a continuous scale, with lower fees getting higher scores.

Foreign Transaction Fee

Some credit cards charge a fee for purchases made outside the U.S. or with foreign merchants. We scored foreign transaction fees on a continuous scale, with lower fees earning higher scores.

Late Fee

Most credit cards charge late fees if you miss your monthly payment, but not all do. For example, some will not charge you a fee the first time you are late with payment. We scored late fees on a continuous scale, with lower fees earning a higher score.

Returned Payment Fee

Credit cards may also charge fees for returned payments. We scored returned payment fees on a continuous scale, with lower fees getting higher scores.

Travel Features and Benefits

Credit cards typically offer a range of benefits in addition to rewards. These can be simple and of little value, or they can be extravagant and of high value (typically found on premium travel credit cards). We selected certain credit card benefits to research and score based on their value to the average credit card user.

Annual Credits

Some credit cards offer annual statement credits for certain expenses. Travel cards may provide reimbursement for flights or hotel stays, but you can also find statement credits for other expenses, like dining. In some cases, the credits are limited to specific retailers. We added up the values of annual credits, excluding TSA PreCheck credits, and scored the annual value of credits on a continuous scale, with higher values earning higher scores.

Lounge Access

Airport lounge access is a relatively common benefit of high-end travel cards, but it’s offered by some mid-range cards as well. The type of lounge access varies by card, with the most common being a Priority Pass Select membership. Co-branded airline cards may provide access to their associated airline’s lounge. Premium cards tend to offer unlimited access, while mid-range cards may offer several one-visit passes per year.

We scored airport lounge access as a binary criterion, either yes or no. Cards that offered lounge access received a higher score. Additional details were taken into consideration, such as lounge brands and level of access, when choosing category winners.

TSA PreCheck Credit

TSA PreCheck provides expedited passage through security lanes at airports, and membership lasts for five years. Many credit cards offer up to $85 in reimbursement for the membership fee every four years.

We scored TSA PreCheck credits on a binary scale (yes/no). Cards with TSA PreCheck reimbursement received higher scores.

Airline Partners

Most major airlines are part of an international alliance, such as Star Alliance or oneworld. Miles for one airline may be redeemed for flights on other airlines in that alliance. The more members of that alliance, the better it can be for rewards earners. For airline and general travel cards, we considered the number of airlines with which rewards could be redeemed. For general travel cards that had multiple airlines that cardholders could transfer points to, we counted the number of alliance members for each transfer partner. We scored the total number of airlines affiliated with the card’s rewards program on a continuous scale, with more airlines earning a higher score.

Hotel Partners

Big hotel chains, such as Marriott, have multiple brands, such as St. Regis and Residence Inn. The more hotel brands, the more choices rewards earners have for redeeming credit card points for free stays. For hotel and general travel cards, we considered the number of hotel brands for which the card’s rewards could be redeemed. For general travel cards that allow cardholders to transfer points to multiple hotel chains, we counted the number of hotel brands for each transfer partner. We scored the number of hotel brands on a continuous scale, with more brands earning a higher score.

Annual Hotel Reward Night

Some co-branded hotel credit cards offer an annual free night’s stay. We scored free annual hotel reward nights on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered a free reward night with no spending requirement received the higher score.

Hotel Elite Status

Many general travel and hotel credit cards offer elite status in a hotel’s rewards program as a benefit. Higher status earns you perks like room upgrades and early check-ins, and may allow you to earn more points within that program. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered any level of hotel elite status earned the higher score.

Priority Boarding

Priority boarding allows you to get on the plane before general boarding, potentially making it easier to secure overhead bin space. Priority boarding is a benefit of many airline cards, and it often applies not only to the cardholder but also to several other passengers on the same reservation. Priority boarding was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that provided priority boarding received the higher score.

Free Checked Bag

Getting a free checked bag can save you $35–$40 per flight per bag. This benefit usually applies to the cardholder and several other passengers on the same reservation. We scored free checked bags on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered a free checked bag for at least one person earned the higher score.

Companion Pass

A companion pass lets an additional person fly on your reservation, in some cases completely for free, but with some limitations. In other cases, you may have to pay a flat fee plus taxes and other fees. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered a free companion pass with no spending requirement received the higher score.

Insurance and Protection Benefits

Most credit cards come with some insurance and protection benefits, which may apply when you pay for eligible expenses with your card. These benefits kick in if something goes wrong, and can be a helpful backstop when other methods fail or run out.

Cellphone Insurance

Cellphone insurance provides compensation, up to a specified limit, if your cellphone is damaged or stolen (exact terms may vary). Some cards offer coverage as a free benefit as long as you pay your cellphone bill with the credit card. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered cellphone insurance earned the higher score.

Price Protection

Price protection is a shopping benefit that reimburses you if you buy an eligible item with your card and then find it advertised at a lower price. Price protection was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered price protection earned the higher score.

Return Protection

Credit card return protection reimburses you if you try to return an eligible item purchased with your card, but the merchant won’t accept it. Return protection was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered return protection earned the higher score.

Extended Warranty

An extended warranty benefit lengthens the coverage period of an original manufacturer’s warranty, often by up to one additional year—sometimes more. Extended warranty was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered extended warranties earned the higher score.

Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance provides help if you have car trouble. Depending on the level of this benefit, you may pay a fee or receive a certain number of service calls free. Roadside assistance was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered some form of roadside assistance earned the higher score.

Primary Rental Car Insurance

When you rent a car using a credit card that has rental insurance, you can decline the rental company’s collision and damage waiver and rely on your card’s protection instead. Credit card rental car insurance provides coverage for collision damage and theft, up to certain limits. Primary rental insurance takes effect before your personal insurance, making it a more valuable benefit than secondary insurance. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards with primary rental insurance received the higher score.

Secondary Rental Car Insurance

Secondary rental car insurance takes effect after your personal car insurance, covering expenses that remain after your insurance pays out. Secondary rental insurance was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered this benefit earned the higher score.

Lost Baggage Insurance

Lost baggage insurance provides compensation for the replacement cost of the contents of lost or damaged bags while in transit with a common carrier, like an airline. Limits apply, and you must use your credit card to pay for the transit. This criterion was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered lost baggage insurance earned the higher score.

Delayed Baggage Insurance

Delayed baggage insurance reimburses you for the cost of buying essential items when your bags don’t arrive on time. Reasonable expenses, such as toiletries and clothing, are typically covered. Coverage is limited to a certain dollar amount per day, for a certain number of days. Delayed baggage insurance was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards with this benefit earned the higher score.

Trip Cancellation Insurance

If you pay for a trip with your credit card and have to cancel for an eligible reason before the trip begins, trip cancellation insurance may reimburse you for prepaid nonrefundable expenses. Eligible reasons may include injury and weather-related flight cancellations. Trip cancellation insurance was scored on a binary scale (yes/ no); cards with this benefit scored higher.

Trip Delay Insurance

Trip delay insurance is similar to trip cancellation insurance, but it applies to trips that are held up for eligible reasons. It may reimburse you for reasonable expenses, such as hotel stays, meals, and toiletries, incurred due to severe delays. This criterion was scored on a binary scale (yes/no); cards with this benefit scored higher.

Other Benefits

Credit cards typically come with many minor benefits and services. We selected two of the most useful to collect and score in this category.

Free Credit Score

Many credit card issuers today provide a free credit score of some kind. This is often a VantageScore, but some issuers provide a FICO score. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that offered any free credit score received the higher score.

Year-End Summary

A credit card year-end summary is an annual report that categorizes your credit card activity from the previous year, including transactions, fees, and payments. Transactions may be broken down into specific spend categories, letting you see how much you spent on groceries, gas, or dining, for instance. Year-end summaries can be useful for budgeting and tax preparation. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that provided year-end summaries earned the higher score.

Secured Card Features

Secured credit cards are designed for people with poor or limited credit. They require a security deposit that establishes your credit limit at account opening—the more you deposit, the higher your limit. This reduces the credit card issuer’s risk, making secured cards relatively easy to get.

Minimum Security Deposit

Secured cards require a security deposit within a set minimum and maximum range. Minimum amounts vary from card to card, making some cards more accessible than others. We scored minimum security deposit on a continuous scale, with lower required deposits getting higher scores.

Maximum Security Deposit

The maximum allowed security deposit of a secured card helps determine the upper limit for that card’s credit limit. It’s important to have a credit limit large enough to accommodate your monthly spending because it can help reduce your credit utilization ratio, which can improve your credit score. It can also let you spend what you need on the card each month without hitting the limit. We scored maximum security deposit on a continuous scale, with higher maximum amounts earning higher scores.

Security Deposit Installments

Some secured cards allow you to pay your security deposit in installments, rather than all at once. This can be useful if cash is tight and you can’t afford to pay the full deposit when you open the card. We scored the ability to pay the security deposit in installments on a binary scale, either yes or no; cards that allow this earned the higher score.

Secured Credit Limit Above Deposit Amount

With secured cards, the credit limit is typically equal to the security deposit amount. But some issuers provide a credit limit higher than the deposit, depending on the applicant’s credit and financial situation. This higher credit limit can be good for your credit score if it helps reduce your credit utilization, and it provides some extra spending power. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that may offered a credit limit above the deposit amount scored higher.

Secured to Unsecured Upgrade

Secured credit cards allow people with poor or limited credit to get their foot in the door of the credit world, helping them build better credit over time. As your credit improves, you may want to move on from a secured card. Some issuers make this easy by upgrading your card to an unsecured card, either automatically or by invitation, if you use it responsibly and make on-time payments for a certain period. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); cards that allowed an upgrade to an unsecured card scored higher.

Card Eligibility

Restricted Application

Credit unions, wholesale clubs, and some other companies may require you to become a member before you can apply for their credit cards. This presents a small hurdle in the application process and may require you to pay a membership fee as well. We scored this criterion on a binary scale (yes/no); credit cards with application restrictions received the lower score.

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