Slide to match how you spend. The board ranks the country’s favorite cards by what lands in your pocket after the fee. Plenty of people swear off annual fees. Many of them are leaving money on the table. See where you stand.
The quiet giant of rewards. A banking balance can lift every Bank of America card on this board.
Checking a box invites that club’s card onto the board.
Many cards skip grocery rewards inside warehouse clubs and superstores. This keeps the math honest.
With an EV, the gas slider becomes charging. Cards that reward charging keep earning. Pure gas-station cards step aside.
The big fee cards now come stuffed with credits for hotels, dining, and rideshare. Clip every coupon and the math changes. Clip none and you pay full freight. Set your honest number.
Every card earns at its published rates as of June 2026, applied to your sliders and added up over a full year, with category caps enforced. Bank points count at one cent each, the floor. Hotel points count at their lower real-world values. Transfer partners often push bank points well past the floor, which only widens the lead of the points cards you see here. Net value is simple: rewards earned, minus the annual fee, plus whatever share of the coupon book you told us you would really use.
Welcome bonuses sit outside the math, so the numbers reflect every year you hold the card. So do free-night certificates, lounge access, companion fares, and travel protections. Treat each ranking as the card’s floor. Rotating-category cards assume a sensible slice of your everyday spending lines up with their calendar. The Bank of America choice category and the Venmo top category pick whichever of your categories pays best, automatically.
Cards tied to a club, like the Prime Visa or the Costco Anywhere, join the board when you check that membership in Advanced. A handful of single-store cards sit in the library but stay out of the ranking until the math about those stores can be honest.
Rates, fees, and credits verified June 2026 and subject to change by issuers. This tool is editorial and illustrative. Confirm current terms with each issuer before applying. Card Compass is independent and accepts no compensation from any issuer. Some cards skip rewards at superstores and warehouse clubs. The Citi Custom Cash closed to new applicants in May 2026 and rests in the library, not the ranking.
