What Are the Best Rewards Credit Cards of 2019?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is our best overall rewards credit card because cardholders will earn two points on dining and travel and one point on all other purchases. New cardholders will also be eligible to earn 50,000 bonus points if you spend at least $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. These points are worth as much as $625 when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Cardholders will also benefit from the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, which allows you to combine the points you earn with 13 travel rewards programs including United, Southwest and Marriott Hotels. Points earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can also be redeemed for flights, hotels and car rentals through the Chase Travel Portal at a 25% increase in value.

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is a good alternative to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for people that want an easy-to-use travel rewards card. With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® you'll get a solid 2.1% rewards rate on anything you buy (the card actually offers 2 miles for every $1 you spend, but we value each mile at $0.0105).

Worthwhile Sign-Up Bonus

Readers who are after a big sign-up bonus also won't be disappointed. New cardholders can earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. The estimated value of this bonus is around $700, which is much higher than other cards. The downside is the steep spending requirement, since most cards require at most $3,000 to award a bonus.

The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is another extremely popular travel card. It offers an above-average 2% rewards rate on all your purchases. This is one of the only cards to provide users with Global Entry or TSA Pre® Credit at this price point. Most cards will have annual fees of $450 or more.

10x miles at hotels.com/Venture

Currently, you can use the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card to earn a 10% rewards rate whenever you use it to book hotel stays through hotels.com/Venture. That's the highest rewards rate we've seen on any credit card to-date. Just note that this is a temporary promotion, and will be running through January 31, 2020.

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card offers the richest ongoing rewards of any no annual fee card that we've seen. Users get a 3% rate when eating out, buying gas, rideshares, transit tickets, flights, hotels, homestays, car rentals and certain streaming services (like Netflix and Spotify). That's a long list of categories for a card that doesn't charge an annual fee.

A Huge Welcome Bonus

Another highlight is the card's 30,000-point bonus. To earn it, you must spend at least $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. When redeemed for cash, the bonus is worth $300. That's an outstanding value for a card that doesn't come with an annual fee.

The Discover it® Cash Back offers cardholders 5% cash back in seasonal rewards that apply on up to $1,500 in spending each quarter. Compared to the 2% rewards rate benchmark, this figure is outstanding for a card with no annual fee attached. On all other spending cardholders will earn 1% cash back as well.

Double Up on the First Year

For new card holders, Discover will match the sum of all cash back you earn in the first 12 months. This means that you'll earn a minimum of 2% cash back, and up to 10% cash back in the seasonal categories. Additionally, the 5% cash back calendar includes many everyday spending categories including gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants or purchases on Amazon.com allowing cardholders to actually leverage these rewards.

For ease of use, our favorite cash back rewards card is the Citi® Double Cash Card with no annual fee and a flat rewards rate applicable to all spending. With this card you get 1% cash back when you make a purchase, followed by another 1% back as you pay—for an effective total of 2% cash back. This combination of features makes it the card most suitable for consumers seeking easy-to-earn spending rewards.

Alternative for High Spenders

If you spend over $25,000 each year on your credit cards, you'll come out ahead with the Barclays Arrival® Premier World Elite Mastercard®. That's another excellent 2% rewards rate credit card. The only difference is that if you spend over $25,000 annually, you'll receive a loyalty bonus each year that puts that card over the edge.

The Chase Freedom® is very similar to the Discover it® Cash Back. It also provides an extremely good 5% cash back rate on the first $1,500 in purchases in categories that change every quarter. If you don't know which of the cards to pick, we recommend looking at each card's bonus calendar and going with whatever fits your lifestyle better.

Cash Back Calendar

Here are this years' bonus categories for the Chase Freedom®:

We're naming the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card as the most valuable credit card for airline rewards. No other airline card provides as high of a rewards rate on general everyday purchases (1.8%) and up to 5.4% when used for Alaska Airlines purchases.

Companion Fare Benefit

Outside of the spending rewards, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card's best benefit is the companion fare discount. Each year you'll be eligible for booking an additional companion ticket for the flat rate of $121. Using the companion fare on a round trip ticket from New York to Los Angeles that costs on average $452 per person would save you $330.

If you mostly want rewards for travelling around the United States, we recommend getting the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card. The card has a rich ongoing bonus and a great rewards program. The major limiting factor is the card's airline. Southwest only operates in the U.S. and a few select routes in Central America.

A Lucrative Companion Ticket

Many people sign up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card as a means of earning the airline's companion pass. Currently, users can earn a companion pass and 30,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. This is a limited time offer that ends on 2/11/19. The companion pass is promotional and is valid through 12/31/19.

The Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card provides cardholders 3% back on dining and entertainment purchases. By contrast, most normal cards will struggle to give you more than 2% in these sorts of categories -- that includes cards with an annual fee. The only way you can get better rates is with this card's older brother, the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card, although that card charges an annual fee.

Beauty in the Details

Capital One clearly considered every small detail when designing this card, which is something we appreciate. The card's bright color will make it easier to see in the places you're likely using it the most -- dimly lit restaurants, bars and clubs. Like all Capital One cards, the Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card also has no foreign transaction fees meaning you don't have to think twice about using it when you travel abroad.

We found the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express provided the best rewards at gas stations and supermarkets. Cardholders will earn 6% cash back at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). The average family spends around $4,000 per year at supermarkets so the $6,000 annual cap shouldn't be a problem. Besides that, you also get an above-average 3% cash back at US gas stations and select US department stores.

A Worthwhile Annual Fee

The card charges a $95 annual fee, but this shouldn't be considered a con. The average person will come out well ahead thanks to the card's generous rewards. Based on our estimates, a person can expect to earn a net $845 in rewards with this card over two years. That's accounting for the annual fee.

The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is the best credit card for earning hotel points and free nights. Cardholders earn one free night award every year after their account anniversary that can be redeemed across 29 different hotel brands, including the Westin, the W and the Marriott. Given how much a night costs at participating hotels, we estimate the value of a free night to be worth hundreds of dollars.

Flexible Spending Rewards

The card also offers a competitive ongoing rewards rate of 1.8% to 5.4% (based on our estimated point value of $0.009 multiplied by the points earned), depending on where you spend. The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express comes with built in versatility since points earned can also be redeemed for flights on several airlines. Frequent travelers often use the points earned with this card to top off their accounts for awards travel.

We've recommended the Discover it® Student Cash Back as the top student rewards card every year since 2015, and it makes our list again this year. While its peers have gotten better over the years, very few have matched how rewarding this Discover card has been for students with its generous cash back rewards and bonuses.

Rotating Categories

Users get 5% rewards rates across different merchants each quarter, up to a maximum of $1,500 per quarter. This can include categories like Amazon.com, allowing you to earn rewards on school supplies as an example. Just keep in mind that the card requires you to stay on top of these categories and activate them online every 3 months. If you're too busy during your school semester to remember this, the card won't be very rewarding.

GPA-Related Perks

There's also a unique deal that might help students stay a little more motivated during finals week. In every school year in which your GPA is 3.0 or higher, Discover will award you a $20 statement credit, up to five consecutive years from the date your account is opened. While this isn't a huge bonus, it's still a nice perk that’s absent from other student cards we've seen.

The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is a must-have rewards credit card for businesses and startups. The card awards 2% cash back on all purchases, allowing you to get good rewards on all types of company expenses. Most of the business credit cards we review tend to shine in a few select categories. However, many small businesses today have spending so diverse that such specialized reward structures aren’t the best option.

Simplicity is Key

What makes this card stand out above the rest for many is the simplicity and time savings it can provide. Entrepreneurs are often busy juggling multiple responsibilities, and a credit card shouldn't have to be an extra hassle. Most business credit cards on the market have different categories and spending caps you need to keep track of. The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business keeps things simple, while still providing your company great cash back rewards.