Lower your expenses by getting one of these credit cards with no annual fee | CNN Underscored

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Many people focused on shrinking their household expenses during the pandemic, and one obvious way to cut costs is to eliminate the annual fee on your credit card. Fortunately, competition on the no-annual-fee card front has intensified in recent years, and right now there’s a plethora of fee-free cards out there that offer compelling rewards and even sign-up bonuses.

CNN Underscored’s comprehensive credit card methodology compares every aspect of each no-annual-fee credit card to our “benchmark credit card” — the Citi® Double Cash Card — to determine which cards can potentially bring you maximum value in addition to lowering your balances. So check out our list of the best credit cards with no annual fee to decide which one will best fit your needs.

Citi Double Cash Card: Best for flat-rate cash back
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: Best for groceries
Chase Freedom Flex: Best for dining
Citi Rewards+® Card: Best for small purchases
Chase Freedom Unlimited: Best for flexible rewards
U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Best for 0% interest on purchases
Discover it® Cash Back: Best sign-up bonus
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card: Best no-annual-fee travel card

Why did we select these cards as our best no-annual-fee credit cards for 2021? Dive into the details of each card with us, and see how they stack up.

Why it’s great in one sentence: A quick glance at the features of the Citi Double Cash Card makes it clear why it’s our benchmark card. First, it has no annual fee, so it doesn’t cost you money each year just for the privilege of having it. Second, it earns 2% cash back on everything — 1% when you make the purchase and another 1% as you pay it off.

This card is right for: People who want a best-in-class return from a no-annual-fee card, with no hoops to jump through or bonus categories to remember.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: None.

What we like about the Citi Double Cash: On top of having no annual fee, the Citi Double Cash has one of the best and most straightforward earning rates across all credit cards. You’ll earn 2% in cash back — 1% when you buy something, and another 1% when you pay it off — on every single purchase you make, with no caps of any kind.

For people who don’t spend a lot of money in a specific bonus category such as dining, groceries or travel, earning flat-rate cash back probably makes the most sense, and there’s really no other major credit card available today that offers as high of an ongoing flat-rate return on every single purchase without an annual fee.

New Citi Double Cash card holders can also take advantage of a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 18 months. It’s important to note that after the introductory APR expires, you’ll pay a variable 13.99%-23.99% (depending on your creditworthiness) on the remaining balance, so you’ll want to be sure to either pay off your debt in full or transfer it to another card before the 18 months end.

For most people, using the Citi Double Cash to earn and redeem cash back will be as far as they need to go. But advanced credit card users also have the ability to convert cash back earned with the Double Cash into Citi ThankYou Rewards travel points, with $1 in cash back equal to 100 ThankYou points.

One thing that could be better: You won’t find any bonus categories on the Citi Double Cash, and that’s the downside of simplicity. So if you routinely make a large number of purchases in a particular category, you may find another credit card that offers a bonus for those purchases is a better choice for you.

Why it’s our “benchmark” credit card: The ease of use and straightforward top-of-market cash-back earning rate of the Citi Double Cash are why CNN Underscored currently considers the Double Cash as our “benchmark” credit card. We use it as our benchmark card to compare the features of other credit cards and determine if they’re better or worse overall.

You can read more about our benchmark credit card concept in our credit card methodology guide, or dig into our complete review of the Citi Double Cash.

Learn more and apply for the Citi Double Cash Card.

Why it’s great in one sentence: The Blue Cash Everyday card offers a generous introductory interest rate on purchases for 15 months while also earning 3% cash back at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 annually, then 1%) and 2% back at US gas stations, all with no annual fee (see rates and fees).

This card is right for: People who want to temporarily avoid high interest rates on their purchases, but who also spend a significant amount of their budget at US supermarkets and gas stations.

Highlights:

Welcome bonus: Earn $100 cash back as a statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first six months after opening the account, plus 20% back on Amazon purchases in the first six months of card membership, up to $150 back.

What we like most about the Blue Cash Everyday: For many Americans, a significant portion of the monthly family budget goes to supermarket and gas station expenses. The no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday card dials up the bonus cash back on those two categories, creating a go-to in your wallet for two routine purchases.

The card also pairs its bonus categories with an introductory 0% APR on purchases for the first 15 months after you open the account, making it a solid choice if you’re trying to make ends meet. But you’ll want to make sure your debt is paid off by the end of the intro period, as the APR jumps to a variable 13.99% to 23.99% afterward.

You’ll also find a nice welcome bonus with a relatively small minimum spending requirement on the Blue Cash Everyday, and even car rental loss and damage insurance, to top off a fairly complete package.

One thing that could be better: Bonus cash back isn’t earned on purchases outside of the US with the Blue Cash Everyday, and there’s a 3% foreign transaction fee on top of that (see rates and fees), though that’s unlikely to be an issue at the moment with international travel still mostly restricted due to the pandemic.

You can also earn twice as much cash back at US supermarkets if you’re willing to forgo a few months of the introductory offer on purchases by getting the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express instead of the Blue Cash Everyday.

The Blue Cash Preferred has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 thereafter (see rates and fees). But it earns 6% cash back at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year (then 1%). The downside is that its introductory offer on purchases runs for only 12 months instead of 15 months.

Related: Amex Blue Cash Preferred vs. Blue Cash Everyday: Which is best for you?

Where it beats our benchmark card: Welcome bonus, an introductory interest rate on purchases, car rental damage coverage.

Where our benchmark card is better: The Citi Double Cash has an introductory interest rate on balance transfers, and its cash back can be converted to Citi ThankYou travel points when combined with the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier card.

Learn more about the Blue Cash Everyday Card.

Why it’s great in one sentence: Along with a trio of permanent bonus categories that includes an impressive 3% cash back on dining and eligible food delivery services, the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex card earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in rotating bonus categories each quarter.

This card is right for: People who want a card that earns bonus cash back both for dining and in rotating categories.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 bonus cash back after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months after opening the account.

What we like most about the Chase Freedom Flex: While you might get the Chase Freedom Flex for its sign-up bonus, it’ll likely become a staple in your purse or wallet thanks to its permanent bonus categories that includes 3% cash back on dining and food delivery services, and its perpetual rotating 5% bonus categories on useful purchases like groceries and gas.

The current Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories for April through June are gas stations and home improvement stores. That means you could earn as much as $75 in bonus cash back whether you’re making improvements to your work-from-home space, or back on the road in your car.

Plus, the Chase Freedom Flex grows with you. If you apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card down the road, you can convert the cash back you earn with the Chase Freedom into Ultimate Rewards points, which can be redeemed for travel at the Chase travel portal, or transferred to Chase’s airline and hotel partners to extract potentially even more value from them.

One thing that could be better: It’s hard to gripe about the Chase Freedom Flex, but you should be mindful of its pesky 3% foreign transaction fee, and the fact that you must remember to activate the bonus categories each quarter in order to earn 5% cash back on them.

Where it beats our benchmark card: Sign-up bonus, introductory rate on purchases for 15 months.

Where our benchmark card is better: The Citi Double Cash has an introductory rate on balance transfers.

Learn more and apply for the Chase Freedom Flex.

Why it’s great in one sentence: If you use your credit card for a lot of small purchases — meaning under $10 — then the “round-up” feature of the Citi Rewards+ will earn you extra rewards, and its introductory offer on new purchases can lower your costs if you have to carry debt.

This card is right for: People looking to earn more points for small purchases, while also needing to pay for some expenses over time.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: Earn 15,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in purchases in your first three months.

What we like most about the Citi Rewards+: There are three features of the Citi Rewards+ that make it worthy of consideration. First, the rewards you earn for every purchase made with the card round up to the nearest 10 points. That won’t make a huge difference on expensive items, but a $2 pack of gum earns 10 points instead of 2 points, a 400% improvement. Lots of these little transactions can add up quickly.

Second, when you redeem points, you’ll get 10% of your points back on up to 100,000 points every year. That means if you use 2,500 points to redeem for a $25 gift card, you’ll soon see 250 points back in your account to redeem again down the line. Since you can get up to 10,000 points back each year, that’s effectively up to an extra $100 in points to spend on gift cards.

And third, although the Citi Rewards+ earns points that can be redeemed for gift cards, cash back or through Citi’s Shop with Points program, if you also have a Citi Premier or Citi Prestige Card, you can move your points to your other card and open up a whole new world of options, including redeeming points for travel down the line or transferring them to Citi’s airline partners.

One thing that could be better: If you’re not pairing the Citi Rewards+ with one of the premium Citi ThankYou cards, the most value you can get for your points is 1 cent apiece when redeeming for gift cards. If you redeem points for cash back, the value is only 0.5 cents per point, in which case you’d be better off with the flat-rate cash back of our benchmark Citi Double Cash card or one of the other 0% interest cards on our list.

Where it beats our benchmark card: Valuable sign-up bonus, 10% points back on redemptions up to 100,000 points per year, 15-month introductory offer on purchases.

Where our benchmark card is better: The Citi Double Cash has a longer introductory interest rate period of 18 months on balance transfers.

Learn more and apply for the Citi Rewards+ Card.

Why it’s great in one sentence: If you’re on the fence about whether you’d prefer to rack up cash back or travel points, the Chase Freedom Unlimited allows you to do both when paired with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

This card is right for: People who want maximum flexibility in a no-annual-fee credit card.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 bonus cash back after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months after opening the account.

What we like about the Chase Freedom Unlimited: If you prefer cash back now but think that a dose of adventure is in your future once travel returns to normal, the Chase Freedom Unlimited can give you the best of both worlds.

When you pair the Chase Freedom Unlimited with a premium Ultimate Rewards card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can convert your cash back to travel points at a rate of 1 cent per point. Then you’re able to redeem those points for travel at an increased value of 1.25 to 1.5 cents apiece via the Chase travel portal.

Even better, once you’ve converted the cash back to points, you can transfer them to any of Chase’s 13 airline and hotel loyalty partners. This amazing flexibility is why frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents apiece. At that rate, since you’re earning 1.5% cash back on the Freedom Unlimited, you could effectively end up with a 3% return on your purchases.

Chase also added three bonus categories to the Chase Freedom Unlimited in 2020. Both new and existing card holders now earn 5% cash back on travel purchases made via Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash back on dining — including takeout and delivery — and 3% cash back at drugstores, along with 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Other benefits of the Chase Freedom Unlimited include purchase protection and extended warranty protection, and a three-month subscription to DashPass if you activate it by December 31.

One thing that could be better: The 1.5% flat earning rate of the Chase Freedom Unlimited falls short of some other no-annual-fee cards, which top out at 2%. However, the ability to potentially transfer cash back to points might be worth the tradeoff, especially since Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the better flexible rewards programs, and the bonus categories are icing on the cake.

Where it beats our benchmark card: Sign-up bonus, purchase protections, introductory rate on purchases for 15 months.

Where our benchmark card is better: The Citi Double Cash offers a higher overall cash back rate and an introductory rate on balance transfers.

Learn more and apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited.

Why it’s great in one sentence: For those who’d rather pay no interest on purchases for as long as possible, instead of earning cash back or travel rewards, the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card offers a 0% APR on all purchases for the first 20 billing cycles you have the card. (The APR rises to a variable 13.99% to 23.99% after the introductory period ends.)

This card is right for: People who need a lengthy period of paying no interest on their purchases.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: None.

What we like about the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum: If you need extra time to pay your current bills, 20 billing cycles without interest is exceptional compared with other credit cards, and that long runway enables a peace of mind that you can weather a storm without a looming interest rate hike.

This card also pairs that great introductory interest rate on purchases with an identical offer on balance transfers, so long as they’re made within the first 60 days after you open the card. That means with a high enough credit limit, you can use the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum to consolidate all your debt if you need to.

There’s also an added perk on this card: ongoing cell phone protection. When you pay your cell phone bill with the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum, you’ll be covered for damage or theft to your cell phone up to $600, with a $25 deductible, for up to two claims per 12-month period.

Related: Protect your cell phone from theft or damage with these credit cards.

One thing that could be better: The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum isn’t a long-term credit card. It doesn’t earn any rewards at all, doesn’t come with a sign-up bonus and doesn’t have any other significant perks. It has no annual fee but charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so you definitely won’t want to use it overseas.

In other words, you might consider using it on an ongoing basis to pay your cell phone bill to get the included cell phone protection, but its utility beyond that is limited to the introductory rate period.

Where it beats our benchmark card: An introductory interest rate on purchases, a longer period of 20 billing cycles for no interest on introductory balance transfers, cell phone protection.

Where our benchmark card is better: The Citi Double Cash earns easy-to-redeem cash back on all purchases and has a longer four-month period to complete any introductory balance transfers.

Learn more and apply for the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum.

Why it’s great in one sentence: The cash back match bonus and rotating categories on the Discover it Cash Back card mean you can earn a ton of cash back in the first year you have the card.

This card is right for: People who routinely spend money on groceries, gas stations, wholesale clubs, restaurants, Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com. All of those (and more!) are included in Discover’s rotating bonus categories, enabling you to maximize earnings if you’re strategic about when you spend.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: Receive a match of all cash back earned at the end of your first year.

What we like most about the Discover it Cash Back: Discover’s rotating cash-back categories are quite useful, and if you don’t mind setting reminders of when to use it (and on what categories), the earnings can really pile up.

The current categories from now through June 30 are gas stations, wholesale clubs and select streaming services, and you can find even more future possibilities on Discover’s 5% cash back calendar for 2021, which includes popular standbys such as restaurants and Amazon.

On top of that, all the cash back you earn on the Discover it Cash Back will be matched at the end of the first year for new cardholders, making this an ideal card to have if you know you’ll be spending a lot on your credit card over the next year. This means those rotating bonus categories are worth 10% in the first year, and all your purchases outside of the bonus categories earn a solid 2% return the first year.

One thing that could be better: You need to manually activate the categories on the Discover it Cash Back each quarter online or by phone before you make purchases in order to earn the bonus cash back. The card also has no travel insurance coverage and no cell phone protection.

Where it beats our benchmark card: No foreign transaction fees and the cash back match in the first year equals the earning rate of the Citi Double Cash for everyday purchases, and beats it in the bonus categories.

Where our benchmark card is better: After the first year when the cash back match bonus ends, the Citi Double Cash earns a higher return on everyday purchases.

Why it’s great in one sentence: One of the few no-annual-fee credit cards with both transfer partners and easy-to-redeem direct redemptions already built in, the Capital One VentureOne features a lower earning rate than its more expensive brother but offers the same solid redemption options.

This card is right for: People who like the features of the Capital One Venture, but are willing to exchange a lower everyday earning rate for no annual fee.

Highlights:

Sign-up bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus miles after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months after opening the account.

What we like about the Capital One VentureOne: Usually when there are two versions of the same credit card — one with an annual fee and another without — you can expect the one with no cost to be a fairly stripped-down offering. But that’s not necessarily the case with the Capital One VentureOne.

Most of the features of the more expensive Capital One Venture remain intact on the VentureOne, including the same 1 cent per mile redemption value when using the card’s “Purchase Eraser” to wipe out any travel charge (as well as food delivery and streaming services between now and June 30).

The card also has access to the same airline and hotel transfer partners at the same transfer ratios, the same travel and purchase protections, and even the same no foreign transaction fees.

The main two downsides of the VentureOne are a reduced 1.25 miles earned for every dollar you spend (instead of the 2 miles you get on the Venture) and only a 20,000-mile sign-up bonus, albeit with a lower minimum spending requirement of just $500 in purchases in the first three months you have the account. Depending on how much value you can get from these two features, you could consider the VentureOne with no annual fee and most of the best perks.

One thing that could be better: Unless you’re going to take advantage of Capital One’s transfer partners, you’d be better off with our benchmark Citi Double Cash card over the VentureOne. That’s because you’re only earning 1.25 miles per dollar with the Capital One VentureOne, and you only get 1 cent per mile when redeeming them using the “Purchase Eraser,” meaning you’re effectively getting a return of 1.25 cents per dollar spent, while the Citi Double Cash earns 2 cents per dollar spent.

That equation changes if you can utilize the transfer partners, since you can score a higher redemption rate than just 1 cent per mile if you do your homework. But if you’re ready for that more advanced step, you’re probably better off starting with the more powerful Capital One Venture card anyway, since it comes with a bigger sign-up bonus.

Where it beats our benchmark card: Sign-up bonus, purchase protections, travel protections.

Where our benchmark card is better: The Citi Double Cash offers a higher overall cash back rate and an introductory rate on balance transfers.

Click here for rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday card.
Click here for rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred card.

Looking for a new credit card but don’t mind paying an annual fee? Check out CNN Underscored’s list of the best credit cards of 2021.

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