Best Credit Cards for the Holidays

by Molly Plester - Updated on December 19, 2024

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Gifts, travel, decorations, meals . . . all those holiday expenses add up fast. Luckily, the right credit card can make all the difference for your holiday budget (and your holiday spirit!) so you can celebrate a stress-free season.

We’ve rounded up our top picks to help you make the most of your holiday spending, with handy features such as:

Cash back rewards. Give yourself the gift of cash back on every purchase – during the holidays and beyond.
0% APR for up to 21 months. That’s right, you can wrap up your holiday shopping with no interest charges.
Travel rewards. Make your holiday travel plans more affordable, with mileage bonuses, airport upgrades and more.

Find your new credit card from our favorites below, then let the holiday countdown begin!

Cash-Back Cards

Cash back credit cards are the gift that keeps on giving. Choose everyday rewards to earn cash back on all purchases, or choose rewards categories to earn higher cash back for certain merchants (like Amazon) and industries (like travel). Wrap that up with a bow.

Discover it^® Cash Back

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Cash Back: If you like your credit rewards in cash, this is a great pick with its outstanding cash back match program in your first year.

Welcome Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.

Rewards: 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically.

Annual Fee: $0.

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

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Wells Fargo Active Cash<sup>®</sup> Card

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Cash Rewards: The Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card is an absolute game-changer in the rewards space with the most impressive unlimited cash rewards rate we’ve ever seen on a no-annual-fee card.

Welcome Offer: If you’re a new cardholder, you’ll earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

Rewards: Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

Annual Fee: $0.

Citi Custom Cash^® Card

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Cash Back: The Citi Custom Cash^® Card is one of the most innovative cards on the market, offering a rewards program that tailors itself to your spending habits.

Welcome Offer: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

Rewards: Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2026.

Annual Fee: $0.

Citi Double Cash^® Card

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Cash Back: With Citi Double Cash^® Card, there aren't any caps on the cash back you can earn and no categories to worry about, making maximizing your cash back simple.

Rewards: Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25.

Annual Fee: $0.

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

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Cash Back: The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card is a simple and easy-to-use card with a powerful ongoing rewards rate - a great pick for just about any wallet.

Welcome Offer: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

Rewards: 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply) – it’s as simple as that.

Annual Fee: $0.

Pay 0 Interest Until 2026 Cards

Zero interest could be your secret weapon for holiday shopping and budget relief. Many cards offer a special promotional period with 0% APR for up to 21 months, so you can buy gifts for everyone on your list without worrying about interest charges.

Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card

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Citi<sup>®</sup> Diamond Preferred<sup>®</sup> Card

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0% Intro APR: This card is a great choice for those looking to save by avoiding considerable interest rate expenses on high card balances since it offers a lengthy 0% intro APR period.

Intro Balance Transfer APR: Intro APR of 0% intro apr for 21 months on balance transfers and then 17.49% - 28.24% (variable) APR after that intro period is up.

Intro Purchase APR: Intro APR of 0% intro APR for 12 months on Purchases and then 17.49% - 28.24% (Variable) after that.

Rewards: This card doesn’t have a rewards program, but the nearly two years of 0% intro APR on balance transfers still makes this an amazing pick.

Extras: Get free access to your FICO® Score online, plus, with Citi Entertainment®, get special access to purchase tickets to thousands of events, including concerts, sporting events, and more.

Annual Fee: $0.

Citi Simplicity^® Card

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0% Intro APR: Take advantage of this card's super-long 0% intro APR offer. On top of that, there are also no late fees or penalty rates charged for late payments.

Intro Balance Transfer APR: Cardholders get nearly two years of 0% intro APR: 0% intro APR for 21 months on Balance Transfers, then 18.49% - 29.24% (Variable) APR after that intro period is up.

Intro Purchase APR: 0% intro APR for 12 months on Purchases; after that, an APR of 18.49% - 29.24% (Variable) applies.

Rewards: This card is completely focused on offering the longest periods of 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers, so it doesn’t come with a rewards program.

Annual Fee: $0.

Travel Cards

If your holiday plans include holiday travel, it might be time to tap into a travel credit card to make the most of your mileage. Many cards offer impressive welcome bonuses, plus you’ll earn points on every purchase that you can use to cover future travel expenses – or maybe a post-holiday vacation?

Discover it^® Miles

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Travel Rewards: Automatically earn 1.5 Miles per dollar on all purchases. - with a $0 annual fee. There’s a reason this card is a favorite among frequent travelers – it’s simple, easy-to-use and incredibly powerful.

Welcome Offer: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match.

Annual Fee: It’s so nice we’ll say it twice: this card comes with a $0 annual fee.

Citi Strata Premier^℠ Card

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Travel Rewards: This fantastic mid-tier card offers major point multipliers in most travel-related categories alongside one of the best welcome offers you’ll find on a rewards card with a sub-$100 annual fee.

Welcome Offer: For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com..

Annual Fee: $95, but don’t forget about the amazing welcome offer and exceptional ongoing rewards rate.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

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Travel Rewards: This card one of the simplest – but most impactful – travel rewards programs out there: earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

Welcome Offer: Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

Annual Fee: All the rewards above come with a $95 annual fee, but this can easily be offset in your first year with this card’s solid welcome offer.

Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card

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Bank of America<sup>®</sup> Travel Rewards credit card

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Travel Rewards: 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. . Those points can be redeemed for nearly any travel purchase in the form of statement credit, so you’ll always get the most out of your rewards.

Welcome Offer: 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases.

Annual Fee: $0—and since this card also doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees, you’ll be earning rewards without having to worry about costs adding up abroad.

Intro APR: This card comes with 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases then 18.49% - 28.49% Variable APR. Finance a trip or big purchase and take up to a year to pay down your balance without interest piling up!

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

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Chase Sapphire Preferred<sup>®</sup> Card

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Travel Rewards: If you like to travel, take note: cardholders enjoy beneﬁts such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more..

Welcome Offer: This is where this card really moves into the top-tier. Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Annual Fee: This card comes with a $95 annual fee, but as with some other cards on this list, the astonishing welcome offer more than outweighs this in your first year.

Methodology
Each month, the CompareCards team reviews over 100 credit card offers examining the features most valuable to consumers including rewards, welcome offer, the interest rate, fees and other features to identify the best offers shown here.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through a credit card issuer partnership.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply

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Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card Apply Now

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Rewards Rate: Unlimited 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)
Sign-Up Bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Intro APR: 0% intro on purchases for 15 months, then 19.49% - 29.49% (Variable). 0% intro on balance transfers for 15 months (Balance transfer fee applies), then 19.49% - 29.49% (Variable). Balance transfer fee applies

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Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

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