Best No-Annual-Fee Credit Cards
97 live cards in our database charge no annual fee and aren’t store, business, student or secured cards. Here are the top 25, in score order, with the fee, earn rates and welcome offer for each.
Ranked by math · Compensation never changes the order · Methodology
A no-fee card has nothing to earn back before it starts paying you, so the question is simply which one returns the most on how you spend. Most of the strong $0 cards fall into three shapes: a flat rate on everything, a few fixed bonus categories (dining, groceries, gas), or categories that rotate every quarter. The overall score below compares them on one scale; use the category pages if one kind of spending dominates your budget.
The ranking
Card data checked October 9, 2026 · 97 cards compared, top 25 shown
- 1
Discover it® Cash Back
Discover · Discover- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 79
- 5% rotating categories
Welcome offer: Get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year, automatically.
- 2
Citi Strata℠ Card
Citi · Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 76
- 5x points per dollar on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
- 3x points per dollar spent at supermarkets
- 3x points per dollar spent on select transit and at gas & EV charging stations
Welcome offer: Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.
- 3
PNC Cash Rewards®
PNC Bank · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 68
- 4% cash back on gas purchases
- 3% cash back on dining
- 2% cash back on grocery stores
Welcome offer: Earn a $250 bonus. Just make $1,000 or more in purchases during the first 3 months following account opening. Only one new account opening bonus per customer per product within a 24-month period.
- 4
PNC Cash Unlimited®
PNC · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 67
- Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases
- 5
BMO Cash Back Credit Card
BMO · Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 66
- 5% cash back on eligible streaming, cable TV and satellite services
- 3% cash back on eligible gas, EV charging and grocery purchases
- 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases
- 6
Platinum
Navy FCU · Visa/Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 65
- 7
TD FlexPay Credit Card
TD Bank · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 65
- 8
Verizon Visa® Card
Synchrony Bank · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 64
- 4% in rewards on dining, gas and grocery store purchases
Welcome offer: Get a $150 statement credit when you open an account and make a purchase in the first 90 days. Limited time offer.
- 9
Eagle Adapt™ Credit Card
USAA · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 63
- 3% cash back on your first $3,000 in combined quarterly purchases across eligible spend categories including groceries, dining, gas and travel
- unlimited 1% cash back on other purchases
Welcome offer: Earn a $200 reward bonus after spending $1,000 on qualifying purchases by November 30, 2026.
- 10
Quicksilver VentureOne
Capital One · Visa or Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 63
- Unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar on all purchases
- 5 miles per dollar on hotels/rentals through Capital One Travel
Welcome offer: Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- 11
Discover it® Miles
Discover · Discover- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 63
- 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases
Welcome offer: Get an unlimited miles match of all the miles you earn at the end of your first year, automatically.
- 12
Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card
Bank of America · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 63
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Welcome offer: $250 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
- 13
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card
U.S. Bank · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 61
- 4% cash back on prepaid air, hotel and car reservations booked directly in the Travel Center when you use your card.
- 14
Truly Simple® Credit Card
Fifth Third · Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 61
- 15
PNC Spend Wise℠
PNC Bank · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 61
- none
Welcome offer: Earn a lower purchase APR when you pay on time and make at least $3,000 in net purchases over 12 billing cycles
- 16
Slate® Credit Card
Chase · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 17
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
Bank of America · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 3% cash back + 3% first-year cash back bonus in the category of your choice including gas and EV charging station, online shopping/cable/streaming/internet/phone plans, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy, or home improvement/furnishings purchases
- 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Welcome offer: Earn $200 cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening and 6% cash back in the category of your choice – for the first year.
- 18
Alliant Visa® Platinum credit card
Alliant Credit Union · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 19
Citi Simplicity® Card
Citi · Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- none
- 20
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
Wells Fargo · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 21
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
Citi · Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- none
- 22
Radiant Card
Truliant Federal Credit Union · Mastercard- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 23
BankAmericard® Credit Card
Bank of America · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- none
- 24
PenFed Gold Visa® Card
PenFed Credit Union · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 25
PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card
PenFed · Visa- Annual fee
- $0
- Overall score
- 60
- 5X on fuel and EV charging
- 3X supermarket and restaurants
- 1X all other purchases
Welcome offer: Earn 15,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in the first 90 days
How this page is built
Every live card in our database with a $0 annual fee, leaving out store and co-branded retail cards (they have their own page), business cards, student cards and secured / credit-builder cards. Sorted by each card’s overall score (final_score_blended), the same blended score our other rankings use as their tie-break. Partner (affiliate) links never change which cards appear or their order; an Apply button may become a labelled partner link, but the ranking is the same either way.
Card details come from our database, which is verified against each issuer’s own website; see our methodology, editorial policy and corrections policy.
Questions, answered from the data
Which no-annual-fee card ranks highest right now?
Discover it® Cash Back (Discover) has the highest overall score among the 97 no-annual-fee cards we compared, followed by Citi Strata℠ Card and PNC Cash Rewards®.
How many no-annual-fee cards did you compare?
97 live cards with a $0 annual fee, after leaving out store, business, student and secured cards. The page shows the top 25.
Which of these cards have no foreign transaction fee?
Among the top 25: Platinum, Eagle Adapt™ Credit Card, Quicksilver VentureOne and Discover it® Miles. The others either charge one or our database doesn’t list it — check the issuer’s terms before travelling.
How often is this list updated?
The site rebuilds whenever card data changes in our database and at least once a month. This page was built from data checked October 9, 2026. Always confirm current terms on the issuer’s site.