The cards noted below as winners were nominated by at least two of the four experts, although a coup

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If you're one of the favored, you've had some eye-popping deals from which to choose. Chase, for example, passenger cruise reviews offered a limited-time passenger cruise reviews incentive of 100,000 miles for those who signed up for its British Airways card. Not to be outdone, Capital One used " 30 Rock " actor Alec Baldwin to promote a "Match My Miles Challenge" on its Venture passenger cruise reviews Card, promising passenger cruise reviews to match up to 100,000 miles that cardholders had earned with other airline credit card programs (the British Airways card was excluded, alas).
"Rewards cards have really become hot," said Bill Hardekopf of LowCards.com , a credit card comparison site. "The major issuers are becoming more aggressive in securing new credit card customers, especially those with good to excellent credit scores."
Keeping up with these ever-changing deals isn't easy, so I asked four industry experts -- Hardekopf, Chen, Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com and Ben Woolsey of CreditCards.com passenger cruise reviews -- to nominate their favorite plastic in three rewards categories: Travel. These cards generally offer the richest returns but only if you get the right card and know how to use it. If you're an infrequent traveler or not looking for upgrades, a different card might be a better fit. Savings. This category encompasses a variety of cards that help you put aside money in an investment plan, pay down your mortgage or get discounts on major purchases such as cars. Cash back. These cards are a good, simple choice for many, kicking back up to 5% of certain purchases.
The cards noted below as winners were nominated by at least two of the four experts, although a couple of cards won unanimous praise. passenger cruise reviews Honorable mention cards were singled out by one of the experts as worthy of consideration. Calculator: When will your credit cards be paid off?
Before we proceed further, understand that rewards cards are best used by people who don't carry credit card balances, because these cards typically come with high interest rates. If you're not able to pay your balance in full every month, check the sites above for a low-interest rate card instead.
A clear winner emerged this year: Capital One's Venture Rewards , nominated by all four experts. passenger cruise reviews Three of the experts liked the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature card, and two of our experts cited the Citi Gold/AAdvantage World MasterCard . Last year's winner, the Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express, wasn't nominated passenger cruise reviews this year.
"While the Starwood passenger cruise reviews AmEx gets the most press for being the favorite in this category, I would rather have the Capital One Venture Rewards card," said NerdWallet's Chen. "The Starwood card does have one of the highest rewards payouts of any card we track -- around 2.3%, by our estimates -- but these points are primarily useful for 'travel hackers' and people who stay in luxury hotels."
The experts praised passenger cruise reviews the Venture Rewards card for its simple, flexible structure. Every purchase earns a 2% reward, which can be redeemed for travel expenses on any airline, passenger cruise reviews hotel or rental car, with no blackout dates and no exceptions. The card also charges passenger cruise reviews no foreign transaction fees; most cards tack on a 2% to 3% charge for these, so international travelers can really save. The $59 annual fee is waived for the first year.
"There are no caps on points or spending thresholds, passenger cruise reviews you can redeem for any travel expense and you earn double points on all purchases," CardRatings' Arnold said. "Those features make this a good card for a much broader group of consumers than most travel cards. You don't necessarily have to be a big spender or travel often to get your money's worth out of this card."
The Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card has a good sign-up bonus, the experts noted. Users can earn 40,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points after spending $1,000 within four months of the account's opening. Plus, they earn: Six bonus points for each $1 spent at a participating hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Three bonus points for each $1 spent on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations. Two bonus points for each $1 spent on all other purchases.
"I like this card because of the great sign-up bonus offer and the ability to rack up points passenger cruise reviews fast," passenger cruise reviews Arnold said. "It's nice that the card allows you to earn bonus points in non-travel categories as well as double points on all purchases. Not having an annual fee also sets this card apart, passenger cruise reviews since most travel cards with a robust rewards program currently have an annual fee."
The Citi Gold/AAdvantage World MasterCard is another card with a better-than-average sign-up bonus: 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after $750 in purchases within the first four months. Users earn one AAdvantage mile for every $1 spent, and the $50 annual fee is waived for the first 12 months.
Honorable passenger cruise reviews mentions: Escape passenger cruise reviews by Discover Card, Blue Sky from American Express, the Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card from Chase, passenger cruise reviews the United Mileage Plus Card from Chase and Chase's Sapphire Preferred card. Continued: passenger cruise reviews Savings and cash-back cards Single page 1 2 Next RELATED ARTICLES Credit and debt: Management, rates and consolidation advice - MSN ... Credit cards: Advice about bad credit, scores rewards - MSN Money How to live without a credit card - - MSN Money 6 great cards for rebuilding credit - 1 - - MSN Money Why young people hate credit passenger cruise reviews cards - - MSN Money Video tips: Credit card deals, credit reports, identity passenger cruise reviews theft ... VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
Write a comment... 5 Comments Newest Oldest Best Worst Controversial The_Mick Jun 16, 2011 12:03PM If you pay off your entire passenger cruise reviews balances each month, it pays to charge because the charge cards almost all offer rewards passenger cruise reviews these days. I wanted to say something passenger cruise reviews here about avoiding overspending your budget when charging, but this site's censor rules are beyond ridiculous.      16      3 Replies ( 0 ) Hide replies Report Spam Previous replies     Write a reply... Kamity Jun 16, 2011 2:02PM I currently have the Citi Mastercard described at the end of the article, and Costco's American Express card. I charge everything for the cash back. Just make sure you stay within your budget and pay off your balances in full and everything should be good! I secretly hope that some day merchants will be allowed to offer cash discounts or charge you based on their actual costs of doing credit card transactions ... I feel bad because I know they're paying extra fees so I can get money back. But I do like having the record of my transactions on my credit card statements. passenger cruise reviews      5      0 Replies ( 0 ) Hide replies Report passenger cruise reviews Spam Previous replies passenger cruise reviews     Write a reply... agni792 Jun 16, 2011 4:32PM
I currently have the CIti Thank You card. Just got it and ...trying to rack up those points      1      1 Replies ( 0 ) Hide replies Report Spam Previous replies     Write a reply... Louis Alanis (Jazzman from Arizona) Jul 5, 2012 2:01PM The Costco AmEx Card is free, however, you have to pay an annual of $55.00 for the Costco membership. Without the membership, you will not get the Costco AmEx card issued. But for me, it is convenient because passenger cruise reviews Costco is usually on my way to the East Valley, so I get discounted gas, and the annual cash back. I average $300 dollars annually cash back, so the $55.00 is actually paid off by the rebated passenger cruise reviews incentive that I receive every year. Aside from the obvious, I like the idea that they track all the transactions and have a quick reference in case of erroneous charges. I had to go back for 5 months recently do disprove a charge with DirectTv, and with the help of all the transactions, I managed to avoid being double charged passenger cruise reviews by D.TV. All in all, I give the Costco AmEx card a 8.0 when compared to the other cards. I have done extensive comparison and found that this is better than all other offers that will work for me.      0      0 Replies ( 0 ) Hide replies Report Spam Previous replies     Write a reply... KathyMcCauley passenger cruise reviews Jul 23, 2011 7:49PM
REALLY HOW MANY CARDS DO I NEED.. THAT'S THE DECISION I'M MAKING TODAY.      0      0 Replies ( 0 ) Hide replies Report passenger cruise reviews Spam Previous replies passenger cruise reviews     Write a reply... Add a comment Report Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate passenger cruise reviews behavior. If you believe a message violates the Code of Conduct please use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities. Categories Spam Child pornography or exploitation Profanity, passenger cruise reviews vulgarity or obscenity Copyright infringement Harassment or threat Threats of suicide Other Additional comments (optional) passenger cruise reviews   100 character limit Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
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