The Best Rewards Credit Cards of 2013

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Today, credit card companies are literally throwing cash, points and miles at consumers if they’ll sign up for a new rewards credit card. We’re talking bonuses worth hundreds of dollars just for getting a credit card, many of which have no annual fee. I’ve written about many of these deals over the past few months. For this article, I decided to do some more research to come up with the best rewards credit cards you’ll find anywhere.

I learned two things from my research. First, most articles you find are outdated. For example, even the venerable publication Consumer Reports lists rewards cards that have long since been replaced with better offers. And second, many lists leave out some of the best cards. In fairness, I should add that it’s not practical to list every offer available (there are literally thousands). But I’ve tried to include the rewards cards that are the absolute best.

The list is organized by type of reward (cash, miles or points):

Cash Rewards

Discover IT™

Editor's Pick

The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. Fair...no annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transactions fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And we won't increase your APR for paying late* Generous...5% Cashback Bonus on up to $1,500 in purchases at Home Improvement Stores now through June with free and easy sign-up. And 1% cash back on all other purchases.* Plus a Cash Back ConciergeSM who guides a free, personalized online tour to help you get the most rewards for how you use your card Flexible...Choose your own due date and pay up to midnight ET online or by phone Human...talk to a real person any time with 100% U.S.-based service Safe...Because you'll never pay for unauthorized purchases with our $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee 0% Intro APR* on purchases and balance transfer for 14 months. Then the variable purchase APR applies, currently 10.99%-22.99%. *Click apply for Terms & Conditions

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
	Earn 100 Reward Dollars after you make $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership. Earn Cash Back: 3% at US supermarkets, up to $6,000 per year in purchases, 2% at US gas stations & select US dept stores, 1% on other purchases. Terms and limitations apply. Simple and Straightforward: With the Blue Cash Everyday Card, you can start earning cash back. No rotating reward categories. No enrollment required. Simple and Straightforward: With the Blue Cash Everyday Card, you can start earning cash back. No rotating reward categories. No enrollment required. No annual fee, 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, your APR will be a variable rate, currently 12.99%-21.99% with flexibility to pay over time. Terms and Restrictions Apply.
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% 12 months 12.99%-21.99% (Variable) $0 Yes Excellent Credit

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card
	$100 cash back after $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-22.99% variable based on your creditworthiness* Earn 5% cash back from Citi at Home Depot, Home furnishing stores and home and garden stores between 4/1/13 and 6/30/13, with enrollment Enroll at no additional cost each quarter for new categories that earn additional cash back Full 1% cash back on all other purchases and eligible cash advances No annual fee*
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0%* 12 months* 12.99%-22.99%* (Variable) $0* 0%* Excellent Credit

Capital One® Cash Rewards
	$100 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months 50% bonus on the cash back you earn every year 1% cash back on all purchases No annual fee Earn unlimited cash back that doesn't expire Redeem cash back anytime for any amount, even set automatic redemptions Personalize your card with an image of your choice 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers until May 2014.
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed 0% Until May 2014 12.90%-20.90% (Variable) $0 0% Excellent Credit

Miles Rewards

Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
	Bonus Miles: earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel after you spend $500 on the Card within the first three months of Cardmembership. Earn As You Spend: Get 2X miles on Delta purchases and 1X miles for all other eligible dollars spent. Check your first bag free on every Delta flight - that's a savings of up to $200 per round trip for a family of four Premium Travel Perks: Settle in sooner with Priority Boarding, and enjoy the skies with 20% in-flight savings to use toward meals, beverages, and movies awarded as a statement credit. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Terms and Restrictions Apply.
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed None None 15.24%-19.24% (Variable) $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 No Excellent Credit

Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® Visa Signature® Card
	Earn 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of cardmembership* Your first eligible checked bag is free* Priority Boarding with Group 1 privileges* and 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases* Earn a $100 American Airlines Flight Discount every cardmembership year with qualifying purchases and cardmembership renewal* Double AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases* Earn 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage® miles back - up to 10,000 AAdvantage® miles each calendar year*
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed N/A* N/A* 15.24%* (Variable) $95, waived for first 12 months* N/A* Excellent Credit

Points Rewards

Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card
	2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day As seen in Money® Magazine’s “Best” issue three years in a row. - Money® Magazine May 2010, 2011, 2012 Earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months, equal to $100 in travel Redeem your miles for any travel expense No limit on the miles you can earn and miles don’t expire Fly on any airline, any time with no blackout dates No foreign transaction fees $0 intro annual fee for the first year; $59 after that
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed N/A N/A 13.90%-20.90% (Variable) $0 intro for first year; $59 after that N/A Excellent Credit

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
	Starpoints® bonus: earn up to 25,000 bonus points: 10,000 after your first purchase and another 15,000 after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of Cardmembership That's enough for a weekend getaway to a Category 4 Hotel like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa Free Hotel Nights: redeem Starpoints at over 1,100 hotels in nearly 100 countries worldwide - with no blackout dates Free Flights: redeem Starpoints on over 350 airlines with SPG Flights - with no blackout dates Get 5,000 bonus Starpoints after you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to a frequent flyer program with more than 30 airlines No limits on the number of Starpoints you can earn $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65 Terms and Restrictions Apply.
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed None None 15.24%-19.24% (Variable) $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65 Yes Excellent Credit

Citi® Hilton HHonorsTM Visa Signature® Card
	Earn 40,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points after spending $1000 within 4 months of account opening* Earn 6 HHonors Bonus Points for each $1 spent at a participating hotel within the Hilton HHonors portfolio.* Earn 3 HHonors Bonus Points for each $1 spent on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations.* Earn 2 HHonors Bonus Points for each $1 spent on all other purchases.* No annual fee.*
Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee Balance Transfer Credit Needed N/A* N/A* 14.24% or 16.24%* (Variable) None N/A* Excellent Credit

If you know of a rewards card that is better than what’s listed here, please leave a comment and let us know about it.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are authors alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

* See the online credit card application for details about terms and conditions. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on the “Apply Now” button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on the issuer’s website.

Discover is a paid advertiser of this site.

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Rob Berger

Rob founded the Dough Roller in 2007. A litigation attorney in the securities industry, he lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, their two teenagers, and the family mascot, a shih tzu named Sophie.

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