Credit Card Reviews

Review: American Express Blue Cash Preferred

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred (AMEX BCP) credit card is a mid-tier card for groceries, streaming, and getting around. It can be a decent card for everyday use, and/or a complement for premium cards like the American Express Platinum. The annual fee can effectively pay for itself over time, depending on your spending habits, although other options might be better.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee (usually waived the first year)
  • 2.7% foreign transaction fee
  • 6% cash back on groceries (up to $6,000 in annual spending, then 1% back)
  • 6% cash back on select streaming
  • 3% cash back on transit
  • 3% cash back on gas
  • 1% cash back on everything else
  • AMEX Offers

Review: PenFed Pathfinder Rewards Visa Signature

The PenFed Pathfinder Rewards Visa Signature is one of the best travel cards. Although this card technically has an annual fee, it’s so easy to avoid, Pathfinder should be considered a no-fee card. It includes essential benefits plus a variety of credits to make the card a continuous net positive.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee ($95 if you’re not a PenFed Honors Advantage Member)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 4x points on travel (3x if you’re not a PenFed Honors Advantage Member)
  • 1.5x points on everything else
  • $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)

Review: USAlliance Financial Visa Signature

The USAlliance Financial Visa Signature card is a general-use no-fee credit card. It isn’t that popular since most people haven’t heard of the USAlliance Credit Union, but it’s a high earner worth looking into. Its simple cash back structure is attractive for both maximalists and minimalists. It’s loaded with Visa Signature perks as well.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 1% foreign transaction fee
  • 3x points on everything (until 12/31/22, then 2x points on everything as of 1/1/23)

Review: Venmo Visa

The Venmo Visa card is an interesting take on the typical 3/2/1 credit card structure. You automatically earn 3% cash back on your eligible top spend category, and 2% on the next highest. The category resets each month, so you can always get 3% cash back wherever you spend the most money. With 8 categories to earn from, most people can effectively use this credit card.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3% cash back on your top spending category for each month
  • 2% cash back on your second-highest spending category for each month
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Eligible spending categories:

  1. Transportation
    • “Ground transportation such as rental cars, taxicabs, ride share merchants, limousines, bus lines and passenger railways. This category also includes tolls, parking meters and parking garage fees.”
  2. Travel
    • “Airlines, hotels, motels and resorts. This category may include bed and breakfast establishments, resorts, cabins, cottages, hostels, timeshares, short-term property rentals less than 30 days in length, and local inns.“
  3. Grocery (including wholesale clubs)
  4. Entertainment
    • “Movie theaters, theatrical and concert promoters, video rental and game stores, books and newsstands, amusement parks, music stores, and toy and hobby stores.”
  5. Dining and Nightlife (restaurants and bars)
  6. Bills and Utilities
    • “Telecommunications, internet service providers, ongoing delivery of television/radio/streaming content on a subscription or fee basis, subscription products or services (such as magazine/newspaper subscriptions), electric or gas power, water supply, and refuse disposal or other utility services.”
  7. Health and Beauty
    • “Drug stores and pharmacies… and cosmetic stores that sell beauty products. This category also includes sports and recreation facilities that require membership such as health clubs, tennis, golf and swimming clubs.”
  8. Gas

Review: Discover It Miles

The Discover It Miles is a simple no-fee card which earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases. It doesn’t have any especially interesting features or benefits, but may work for certain people in the short term. The card does earn 3% cash back on all purchases for the first year, without category restrictions, which is nice.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 1.5x points on everything

Review: Navy Federal Credit Union More Rewards American Express

The Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) More Rewards credit card is an uncomplicated card which earns 3% cash back in popular categories. It’s a solid low-maintenance card which most people will find good for everyday spending. it may not have perfect earn rates, but More Rewards has multiple earning categories and great benefits.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3x points on groceries
  • 3x points on gas
  • 3x points on transit
  • 3x points on dining
  • 1x points on everything else

Review: Mastercard Black

The Mastercard Black Card positions itself as a high-end luxury card for travelers. It’s issued by Barclays Bank Delaware and is sometimes called the Barclaycard Black. It’s not a commonly-discussed travel card, likely because other options are far more popular. The Black card is typically worse than competing options like the Capital One Venture X.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $495 annual fee
  • Zero foreign transaction fees
  • 1x points on everything (up to 2% cash back)
  • $100 annual airline credit (per calendar year)
  • $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (every 5 years)
  • Metal card

Review: Discover It Cash Back

The Discover It Cash Back is a no-fee card which earns at least 5% cash back on certain categories. These categories change every 3 months. Discover used to show each year’s cashback calendar in advance so there aren’t any surprises, but now they announce one month before. It’s fairly easy to plan ahead. Not to be confused with Discover It Miles, this card also earns unlimited 1% cash back on non-category purchases.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 5% cash back on rotating categories ($1,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Click here for 2024 categories.
Click here for 2023 categories.

Categories typically look like:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Grocery stores plus 1-2 other categories
  • Q2 April-June: Gas stations or restaurants, plus another category
  • Q3 July-Sept: Restaurants or gas stations, and maybe Paypal or digital wallets
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: Amazon.com plus Walmart.com and/or Target.com

Review: American Express Gold (2021-2022)

Note: This review is from 2021, and significant details have changed. Check out our updated 2024 review!

The American Express Gold Charge Card is a mid-to-high tier card for food and travel. It earns a decent amount of points at restaurants and grocery stores, and has benefits to offset the high annual fee. It’s one of the more flexible cards from American Express, and it wouldn’t hurt for most people to take a look.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $250 annual fee
  • Zero foreign transaction fees
  • 4x points on dining (restaurants, takeout, delivery)
  • 4x points on groceries (up to $25,000 spent at U.S. grocery stores)
  • 3x points on flights
  • 1x points on everything else
  • Metal card
  • AMEX Offers

Review: American Express Green

The American Express Green Charge Card is a mid-tier card for food and travel. Its annual fee is higher than its closest competitors, but the Green card could be worth considering for certain travelers. Most people are better off with no-fee cards which out-earn the Green.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $150 annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3x points on dining (restaurants, takeout, delivery)
  • 3x points on travel (including public transit, airfare, hotels, car rentals, and more)
  • 1x points on everything else
  • AMEX Offers