Best credit cards if your credit score is above 750 (excellent credit)

When you have excellent credit, credit card issuers want your business and will offer the best combination of rewards and fees. Your job will be to simply select the card with the best overall product mix for you.

Best credit cards if your FICO score is 750 and above overview

Best travel credit cards for people with excellent credit:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Apply Now On the Secure Website

Card features:

• Annual fee:$95.
• APR range: 18.99% - 25.99% Variable.
• Sign-up bonus: 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months (worth $600 cash, or $750 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards^®).
• Rewards: 5X points on any travel purchase through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3X points on dining, 2X points on all other travel purchases, plus 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases. .
• Other features: $0 foreign transaction fees, transfer points to participating frequent travel programs on a one-for-one basis, trip cancellation insurance.

Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a good option for those with excellent credit

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a card well-suited for frequent travelers.

How to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

If you pay your balance every month, you’ll never pay any interest expense. Then the rewards you’ll earn will be pure profit. You even get a break on the annual fee in the first year.

Why you might not want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Once again, if you’re not a frequent traveler, this card won’t be the best choice for you.

See card details/apply or read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review

Citi Premier® Card

Apply Now On the Citi Secure Website

Card features:

• Annual fee: $95.
• APR range: 19.74% - 27.74% (Variable).
• Sign-up bonus: 80,000 ThankYou® Points when you spend $4,000 within your first three months (worth $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com).
• Rewards: Unlimited 3 ThankYou points per dollar spent on restaurants, supermarkets, gas, air travel, and hotels, and unlimited 1 ThankYou point per dollar spent on everything else.
• Other features: $0 foreign transaction fees, Annual Hotel Savings Benefit, transfer ThankYou® Points to participating airline loyalty programs.

Why the Citi Premier® Card is a good option for those with excellent credit

The Citi Premier® Card is the rare travel rewards card that offers generous points on travel-related expenses like restaurants, air travel, and hotels, but also essentials like gas station and supermarket purchases. 

How to use the Citi Premier® Card

A key detail to keep in mind with the Citi Premier® Card is that its “ThankYou® Points” are worth at least a penny each in gift cards or travel redemption, but only half a penny each in cash back. So it’s important to distinguish this card as an excellent travel rewards card but only a so-so cash back card.

Why you might not want to consider the Citi Premier® Card

Because ThankYou® Points are only worth a half-penny each in cash back (versus a full penny with most competitors), the Citi Premier® Card is not ideal if you’re trying to maximize your cash back and not simply redeem your points for additional travel or Amazon cards.

See card details/apply or read our full Citi Premier® Card review

Best credit card for cash rewards:

Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer

Apply Now On the Citi Secure Website

Card features: 

• Annual fee: $0. 
• Regular APR range: 17.74% - 27.74% (Variable).
• 0% introductory APR: On balance transfers only, but for a generous 18 months. Regular APR applies to new purchases. 
• Balance transfer fee: An intro balance transfer fee of 3% applies per transfer (minimum $5) when completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, the fee will be 5% per transfer (minimum $5).
• Sign-on bonus offer: N/A.
  
• Rewards: 2% on all payments (1% at time of purchase and 1% when you pay off your card balance).
• Other features: Citi Entertainment®, Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, The Lost Wallet® Service.

Why the Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer is a good option for those with excellent credit

If you have excellent credit, you probably want to keep it that way by paying off your old credit card debt ASAP! Thankfully, the Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer is ideal for that, allowing you to transfer a balance and offering you 18 months of 0% APR to pay it off.

But this card shines with its unique rewards structure. You’ll earn 2% on all of your purchases. You’ll get 1% cash back when you buy, and 1% cash back when you pay off your card.

How to use the Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer

Once you open a Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer, be sure to transfer your old credit card balance ASAP. Reason being, although Citi® technically gives you four months, you’ll want to move it over quickly so you can stop paying interest to your old credit card company.

Why you might not want to consider the Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer

The Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer is designed to help you pay off old credit card debt while accumulating a decent amount of rewards points on new purchases. If you don’t have old credit card debt and you’re just looking for a solid rewards card, you might consider a competitor with more generous rewards (i.e. 5x rotating categories).

See card details/apply or read our full Citi® Double Cash Card–18 month BT offer review

Best credit card business

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Apply Now On the Chase US Secure Website

Card features:

• Annual fee: $0.
• APR range: 16.24% - 22.24% Variable.
• 0% introductory APR: 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 12 months.
• Sign-up bonus: $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months.
• Rewards: 5% cash back on office supplies and telecom services on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases, 2% cash back on gas and restaurants on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases, and unlimited 1% cash back on everything else.
• Other features: Employee cards at no additional cost, zero liability protection.

Why the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a good option for those with excellent credit

If you’re a business owner with significant expenses when it comes to office supplies, internet, cable, and phone, then the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card will help you to maximize your earnings. You can earn an impressive 5% cash back on expenses in these categories on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases. You’ll also earn 2% back on spending at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases, and an unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

How to use the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

In order to take full advantage of this business card, you should be sure to meet the requirements for the bonus offer. If you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months, you’re eligible for $900 in bonus cash back. Spending in high-earning categories like office supplies and internet will earn you even more cash back.

Why you might not want to consider the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

If you don’t have a lot of expenses in the 5% or 2% cash back categories, this might not be the best card for you. You might want to consider a cash back credit card with a flat rate, or you might want to look for a card that rewards spending in a category you do use, like travel or advertising. This also isn’t a good fit if you’re looking for a personal credit card, since this card is only available for businesses.

See card details/apply or read our full Ink Business Cash® Credit Card review

Best balance transfer credit card:

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

Apply Now On the Citi Secure Website

Card features:

• Annual fee: $0
• Intro balance transfer APR: 0%
• Intro balance transfer term: 21 months
• Balance transfer fee: the greater of $5 or 5% of the transfer amount
• Regular APR: 16.74% - 27.49% (Variable)
• Other features: Citi Entertainment®, Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, Choose your Payment Due Date, Contactless Pay

Why the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is a good option for those with excellent credit

If you have excellent credit and you’re trying to keep it that way by paying off credit card debt, the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card might be your single best option. It offers 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers (from date of first transfer) and 0% intro APR for 12 months on new purchases, so you’ll have plenty of time to pay off old and new debt.

How to use the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

Once you’re approved for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card, transfer your old balance immediately. You technically have four months to do so, but why wait?

The balance transfer will cost the greater of $5 or 5% of the transfer, but it’ll be worth it in the gobs of interest you’ll end up saving.

Why you might not want to consider the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is not a rewards card. Quite literally, it offers zero ongoing rewards, aside from the usual Citi® card benefits such as Contactless Pay. It’s purpose-built to help cardholders pay off old credit card debt, and while it crushes that goal, it doesn’t offer much to someone with little- to no debt.

So unless you’re trying to pay off your old card, you’ll be happier with a traditional rewards card over the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card.

See card details/apply or read our Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card review

Best all-around credit card:

Chase Freedom Unlimited® 

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Card features:

• Annual fee: $0.
• APR range: 17.99% - 26.74% Variable.
• 0% introductory APR: 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
• Intro Offer: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on purchases (up to $20,000 in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back!
• Rewards: 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®; 3% back on dining and drugstores; and an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
• Other features: Cash rewards don’t expire and you can redeem them at any time.

Why the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a good option for those with excellent credit

If you don’t want an annual fee, want great rewards, and a decent 0% intro, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is perfect.

It’s meant for cardholders that are looking for a great card all-around.

How to use Chase Freedom Unlimited®

If you need to put a purchase on your card, the 15 month of interest free payments could help you pay it off in full quickly. Plus, you can use your card for ALL purchases and earn cash back.

Why you might not want to consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited®

There aren’t many negative things to say about this card. With 3%-5% in special categories and 1.5% unlimited cash back on all other purchases, the cash back earning is fairly straightforward. Add on the $300 bonus cash back you can earn in the first year, and it’s an awesome all around card.

Best card for business travel rewards:

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Apply Now On the Secure Website

Card features:

• Annual fee: $95.
• APR range: 18.99% - 23.99% Variable.
• 0% introductory APR: N/A.
• Sign-on bonus offer: 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months.
• Rewards: 3x points on travel, shipping, telecom, and advertising on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases, 1x points on everything else.
• Other features: Flexible redemption options, employee cards at no extra cost.

Why the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a good option for those with excellent credit

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a great choice for business owners with significant expenses when it comes to any of the 3x point categories for this card. This includes travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone, and online advertising on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases. There’s also an impressive 100,000 bonus point welcome offer after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months to entice new cardholders.

How to use the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

This card is great for business owners looking to maximize their earnings when it comes to particular expense categories like travel or advertising. Cardholders earn points with every purchase, which they can then redeem for travel expenses, cash back, gift cards, experiences, and more.

Why you might not want to consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

If you don’t own a small business, you won’t be eligible for the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. In addition, if you don’t have any significant business expenses when it comes to any of the spending categories in the 3x point tier, you may be better served by an all-purpose cash back card. However, if you’re dedicated to maximizing rewards and spend a lot in those specific categories, this card can be an extremely lucrative option.

See card details/apply or read our full Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card review

Summary of the best credit cards if your FICO score is 750 and above overview

How we came up with this list

We used six criteria to come up with our list of the best credit cards if your FICO Score is 750 and above.

• Annual fee
• APR range
• 0% introductory APR
• Sign-up bonus offer
• Rewards
• Other features

The cards we selected offer the best combination of these features, even if each doesn’t offer all six.

What is excellent credit?

According to Experian, a FICO Score of 750 and above falls into both the “very good” and “exceptional” classifications. But don’t worry—if your FICO Score is 750 and above, lenders will generally consider you to have excellent credit.

How to find the best credit cards if your FICO score is 750 and above

If your FICO Score is 750 and above, it’s likely the credit card offers are coming directly to you—unless of course you’ve opted out of receiving them. But coming to a guide like this one is the best way to select the right credit card for you. It’ll provide you the opportunity to see the benefits available from various cards so you can then select the one that will work best for you.

For example, we’ve broken the best credit cards down by specific features, like balance transfers, rewards, and travel rewards. If you’re disciplined with your credit card usage—and you probably are with a credit score that high—the credit card offer you select will enable you to save real money, without costing you anything on a net basis.

What factors affect your credit score?

Your credit score is comprised of five factors: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix, as this screenshot from myFico.com shows. If your FICO Score is 750 and above, there’s a good chance your credit report contains no derogatory information. That means you’re perfect when it comes to payment history.

Your credit utilization ratio is also most likely in a very desirable range. That means you have total outstanding credit card balances of 30% or less of your total credit card limits. Even so, you’ll want to keep a close eye on this ratio. As it moves above 30%, it begins to negatively impact your credit score. And if you’re in the excellent credit score range, that can be easier to do than you might think.

Read more: What’s Your Credit Utilization Ratio And How Does It Affect Your Credit Score?

Most important features of credit cards for excellent credit

Let’s take a deeper look at the six criteria listed above.

Annual Percentage Rate – APR

APR is typically presented as a range for each credit card. Surprisingly, that range doesn’t vary much between average, good/excellent, and excellent credit. But while you’ll be most likely to pay or near the high end of the APR range in the other two credit score categories, you’ll most likely get at or near the best rate offered with a FICO Score of 750 and above. For example, if the APR range is 14.74% to 24.74%, you should fully expect to get a rate of 14.74%, or only slightly above.

The annual fee

With a FICO score of 750 and above, you’ll have a choice to pay an annual fee or not to. We’ve included cards with annual fees and no fees. If a card with an annual fee has more generous rewards than one without the fee, you might be better off with a card that has the fee.

Read more: Is An Annual Fee Credit Card Ever Worth It?

0% introductory APR

Even among credit cards for excellent credit, this benefit—though common—isn’t automatic. It may be the primary benefit on one card, and a secondary benefit on another.

The typical time frame on a 0% introductory APR is between 12 months and 18 months. One issue to be aware of is when a 0% introductory APR offers apply to purchases. It’s an attempt by the credit card issuer to get you to run up a balance, which is something you should avoid. After all, the 0% offer is temporary, and interest will eventually be applied to the remaining balance.

Sign-up bonus offer

Virtually all credit cards included in this guide offer some type of sign-up bonus. It can be a cash bonus (usually in the form of a credit statement), extra travel rewards, or some type of cash back match.

These are common offers on credit cards for excellent credit, and you should fully expect to get some sort of upfront bonus. Just be careful you don’t get overly concerned with the sign-on bonus and ignore the ongoing rewards program.

Unless you’re taking a card specifically to get the sign-on bonus, you should generally look more closely at the ongoing rewards.

Read more: The Best Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus Intro Offers

Rewards

These can take different forms. Some are actual cash rewards that may pay between one and 2% of your purchases. There may also be select categories with more generous cash back.

For example, a card may offer 5% cash back for certain spending categories. Most typically, the higher cash back offer works on a rotating basis, with the category changing each quarter.

Other cards offer either points or miles, usually toward travel. If you’re a frequent traveler, this kind of arrangement may work better for you. But if you’re not, it will be better to go with a cash back card. The rewards can be spent on more flexible categories than just travel.

Additional card benefits

There are certain benefits that are common to nearly all cards. These can include:

• $0 fraud liability for unauthorized charges.
• collision damage waiver on car rentals.
• purchase protection.
• free credit scores.

What to do before applying for a credit card if your FICO score is 750 and above

Check your credit

You should get a copy of your credit report, as well as your credit score, before making an application for any type of loan, including a credit card. The credit score itself may be less important than any potential issues on your credit report.

Credit card issuers, in particular, may be more interested in the specifics of your credit, than your actual credit score. By reviewing a copy of your credit report beforehand, you’ll avoid surprises during your application.

We recommend monitoring your credit on a regular basis. The best way to do this is by using free credit score providers.

Research available cards for your credit score

You may be getting credit card offers all the time, due to your excellent credit. But the only way to know if a credit card is a legitimately good offer is to compare it with other credit cards. You’ve got that taken care of by coming to this guide.

Don’t apply for multiple credit cards

The best reason to avoid this practice is because you don’t need to. If your FICO Score is 750 and above, approval is practically guaranteed.

It’s just a matter of selecting the card that will work best for you. You should also be aware that applying for multiple credit cards won’t necessarily improve your chances of success.

One reason a credit card issuer may reject your application is that too many inquiries on your credit report could be an indication you’re looking to build up your credit availability in a hurry.

They may still approve your application, but it might be with a very low credit limit.

Credit card situations to consider if you have excellent credit

There are a few factors that come into play with the excellent credit range.

Rewards should match your spending

If a credit card offers particularly generous rewards in a specific spending category, make sure that’s a category you generally do spend money in. It will do little good to take a card with 5% cash back rewards that you won’t take advantage of.

Cash back vs. rewards points or miles

Rewards come in three flavors: cash back, points, and miles.

When to use points or miles

Points and miles are typically associated with travel rewards. Once again, if you’re a frequent traveler, this type of rewards package will be attractive. Understand that it’s typical with travel rewards that they’re primarily earned through travel purchases, and redeemed in the same category.

When to use cash back

If you’re not a frequent traveler, cash back rewards are definitely the way to go. You can generally earn them through regular purchase activity, and redeem them for cash, or a statement credit (which can be applied in a number of ways).

Between the two, cashback is the more flexible reward type. If you’re not sure which way to go, this is probably the one you should choose.

Frequent credit card use is required to take full advantage of rewards

If you mainly use a credit card for convenience, you may not be in a position to take full advantage of either a sign-on bonus for ongoing rewards. They work best for people who are regular credit card users.

How to properly use a credit card for excellent credit

If you have excellent credit, there should be two primary goals in using any credit card:

• To maximize rewards and benefits to make sure the card is paying you, rather than the other way around.
• To not do anything that will hurt your credit score.

To make those happen, we recommend these practices when using your credit card:

Pay your balance in full each month

If a card is paying 2% cash back on all purchases, that’s a true benefit. But the benefit will be maximized if you pay off your balance in full each month. That will eliminate interest payments, that can reduce or exceed your card benefits.

Charge no more than you can easily repay when the bill comes in

This can be a real issue with a credit card with very generous rewards. The credit card company is offering those rewards to incentivize your use of the card. If you get carried away, a balance can begin to build. Set a monthly credit card budget—based on a number you are able to comfortably pay off each month. Don’t exceed it, otherwise you risk carrying a balance and incurring interest.

Watch out for high-spend credit cards

Credit card issuers make the most money on people who make frequent use of their cards and carry large balances. They’ll use a combination of high credit limits, generous rewards, and a 0% APR introductory offer. This is an outcome you must resist. If the combination of the above three benefits cause you to run your card balance up to $10,000, and you have an interest rate of 20%, you’ll be paying $2,000 per year in interest, at least once the 0%introductory offer term ends. Self-control is absolutely critical with high spend credit cards.

Don’t get caught in the balance transfer trap

Many cards in this credit score range come with a 0% introductory APR. Those offers are designed to get you to transfer balances from other credit cards. But tread lightly.

There are high fees

Balance transfer offers come with balance transfer fees. They range between 3% to 5% of the amount transferred. A $20,000 balance transferred at 5% will see you paying a $1,000 balance transfer fee. That will at least partially offset the 0% APR offer.

Read more: 5 Important Reasons Why A Balance Transfer Fee Matters

You could put more than you can pay off on the card

Such offers also encourage you to carry large balances. After all, since you’re not paying any interest on the balance, you may decide to keep it outstanding for the full introductory term.

If something happens that keeps you from paying off the balance at the end of the term, it will be subject to interest charges. Be sure to pay off any balance transfers within the term of the 0% APR.

How to maintain your credit

If your credit score is say, 765, there’s not a whole lot of benefit moving it up to 785. But there’ll be plenty of incentive to keep it at least as high as it is. To do that, make the following part of your regular credit habits:

Monitor your credit score regularly

Credit scores fluctuate, which is totally normal. But you’ll certainly want to investigate any significant changes. If your score falls by 20 points or more, you’ll need to know what the cause is.

The only way to do that is by monitoring your credit score on a regular basis. You don’t have to become obsessive about this, but knowing where it is on a monthly basis will alert you of any problems. You can then correct them immediately, which will prevent so much time from passing that you lose the options to do so.

Pay ALL your bills on-time

Even with a very good credit history, a single late payment could cause your credit score to drop significantly. Recent late payments have a bigger impact than older ones. You can do this by setting up automatic payments to virtually eliminate any possibility of a late payment.

Read more

• Best Credit Cards If Your FICO Score Is 700 To 749
• Best Credit Cards If Your FICO Score Is 650 To 699
• Best Credit Cards If Your FICO Score Is 600 To 649
• Best Credit Cards If Your FICO Score Is Below 599

Note: According to our research, these credit cards offer the best chance of approval for applicants with credit scores of 750, 751, 752, 753, 754, 755, 756, 757, 758, 759, 760, 761, 762, 763, 764, 765, 766, 767, 768, 769, 770, 771, 772, 778, 779, 775, 776, 777, 778, 779, 780, 781, 782, 783, 784, 785, 786, 787, 788, 789, 790, 791, 792, 793, 794, 795, 796, 797, 798, 799, 800, 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806, 807, 808, 809, 810, 811, 812, 813, 814, 815, 816, 817, 818, 819, 820, 821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834, 835, 836, 837, 838, 839, 840, 841, 842, 843, 844, 845, 846, 847, 848, 849 and 850. This does not mean guaranteed approval as credit decisions take into factors other than FICO score.