We all know that credit card bonuses are the absolute best. If you have a good credit score, you can reward yourself with a load of bonus miles or points in return for using a bank’s credit card. Turn those into flights, hotel stays, and you have yourself a nice little paid vacation.
And while many of these cards offer huge welcome bonuses, some have some nice perks too.
The trick is finding the right cards. One factor that can turn you off to this is that many of the best card offers also have an annual fee. They may give you 100,000 miles but then tack on a $95 or $295 annual fee.
If you like the card or you use their partner a lot, as can be the case with airlines or hotels, then keeping the card can make a lot of sense. Maybe the card gives you a higher status with the airline or hotel. Maybe it just gets you to the front of the line at check-in.
But what if you’re simply anti-annual fee? I know a lot of people who are against paying a fee out of principle. I get that 100%.
Well, if you’re looking for a credit card with a great bonus and no annual fee, this is the list you want to see:
Table of Contents
- Hilton Honors American Express Card – 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points
- Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – $200 Cash Back
- TD Bank Cash Card – $150 cash back
- Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards – none
- Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express – $200
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express – $250 statement credit*
NOTE: The cards at the beginning of this list do not charge an annual fee. Some of the cards near the end of the list (with asterisks in the heading) offer no annual fee for the first year but do charge one afterwards. I wanted to include them on the list because the offers are strong but I put them towards the end because only the first year is without a fee.
Hilton Honors American Express Card – 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points
If you stay at Hiltons (or associated properties), then you’ll want to check out the Hilton Honors American Express Card. You can earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership, offer ends 4/17/24 Terms Apply.
The annual fee is $0 and the card gives you complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status. If you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on the card in a calendar year, you get Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next year.
This is on top of this cashback schedule – Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio. Earn 5X Points per dollar on purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations. Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Card
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card – $200 Cash Back
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card has a $200 Cash Back after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
If you’re wondering if this card is one you’ll keep using after the bonus – the answer is probably yes.
This is because you also get 1.5% cashback on every purchase, with no limit, which is solid for a daily user. Best of all, there are no rotating categories to remember to activate, no having to pick which card to use, just a solid rate from the jump.
As you’d expect, $0 annual fee.
>> Learn more about this card (and others)
TD Bank Cash Card – $150 cash back
The TD Bank Cash Card offers $150 cash back when you spend $500 within 90 days of opening the account. It’s rare that you get such a large bonus when you spend only $500.
It also offers 3% cashback on dining, 2% cash back at grocery stores, and 1% on everything else[ – so it’s a strong daily use card.
It has a $0 annual fee.
Learn more about TD Bank Cash Card
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards – none
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards is meant for people who enjoy dining out so the cashback schedule favors that type of spending. But first, you can get none .
In terms of cash back, you can earn an unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores. You earn an unlimited 1% on everything else – nothing to activate too, you get this all year.
This is a card that has a $0 annual fee to boot!
Learn more about this card and others
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express – $200
The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express is a $0 annual fee card that offers $200 after you spend $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
Also, you earn a generous cashback of 3% at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000/year, then 1%), 3% on U.S. online retail purchases (up to $6,000/year, then 1%), 3% at U.S. gas stations (up to $6,000/year, then 1%) then 1% on other purchases.. You earn the cash back as “Reward Dollars” that can be redeemed for statement credits. Terms Apply.
Learn more about Blue Cash Everyday from American Express
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express – $250 statement credit*
The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express has a great offer – earn $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months.
The card also has a great cashback reward structure – 6% on U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more). Finally, 1% Cash Back on other purchases. Terms Apply.
There is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. That’s why such a good offer is listed near the end.
Gerald says
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card is offered by Morgan Stanley to their account clients and also to E*TRADE clients, and provides an annual credit of $100 to the Card for spending $15,000 eligible purchases per calendar year. This will more than cover the annual fee of $95. Plus the annual fee is waived the first year. The card name is Morgan Stanley American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card.
Thank you Gerald!
There are a lot of credit cards that offer rewards that cover the annual fee, we wanted to produce a list of credit cards that offered a reward but did not charge a fee. 🙂