With an eye to point earning efficiency and convenience of redemption, we've selected the best in each major category of travel reward cards. While no single card may be a perfect match for you, we think these cards feature 'best in class' advantages that will enhance your award experience. For more details on how to select a card and rankings of cards for various awards, see our Tips and Features section. You will find a guided tour on how to select the right card for you.

Best No Annual Fee Card

Best No Annual Fee Card: Chase Freedom (SM)  Card Visa ® Simple redemption, generous triple points, no annual fee, your choice of cash or points.   Best uses: It's one of the simplest ways to earn and use points for travel, especially for casual travelers who don't like the rules of airline and hotel point programs. You make the choice of cash back, or points good for 'any destination, anytime' awards. In addition, you can transfer your points into Continental and United Airlines mileage accounts. Downsides: While not as simple, a card that gives hotel points (like the Starwood Amex ) will often give you more value for your points. The Starwood card also lets you transfer points to 30 top airline programs, giving you access to international business class upgrades. Top 3 reasons to choose 1. $50 cash back with your first purchase. 2. 3% cash back or triple points per dollar on your 'everyday' purchases. Each month, your top 3 spending categories from Chase's list of 'everyday' categories will earn 3% cash back or triple points per dollar. Few cards offer this level of cash back earning power. Eligible 'everyday' categories include gas stations, fast food, movie theaters, drugstores, departent stores, grocery stores, pet stores, cable/satellite bills, beauty salons/spas, gyms, commuting, utilities, and dry cleaning among others. 3. Your choice of cash back or points. You can convert your points to cash or vice versa at any time. Points can be used for no blackout airline awards, hotel nights, gift cards, and other merchandise. You also get a $50 bonus for every $200 you redeem, so you get $250 in value. How it works You earn 1 point or 1% cash back for every dollar you spend on regular purchases and 3 points or 3% cash back for every dollar you spend in your top 3 'everyday' spending categories including: gas stations, fast food, movie theaters, drugstores, departent stores, grocery stores, pet stores, cable/satellite bills, beauty salons/spas, gyms, commuting, utilities, and dry cleaning among others Convenience You get your choice or earning cash back or points for flights, hotels, or gift cards, and can change at any time. While using points with this card may be a bit cumbersome as you need to book 21 days in advance for most tickets, there are no blackout dates. In addition, you can transfer your points directly into Continental Airlines and United Airlines miles. 6,000 points = 5,000 miles. This is the best conversion for Continental and United aside from using the specific Continental and United cards, which carry an annual fee. This card has no annual fee. Annual Fee $0 How to apply Click here to apply for the personal card at Chase.

Best Hotel Credit Card   (Also available as a Business Credit Card . Click here  to apply.) 10,000 point first purchase bonus Use points at Sheraton, Westin, W, Four Points, St. Regis, Le Meridien hotels No capacity restrictions on hotel awards (if there's a room for sale, you can use points) Transfer points to most airlines at a better than 1:1 ratio (no dilution) Annual fee only $45 (first year free)

Best Hotel Credit Card: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express The best all-around reward card for many casual, frequent, and family travelers. Top three reasons to choose 1. Compatible with most airline mile programs . You can transfer your Starwood hotel points 1:1 or better to most airline accounts (United and Continental are diluted 2:1), making it the most flexible card. 2. Easy hotel rewards. If a room is available for sale, you can book it with your points. Hotel rewards are much easier to use for family vacations than trying to find flight awards for a family of 4. 3. Generous 10,000 point signon is worth up to 3 free nights at many Shreaton, Westin, W, St. Regis, Four Points, and Le Meridien hotels, or 10,000 airline miles. This is the best all-around reward card for many travelers. It's great for people who fly just about every major airline, light hotel guests, and anyone who wants to stay at a  Starwood hotel (Sheraton, Westin, W, Four Points, St. Regis, Le Meridien). This card offers better earning power for airline awards than most airline cards, and allows direct transfer to your airline accounts for redemption. It's also excellent for people who don't stay frequently but want to earn points toward valuable hotel nights. Hotels are much easier to redeem for vacations and the dollar value you get for each point you use is often better than for for airline tickets. If there's a room for sale, it's available for points. How it works Don’t worry about whether you want to use points for airlines or hotels. Decide when you plan your trip. You earn 1 Starwood point for every dollar spent...and can transfer those points online to your account with nearly every major airline ...most 1 for 1...with quick turnaround. Moreover, you get a bonus for transfering points to airline miles, effecitvely earning 1.25 miles per dollars spent. Click here to learn more about airline transfer optoins and to see a list of participating airlines. Points are also good at all Sheraton, Westin, W, Sheraton, St. Regis, Le Meridien, and Four Points hotels with no capacity controls. If there's a room to buy, you can book it with points. For many travelers, hotel stays are a better use of points than domestic airline tickets in any program. See our PurchasePower rankings to learn why or see here that theyare great because you don't need many points for great values: 3,000 points = 1 free night at "Category 1" hotels (midpriced, suburban locations) 4,000 points = 1 free night at "Category 2" hotels (metropolitan and many resorts) 7,000 points = 1 free night at "Category 3" hotels (large cities, premium resorts) 10,000 points = 1 free night at "Category 4" hotels (high demand areas, luxury resorts) 20,000 points = free roundtrip U.S. plane ticket when transferred to an airline mile program for redemption And many other redemption options. Convenience We have found the easiest way to redeem airline rewards is to have points in the native airline’s program and use their tools. This card lets you earn in a universal format (Starwood points), find out which program has the availability you want, and transfer points to the native program for redemption...for most airlines without dilution . Starwood will enhance your points by offering 5,000 bonus miles for every 20,000 points you transfer to your airline program. You in effect earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent versus 1 for most airline cards. Details on how it stacks up versus other cards are in our PurchasePower rankings. Moreover, you can transfer points online and not deal with telephone operators . Starwood hotel redemptions also have no capacity controls. If there’s a room available to purchase at one of their hotels, you can use your points for it! This is often the best use of your points. Annual Fee No fee the first year, only $45 afterward. The low fee makes this road warrior proven card great for even light travelers looking to earn points just through purchases.  Point bonuses 10,000 points with first purchase. 5,000 mile bonus for every 20,000 points you transfer to an airline. This makes this card better than most standard airline cards for earning points on your favorite airline...and is why it’s the choice of some of the most seasoned travelers. Dollars spent before your first reward $1. With a 10,000 point bonus for your first purchase, you’ve earned two nights at any Category 1 or 2 Starwood hotel...with no restriction. How to apply Click here to apply at American Express for the personal card. If you are a business owner and want a business version of the card click here .

Best Premium No Blackout Air Award Card   (Also available as a Business credit card. Click here to apply).  20,000 bonus points after $600 in purchases made within 3 months of account opening  (enough for a $200 gift card or free flight up to $400). 2 Points for Every $1 Spent at Gas Stations, Supermarkets and Drugstores - Plus Earn 1 Point for Every $1 Spent on all Other Purchases 1 Point for Every Mile You Fly on Any Airline - or Anyone Else Whose Tickets You Buy With the Card. Complimentary Companion Travel (Minimum Fare Requirements Apply) Redeem your points for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates, and for rewards-from merchandise to statement credits.

Best Premium No Blackout Air Award Card: Citi® PremierPass(SM) Card - Elite Level   Generous 2 points per dollar on everyday purchases and high 20,000 point intro bonus stand out, along with free companion ticket program  Top reasons to choose 1. Your points are good for flights on any day, with no blackout restrictions. You go where you want, when you want as long as you're flexible about what airline you get. Every 100 points = $1 in travel value, or you can use fixed awards (your better deal) where 20,000 points = 1 domestic roundtrip ticket up to $400. That's closer to $2 in travel value for every 100 points. Most airlines require you to spend 50,000 points for this kind of 'any day' flexibility.  International options are available as well. 2.  "Everyday" purchases like groceries and gas earn 2 points per dollar spent. You also earn points for every mile flown when you use the card to purchase plane tickets. This is in addition to the miles you earn in your airline's frequent flyer program. 3. Generous 20,000 point bonus when you spend $600 on the card within 3 months of opening your account -- enough for a $200 gift card or free flight valued up to $400 with no capacity restrictions on booking flights with points. 4. Free companion ticket every time you purchase a domestic ticket with a qualifying coach fare (note this may not always be the lowest cost option). Best uses: Casual flyers who are primarily looking for domestic airline ticket awards and heavy flyers/spenders who want to supplement their existing card by taking advantage of the bonus points for flights purchased. The free companion ticket program can also save you money when you're traveling as a couple. Downsides: Not an effiecient use of points for international business class tickets, and these points can't combine with your existing airline mile balances. You also must use the Citibank travel agency to book some tickets, which may take some more time. How it works This card earns Citibank "Thank you" points that you can use for flights and hotel discounts . You get 1 point per dollar spent on every purchase, and 2 points for 'everyday' purchases at supermarkets, gas stations, and parking/mass transit. The card also offers a unique bonus for every airline ticket you purchase with the card. You will receive Citibank "Thank You" flight points equal to the number of miles flown on your plane ticket, even while you earn miles on that ticket with your regular frequent flyer program. So, if you buy a $360 plane ticket from New York to Los Angeles, which is 5,000 miles roundtrip, you will receive 360 points for the purchase, and 5,000 points for the miles flown to/from New York and LA. This is in addition to the 5,000 miles you'll get in your airline program. You also have the option to get a free companion ticket for any domestic flight you buy . However, be aware that to be eligible for the free ticket, you generally have to purchase a more expensive ticket than the lowest available fare, so check that fare versus buying two at the lowest fare to make sure you're getting a decent deal. Convenience This card has the added bonus of earning 2 points per dollar on 'everyday' purchases like groceries and gas. The Citibank 'Thank You' points you earn can be used for flights on any day with no capacity controls. You just need to book 14 days in advance for most rewards. You may not get the exact airline you want, but you will be able to fly on the days you're looking for, which is more flexible than many standard airline mile rewards. Domestic roundtrips worth up to $400 start at 20,000 points. Or, use your points as dollars. 100 points = $1 toward a flight purchase (this is not always as efficient though). First class and international options are also available. Annual Fee $75 How to apply Click here to apply for the personal card at Citibank. If you are a business owner and would like a business version of the card click here .

Best Super Premium Generic Card

Best Super Premium Generic Card: Diners' Club MasterCard Maximum flexibility for big spenders Best uses: Heavy spenders who want maximum flexibility in both number of airlines and number of hotel chains available for point transfer and redemption. Downsides: Hotel point transfers somewhat diluted How it works Like the widely known Amex Membership Rewards (not related to Starwood Amex), you earn Club Points at 1 point per dollar spent on your card. You have a choice between 'tailored' rewards, which you can use as cash toward an airline ticket or hotel, or transfering your points to your favorite programs. Your points transfer 1:1 into most airline mileage accounts, and if you wish to do a non-mileage, no blackout redemption, 100 points = $1.25, instead of the usual 100 points = $1 for most generic programs. Convenience No card offers more programs you can directly transfer your points into, with fair 1:1 transfers for most airlines, and slightly diluted transfers for most major hotel chains. Thus, you can take advantage of the efficiency of award travel booked in its native program. You can also transfer points to friends and family's airline accounts...not just your own. In addition, when you want to sacrifice some point efficiency for convenience, you can redeem points for non-award airline tickets (no restrictions, blackouts) at $1.25 per 100 points. That's the most generous point to cash conversion in the industry. So, a $200 ticket 'costs' 16,000 points. Unlike other generic programs, you can book *any* ticket availble on the market *on your own* at this rate. No begging a preselected travel agency to pick your favorite airline. Once you've booked, you submit the cost of the ticket for credit in exchange for your Diners' points. No other program offers such personal flexibility. Annual Fee $95 Point bonuses Diners' wins the Generic category for its generous $1.25 per 100 point value for the purchase of travel, versus the $1 per 100 point standard. The $300/year Amex Platinum (not Starwood) does offer access to a larger network of domestic airline lounges, but costs $200 more than Diners. The primary reason we couldn't place Diners' Club as the best 'all-around' for rewards cards is the premium annual fee and lack of a consistent bonus for transfering points to miles in other programs, as the Starwood American Express offers. However, Diners' announces very generous bonus programs with its partners for transfers from time to time and is worthwhile for true point mavens.

Best Business Credit Card

Best Business Credit Card: American Express Gold Rewards for Business Maximum flexibility for business spenders Top features - No preset spending limit for maximum business purchasing  power. - The extensive "Membership Rewards" points program lets you earn points for flights on any airline, or convert your points to several airline programs. - 3% discount on all tickets purchased from Delta and JetBlue. - Up to 40,000 bonus points in your first year, depending on your spending level. Downsides: The Starwood Preferred Guest Business card offers more efficient point redemption, especially for hotel rewards and airline conversion, but has a standard credit line, not the flexible 'no preset limit' of the Gold Rewards card. How it works You earn one Membership Rewards point for every dollar you spend. Points can be transferred to your account at several airlines, including Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and Air Canada, many at 1:1. Or you can use points for tickets on any airline when you redeem through American Express. Convenience No preset spending limit and the large variety award options with the American Express Membership Rewards program, including hotels, cruises, gifts, and services make it ideal for many business expenses.  Annual Fee $125  Point bonuses  Up to 40,000 bonus reward points in your first year, depending on spending. How to apply Click here to apply now or learn more at American Express. Other Business Credit Cards These cards do not have the 'no preset spending limit' benefit of the American Express Gold card, but are good mileage earning cards as well. Starwood Hotels American Express ($45 annual fee) Delta SkyMiles American Express Business Card ($85 annual fee) Discover Miles Business Card (no annual fee) Continental Airlines Business Credit Card (annual fee applies) American Airlines AAdvantage Business Credit Card (annual fee applies)