Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit

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The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the best luxury cards on the market. With this card, you’ll earn 5x points on airfare booked directly with the airline or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per year. You’ll also earn 5x points on prepaid hotels booked on American Express Travel. Other purchases earn 1x points.

Perks that come with this card include free access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy, memberships with Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, Avis Preferred and National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive and access to American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (enrollment required). To top it off, you’ll earn a 100,000 point welcome bonus after making $6,000 in purchases in the first six months.

The benefits continue: Cardholders will all have access to $200 in airline fee credits on an airline of their choice every year (enrollment required). What’s more, there is a $100 statement credit for Global Entry available every four years or an $85 credit for TSA Precheck® available every four and a half years, and you can receive $50 in Saks credits every six months upon enrollment. This card has no foreign transaction fees and a $695 annual fee. Terms and Conditions Apply.

Why We Like It

The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the top cards on the market for those with excellent credit looking for a card with lots of high-end perks. The American Express Membership Rewards points that this card earns are also extremely valuable, and can be used to book travel, offset other purchases and more. If you have excellent credit, the Platinum Card from American Express could be the right card for you.

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns users 10x total points on car rentals and hotels and 5x total points on air travel after you spend the first $300 on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on dining purchases worldwide including takeout and eligible delivery and 3x points on other travel purchases. All other purchases earn 1x points, and if you spend your points on travel through the Chase travel portal, you’ll get a 50% bonus, making one point worth 1.5 cents. You can also earn a 60,000 point early spend bonus after spending $4,000 in your first three months.

The Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but the $300 annual travel credit takes the effective annual fee down to $250 if you manage to spend at least $300 every year on travel. You’ll also have access to up to $100 in statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® every four years.

Why We Like It

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the best cards out there for those with excellent credit, especially those looking for a heavy hitting travel rewards card. Despite the high annual fee, part of what makes this card so valuable is the versatility of its points. You can redeem them directly for cash back at a value of one cent per point, or against travel purchases on the Chase travel portal, where each point is worth 1.5 cents. You can also transfer miles to a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs to book travel. Plus, the card’s $300 annual travel credit is easy to take advantage of if you’re a frequent traveler.

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The Citi Prestige Card (a SmartAsset advertising partner), like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Platinum, has a large suite of benefits that are designed to help you dine, travel and spend in style while earning valuable Citi ThankYou Points. With this card, you’ll earn 5x points on air travel and restaurants, 3x points on hotels and cruise lines and 1x points on all other purchases. If you book a hotel stay of at least four nights through ThankYou.com, the fourth night will be free. And you’ll have access to hundreds of VIP lounges through Priority Pass Select, which comes with the card. To top it off, you can get a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit on your statement of up to $100 every 5 years. The card does come with a $495 annual fee.

Citi ThankYou Points are similar to both American Express Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem them through Citi itself, or you have the option to transfer them to a variety of airline and hotel partners. Points don’t expire as long as your account is open. On top of all of this, you won’t pay anything in foreign transaction fees.

Why We Like It

The Citi Prestige Card isn’t as well known as some other cards on this list, but is a great option for anyone with excellent credit who is looking for a card that earns lots of points on dining out and travel. What’s more, you can use those points for a variety of things, such as plane tickets, cash back or hotel stays. The lucrative bonus categories make it easy to quickly rack up points. Access to the $250 annual travel credit, 4th night free on hotel stays and VIP lounge access also make it a solid travel rewards credit card. It’s a great option to consider for anyone with excellent credit looking for a rewards card.

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The Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer (a SmartAsset advertising partner) is a simple card. You can earn 2% cash back on all purchases. You’ll earn 1% as you buy, and 1% as you pay your bill. While there’s no annual fee, you also miss out on a few common perks: There isn’t a signup bonus and there are no bonus categories. There’s also a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Why We Like It

While it’s a simple card, the Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer is perfect for anyone with excellent credit who wants to maximize their cash back without having to think much about it. It’s important to pay your bill with this card, as that’s how you take full advantage of the cash-back. Other cards, like the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases, so those may be a better option if you don’t think you’ll be paying your bill in full. However, it’s hard to beat 2% cash back, and this card should be strongly considered if you have excellent credit.

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The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card gives cardholders 4% cash back on dining and entertainment purchases, 2% cash back at grocery stores and 1% cash back on all other purchases. You can also earn a $300 early spend bonus by spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. The card carries an annual fee of $95, but there are no foreign transaction fees.

Why We Like It

While the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card does carry an annual fee of $95, it’s still a great option for anyone with excellent credit that spends a good amount on dining and entertainment. The welcome bonus is enough to cover three years of the annual fee, and the cash-back rate on dining and entertainment is very generous given the relatively low annual fee. This card should be considered by anyone with excellent credit who frequently dines out and pays for entertainment.