Yahoo Finance Best Credit Cards 2025: Our methodologies
Best travel credit card
Best rewards credit card
Best 0% APR credit card
Best balance transfer credit card
Best student credit card
Best secured credit card
Best business credit card
Best airline credit card
Best grocery credit card
Our best credit card award winners are based on a series of rubrics developed by our credit card experts.
For each category (business, travel, balance transfer, etc.), we created these unique rubrics to rate eligible cards according to their benefits, fees, and other factors. While we did not rate every possible card from every credit card company, we did research dozens of credit cards available from every major credit card issuer today.
In addition to category-specific criteria, we evaluated standard details for every card rating — including fraud monitoring, mobile app experience, and issuer accessibility. The information we used comes from a combination of credit card issuer websites, cardholder agreements, and our own data collection from issuers. Finally, we allowed some room for subjectivity in our ratings from our team of credit card experts.
Read more about the specific rubrics for each award category below.
Our best cash-back card pick began with a list of nearly 40 cards offering cash-back rewards today. We wanted to focus on general cash back for a broad range of users, so we did not include co-branded retail cards or business cash-back cards in our analysis.
One of the most important factors in our best cash-back card choice is the actual amount of cash back cardholders can earn each year. We used Consumer Expenditure data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compare the average American household's spending to each card's potential rewards earnings.
We focused only on categories that make sense for credit card spending, which included food at home, food away from home, gasoline, entertainment, and more. We also included all eligible non-category spending at 1%, so each card's 'potential annual cash back' is based on the same overall spending total.
Potential cash-back earnings make up a big portion of our rubric, but we also looked at annual fees, introductory 0% APR offers, interest rates, welcome offers, annual benefits, and any foreign transaction fees. Finally, we awarded (or in some cases took away) additional points based on the editorial discretion of our credit card experts.
Our top cash-back credit card scored the highest on our rubric, while also earning a competitive amount of annual cash back rewards based on average annual spending data.
We began our search for the best travel card with a list of 70 credit cards that offer travel rewards and benefits. This list includes general travel cards with flexible rewards programs, as well as co-branded hotel and airline cards that earn points and miles within a specific program.
Our best travel credit card rubric focuses on cards that offer a solid value to a broad range of travelers without a significant annual cost.
Welcome offers played a strong role in our overall rating; we looked at the value of the bonus, how much you must spend to qualify for it, and the ratio of the welcome bonus to the card's annual fee. This helped quantify the direct value of the card (at least in the first year) to how much it costs.
Rewards and ongoing benefits are the other major factors for travel cards. Cards with a wide range of rewards categories spanning both travel and everyday spending received the highest ratings. We looked for flexible redemptions too, prioritizing cards with multiple ways to redeem rewards. Finally, we compared travel benefits like annual statement credits, airline status, award nights, and companion passes that can help a travel card maintain its value over time.
More factors include annual fees, APRs, foreign transaction fees, and issuer-specific criteria we evaluate for every type of card.
Our best travel credit card pick is the highest-rated card on our rubric. Among our card experts, it is the top choice for our focus on travel flexibility and affordability for any type of traveler.
To find the best rewards credit cards available today, we compiled a list of nearly 40 cards from major issuers that earn any type of reward on spending: cash back, points, or miles. While we included any type of rewards currency, we did limit this list to general, flexible rewards cards.
We did not include credit cards for small business owners, co-branded travel credit cards, secured cards, or student credit cards. This allowed us to focus on the most valuable rewards options for the broadest range of cardholders.
We compared both how you earn rewards and how you redeem them. This meant prioritizing flexibility from cards with multiple bonus categories and different redemption options. A rewards card's ongoing annual benefits and welcome bonus offer can play a big part in its overall value, so these factors were a major part of our rubric as well.
We also compared annual fees, interest rates, introductory 0% APR offers, foreign transaction fee charges, and more.
Our top rewards credit card pick is the top-rated card within this rubric. But our choices are also based on editorial discretion from our card experts. Our best rewards credit card is the option we believe offers both maximum rewards value for new cardholders and maintains that value over the long term.
To find the best 0% APR cards today, we started with a list of all cards from major credit card issuers that offer an introductory 0% APR, which was nearly 30 eligible credit cards.
For the best 0% APR credit card, the most important factor was, of course, the introductory 0% APR offer. Our primary focus was the length of each card's introductory period.
Beyond the intro period, we also gave preference to 0% APR cards with rewards. A common use for 0% APR periods is to pay off a large purchase without interest over time, so we looked for cards where that large purchase could also help you save with rewards. Ongoing rewards can also be useful for maintaining long-term value after the intro period ends.
Other details include annual fees, ongoing APRs, whether the card also has a balance transfer offer, credit score access, and more.
The overall best 0% APR credit card has the highest rating within our rubric, and is our team of experts' qualitative pick for its overall affordability, long-term value, and useful introductory period.
Our search for the best balance transfer card started by compiling more than two dozen credit cards from major issuers with balance transfer offers available today. The cards we looked at are widely available for American consumers (with the credit to qualify), no matter where you're located, what institution you bank with, or which issuer you already have a balance with.
First, we analyzed the details of each card's balance transfer offer. This included the length of the balance transfer period, balance transfer fees, and whether the card also offers a 0% APR for new purchases.
Like our top 0% APR picks, we prioritized great balance transfer cards that also have long-term rewards value, even after the initial intro period ends. Other details we compared include ongoing APRs, any annual fees, credit score access, and more.
Our best balance transfer credit card pick is the top-rated card under our balance transfer rubric. It has a solid combination of a long introductory period and ongoing rewards value — helping new cardholders pay down existing debt while building good habits that can help them earn rewards without overspending in the future.
We kept our search for the best student credit card simple by only evaluating credit cards designed for students. While students may also be able to qualify for secured credit cards, retail credit cards, and other credit-building card options, we wanted to find the best option specifically for college students.
This narrowed our focus to an initial list of around 15 student credit cards available today, which we rated based on how much value they offer student credit cardholders looking to build a solid credit foundation.
One of the biggest goals for student credit cards is to help cardholders build credit while they're in school. Some of the most important factors in our rubric include reporting activity to credit bureaus, credit score access for cardholders, and potential credit-building incentives.
Second to credit-building is the opportunity for students to earn rewards and get perks for their spending, so we also compared rewards potential and welcome offers. More factors include annual fees, introductory 0% APR offers, interest rates, and the option to upgrade to a non-student credit card after graduation.
The winning student credit card is the highest-scoring option under this rubric. It has a valuable combination of credit-building opportunities and rewards value for students who want to save money and secure a great credit score for the future.
We researched credit cards from major credit card companies, credit unions, and other lenders, to find the best secured credit cards. In total, we compared 25 secured credit cards for those looking to build credit.
Secured credit cards are unique because they require a security deposit to open. For all the secured cards on our list, we looked at the minimum required deposit, the maximum possible deposit a new cardholder can put down, and whether deposits are refundable. Because secured cards are also often used to build credit, we also considered factors like whether the issuer reports to credit bureaus, credit score access, and whether there is an option to upgrade to an unsecured card with responsible use over time.
More details include any annual fees, ongoing APRs, and whether a card offers rewards or a welcome bonus.
The best secured credit card winner is both among the top scorers under our rubric and our overall editorial pick. This secured credit card is our top pick for its use as a credit-building tool and for the savings it can offer on your spending today.
We researched nearly all available business card options from major card issuers to find the best business credit cards. Our full list was made up of 50 business cards for different types of small business owners — from cash-back cards to premium travel cards and co-branded airline, hotel, and retail options.
Every business is different, so this wide range of cards allowed us to compare and find options for multiple different budgets and types of spending.
There's no shortage of different types of business cards tailored for frequent business travelers, brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs, online freelancers, and everyone in between. With this in mind, we kept our criteria for rating business credit cards relatively broad.
This included annual fees, ongoing APRs, introductory 0% APR offers, welcome bonus offers and their spending requirements, rewards, and more. We also included a category for employee cards, which can help add flexibility for your business spending.
Our best business credit card winner is the top-rated card in our rubric that we believe offers the most value for a broad range of business owners, annual budgets, and regular purchase categories.
We researched co-branded airline credit cards from major card issuers to find the best airline credit cards. Our list includes airline credit cards that earn rewards under an airline's loyalty program (United MileagePlus, Delta SkyMiles, Southwest Rapid Rewards, etc.).
For our overall list of best airline cards, we did include general travel cards, which often offer benefits for air travel or transfers to airline programs. However, we focused on co-branded airline cards for this best airline card pick. We also only evaluated personal credit cards, and did not include business credit cards in this category.
Each airline offers different tiers of rewards cards — from no annual fee options to premium rewards for frequent flyers. Our rubric is designed to find the most valuable option while still accounting for the card cost.
We looked at a range of factors that can help cardholders save money on travel, including rewards categories, annual benefits, foreign transaction fees, and more. We also gave a preference to solid welcome offers, with points for not only the overall value but the spending amount required to earn the welcome bonus and how that bonus compares to the annual fee. Other details included annual fees, ongoing APRs, and any introductory 0% APR offers.
Our best airline credit card winner is the top-rated credit card within this rubric, and offers the best ongoing value for a range of travelers — whether you fly a few times per year or very frequently.
But keep in mind: Co-branded credit cards can be even more subjective than other types of cards. If you already have a preferred airline or you live near a hub, make sure you compare multiple options to find the best airline cards for your specific travel plans.
We researched all available rewards credit cards from major issuers to find the best grocery credit cards. Our list only includes cards that earn rewards, such as cash back, points, or miles. We evaluated nearly three dozen different credit cards to compile our list.
We created a rubric to determine the rating of each credit card on our list, including factors such as APR, annual fee, welcome bonus, and more. We also included each card's annual grocery rewards potential based on average American home food expenditures according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
We chose our overall winner based on its high rubric rating and our own experience and research. Our winner provides top-quality earnings on groceries and other types of everyday purchases. It's also a low-cost option with a generous welcome bonus and introductory APR offer.
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