Which credit card should I get?
By the PointMaxx team. Published October 29, 2026. Updated October 29, 2026.
Get the card that would have paid you the most on what you spent over the last year, after its annual fee. Add up your spending by category, multiply each category by each card's earn rate, subtract fees, and compare the totals. If you carry a balance or have no credit history, pick for low interest or approval first, not rewards.
About the author: the PointMaxx team is two people who built a free tool that runs published card terms against real credit card statements. Card terms in this article were checked on issuers' own pages as of October 2026. We are not financial advisers, and nothing here is a recommendation to apply for any card.
How do I know which credit card is best for my spending?
The best card for you is the one with the highest annual rewards on your own category totals, minus its annual fee. An earn rate is the percentage (or points per dollar) a card pays back on a purchase. A card that pays 3% on groceries is only worth it if groceries are a big share of what you buy.
A short method:
- Pull 12 months of statements from every card and debit account you use.
- Total your spending in each category: groceries, dining, gas, travel, drugstores, everything else.
- For each card you're considering, multiply each category total by that card's rate for the category.
- Add the results and subtract the annual fee.
- Pick the highest total, then check caps and exclusions in the card's terms.
For the full step-by-step process, including how to sort statement lines, see our guide on how to choose a credit card step by step.
How do I find out how much I spend in each category?
Your card statements already list every purchase with the merchant name, so 12 months of statements gives you your category totals. Most issuers let you download statements as CSV or PDF. Use a full year, because holidays, travel and annual bills make single months misleading.
Is a flat 2% cash back card better than a category card?
A flat 2% card beats a category card unless enough of your spending lands in the category card's bonus categories to make up for its lower base rate. A flat-rate card pays the same percentage on everything. A category card pays more in a few categories and less on the rest, often 1%.
The three cards below all have a $0 annual fee as of October 2026. Rates are from each issuer's page.
| Card (as of October 2026) | Groceries | Dining | Drugstores | Everything else | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Double Cash | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay) | $0 |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | 1.5% | 3% | 3% | 1.5% | $0 |
| Capital One Savor | 3% (superstores like Walmart and Target excluded) | 3% | 1% | 1% | $0 |
Travel booked through each issuer's own travel portal earns more on all three cards. We left that out because it only applies if you book through those portals.
Worked example: one household, three cards
Example only. Say a household spends $24,000 a year: $7,200 on groceries, $3,600 on dining, $600 at drugstores and $12,600 on everything else.
| Category (yearly) | Citi Double Cash | Chase Freedom Unlimited | Capital One Savor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries $7,200 | $144 | $108 | $216 |
| Dining $3,600 | $72 | $108 | $108 |
| Drugstores $600 | $12 | $18 | $6 |
| Everything else $12,600 | $252 | $189 | $126 |
| Total, after $0 fee | $480 | $423 | $456 |
For this household, the flat 2% card wins as a single card, even though 45% of its spending is groceries and dining. The category card's 1% on the other $13,200 costs more than its 3% categories earn. If these grocery purchases had been at Walmart or Target, Savor's grocery line would fall from $216 to $72.
Should I get one credit card or two?
Two cards beat one when each card covers spending the other earns less on, and you will reliably use the right card at the register. The gain is usually largest when one card has strong bonus categories and the other has a high flat rate.
Using the same example household:
| Setup | How it's used | Yearly rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Best single card | Citi Double Cash for everything | $480 |
| Two cards | Savor for groceries and dining ($324); Double Cash for drugstores and everything else ($264) | $588 |
The second card adds $108 a year in this example, about 23% more. Three cards help only if a third card beats both on a category big enough to matter. To see which card to swipe where, use the PointMaxx swipe guide.
Is a credit card with an annual fee worth it?
An annual fee card is worth it only if its extra rewards, plus credits you would have paid for anyway, exceed the fee compared with your best no-fee option. An annual fee is a yearly charge for having the card, whether you use it or not.
Count statement credits (for example, a dining or streaming credit) only if you would have spent that money anyway. A $120 credit for a service you don't use is worth $0 to you.
How much do I need to spend for an annual fee card to pay off?
Divide the annual fee by the extra percentage the fee card earns in its bonus category; the result is the yearly spending you need in that category just to break even.
Example only. A hypothetical card charges $95 a year and pays 6% on groceries. Your no-fee alternative pays 3% on groceries. The extra is 3 percentage points, so you need $95 ÷ 0.03 = $3,167 a year in groceries just to break even. At $7,200 a year in groceries, the gain is $7,200 × 0.03 − $95 = $121.
Check for a spending cap, a limit on how much spending earns the bonus rate in a year. If the 6% stops after $6,000, the gain falls to $6,000 × 0.03 + $1,200 × (fallback rate − 3%) − $95. With a 1% fallback, that is $180 − $24 − $95 = $61.
Which credit card is best for groceries and dining?
A card that pays 3% or more at both grocery stores and restaurants, with no annual fee, is the usual answer if those two categories are a large share of your spending. As of October 2026, Capital One Savor pays 3% on both with a $0 fee.
Check two limits before deciding:
- Superstores. Savor's terms exclude superstores like Walmart and Target from its grocery category. Many grocery cards have similar exclusions.
- Everything else. A grocery-and-dining card often pays 1% elsewhere, so pairing it with a flat-rate card usually earns more than using it alone.
Do sign-up bonuses matter when choosing a card?
A sign-up bonus decides your first year, but the ongoing earn rate decides every year after that. A sign-up bonus is a one-time reward for spending a set amount within the first few months.
Compare cards on year-one value (bonus plus rewards minus fee) and on ongoing yearly value separately. Don't spend more than you planned to reach a bonus, and check eligibility rules. For example, Citi's page says accounts that received a Double Cash new-account bonus in the past 48 months are not eligible.
Should I get a rewards card if I carry a balance?
No. If you carry a balance from month to month, interest will usually cost more than any rewards you earn, so a low-APR card matters more. The APR (annual percentage rate) is the yearly cost of borrowing on the card, including interest and certain fees, as the CFPB defines it.
According to the CFPB's page on grace periods, if you don't pay the full balance by the due date, you lose the grace period and new purchases start accruing interest from the day you make them. A grace period is the time between the end of a billing cycle and the payment due date.
Example only. At a 24% APR, carrying $2,000 for a year costs about $480 in interest, which matches the entire yearly reward in the worked example above.
What credit card should I get if I have no credit history?
Start with a card you are likely to be approved for, such as a secured card or a student card, and pay it in full each month. A secured card requires a cash deposit, which usually becomes your credit limit.
Rewards on these cards are often lower. That is fine: the goal for the first year is a record of on-time payments. Once your history is established, run your spending through the method above.
Does applying for a new card hurt my credit?
Applying usually triggers a hard inquiry, a check of your credit report that can lower your score slightly for a while. Opening several cards close together can also lower the average age of your accounts.
If you want a two-card setup, it is usually better to open one card, wait a few months, then open the second. Rewards math does not tell you whether you'll be approved, so check the issuer's stated requirements first.
When doesn't this advice apply?
This method assumes you pay in full every month and that next year's spending will look like last year's. It doesn't account for approval odds, changes to card terms after October 2026, or perks that are hard to put a dollar value on, like lounge access or purchase protection.
Card terms change. Before you apply, read the card's pricing and terms, or look up the issuer's agreement in the CFPB Credit Card Agreement Database, which holds agreements issuers submit under the CARD Act.
How we gathered this information
Earn rates and fees come from each issuer's own card page, checked on October 29, 2026. Definitions come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Every dollar figure labeled "example only" is illustrative arithmetic, not data about real people.
Frequently asked questions
Which credit card should I get?
Get the card that would have paid the most on your last 12 months of spending, after its annual fee. Total your spending by category, multiply by each card's earn rates, subtract fees, and compare. If you carry a balance, prioritize a low APR instead.
Is a 2% cash back card better than a 3% grocery card?
It depends on how much of your spending is groceries. In our example of $24,000 a year with 30% on groceries, a flat 2% card earned $480 and a 3% grocery-and-dining card earned $456. Using both together earned $588.
Should I get one credit card or two?
Two cards earn more when one has strong bonus categories and the other has a high flat rate. In our example, the second card added $108 a year. A third card helps only if it beats both on a large category.
Is an annual fee card worth it?
Only if its extra rewards exceed the fee compared with your best no-fee card. Divide the fee by the extra percentage it earns to find the yearly spending you need to break even. A $95 fee with 3 extra points needs about $3,167 a year in that category.
Do sign-up bonuses matter?
They matter for year one only. Compare year-one value (bonus plus rewards minus fee) separately from ongoing yearly value. Don't overspend to reach a bonus.
Should I get a rewards card if I carry a balance?
Usually not. Interest on a carried balance typically costs more than rewards earn, and the CFPB notes you lose the grace period when you don't pay in full. Choose a low-APR card first.
Next step
If you want to check this against your own spending instead of an example, add your credit card statements (CSV or PDF) to PointMaxx. It's free and works out which one, two or three of 53 US cards would have paid you the most on your real spending, after annual fees. It runs entirely in your browser; your statements are never uploaded or stored, and there's no account. You can see every card ranked on your spending, and the PointMaxx FAQ explains how caps, rotating categories and statement credits are counted. Results are estimates from past statements and published terms, not financial advice, and PointMaxx doesn't check approval odds.
Sources
- Citi Double Cash Card: 2% cash back (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay), $0 annual fee, 48-month bonus eligibility rule (checked October 29, 2026).
- Chase Freedom Unlimited: 1.5% base, 3% dining and drugstores, $0 annual fee (checked October 29, 2026).
- Capital One Savor: 3% grocery and dining, 1% other, superstore exclusion, $0 annual fee (checked October 29, 2026).
- CFPB: key credit card terms: definition of APR.
- CFPB: what is a grace period: grace period definition; losing it when you don't pay in full.
- CFPB Credit Card Agreement Database: where to read issuers' agreements, submitted under the CARD Act.