A credit card is your first step towards building a healthy credit score. It also serves as a safety net for unforeseen financial hiccups, and if you choose the right one, your ticket to superb bonuses, travel rewards, and a horde of many other benefits. That said, here are the best credit card companies in 2021.

1. Best for Rebuilding Credit: Discover it Secured Credit Card

Although there are dozens of credit cards, a majority of them require you to have an average credit score to qualify. But a poor credit doesn’t mean all hope is lost. A credit card like Discover It Secured is designed to help you rebuild credit with all three credit bureaus.

It also unlocks perks only people with good credit enjoy. For instance, it has no annual fee, and it’s quite easy for you to get an unsecured card. Automatic credit reviews start at eight months, which means if you put in some effort, you get your deposit back and earn an unsecured card. But the marquee feature on this credit card is its cashback system.

You get 2% quarterly cashback for combined purchases worth $1,000 at gas stations and restaurants. You also get 1% cashback on all other purchases, and what’s more, they’ll also match any cash back you earn yearly. That means if you earned $200 in cashback rewards for the first 12 months, they’d match it back by giving you an additional $200.

2. Best Cashback Credit Card: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards

If you’d like to earn cashback rewards for life, the Capital One Quicksilver credit card is an excellent choice. It has no annual fee and has 0% intro APR on all purchases for the first 15 months, after which you’ll pay an ongoing variable APR.

Although this might seem like a bit of a downside, it makes up for it through a 1.5% cashback reward on all purchases every day. Plus, you can redeem any amount at any time. The balance transfer fee is only 3%, and you get a $200 cash bonus on purchases worth $500 within the first three months.

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3. Best Travel Credit Card: American Express Gold Card

The American Express Gold Card offers superb and incredibly flexible membership rewards to globetrotters. You get 60,000 membership reward points on traveling costs worth $4,000 within the first six months.

You get four reward points for every dollar you spend in restaurants worldwide (including takeout) and four more points for every dollar spent in American supermarkets as long as they’re worth up to $25,000 by the end of the year. For flights booked through the company’s website or the Amex website, you get three points.

What’s most exciting is that the points don’t expire, and you can redeem them with up to seventeen airline companies. There are no foreign transaction fees, and you get secondary insurance for car rental damages and losses. The downside? There’s an annual $250 fee, but other than that, this is one of the best travel credit cards you’ll come across.

4. Best Credit Card for Balance Transfers: Citi Double Cash Card

A balance transfer credit card is an excellent strategy if you’re looking to manage your debt and rebuild your credit score.

You get a zero-introductory APR fee for balance transfers for the first eighteen months, upon which you’ll pay a variable APR of about 13.99% and 23.99%. Balance transfers cost about $5, which is quite a generous offer considering you get quite a lengthy introductory period.

Moreover, it has quite a superb cashback system. You get 1% cashback when you make a purchase and an additional 1% when you pay the card off.

5. Best for the New Covid-19 Normal: Chase Freedom Flex

2020 was pretty unusual, and unfortunately, 2021 seems to be on the same track. We don’t know what the future holds, but this seems to be the new normal, which is still quite tough for most people. But a card like Chase Freedom Flex makes your life a tad easier.

First, it has zero annual fees, and you get up to 5% cashback on grocery store purchases if you spend $12,000 within the first year. If you’d like a break from the kitchen but still want to maintain social distancing, you get 3% cashback rewards on all takeout services.

You’ll also get a 5% revolving quarterly cashback reward on purchases worth $1,500 on sites like Amazon and Walmart, 3% cashback on drugstore purchases, and 1% unlimited cashback on all other purchases.

Traveling costs earn you 5% cashback when you use Chase Ultimate Rewards, and once you sign up, you automatically qualify for a $200 bonus as long as you spend $500 within the first quarter.

6. Best Airline Credit Card: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

If you’re always hopping from one plane to another, the Capital One Venture Rewards Card would be a great way to cut on costs and still cover the miles. You earn 60,000 bonus miles if you spend $3,000 within the first quarter.

Furthermore, it’s quite easy to earn miles. For instance, you get two miles for every dollar spent. However, the piece de resistance of this card is these miles are redeemable not just through travel expenses but also through expenses like streaming subscriptions and takeout services.  Plus, you can fly with any airline, book your stay with any hotel, or even transfer your miles.

These points don’t expire, and there’s no limit to how many you can earn. So, if you travel by air a lot, this card is your chance to explore the world at half or even zero costs. The catch is that it has an annual fee of $95 and a variable APR.

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