Why pull out your wallet when you iPhone's in your hand or your Apple Watch is on the wrist? Apple Pay is just a tap away!
Apple Pay is a glorious creation that lets you pay at just about any tap-enabled debit machine with a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch. It also lets you buy stuff online without having to bust out your credit card, thanks to Apple's online Apple Pay partners. If you're in the market for your first (or just a new) Apple Pay-compatible credit card, then consider these, so you can get all the loyalty points, rewards, and more!
If you live in the U.S., these are the best Apple Pay-supported credit cards for you!
Cash back cards
Is there really anything better than getting money back just for spending money? You're gonna do it anyway, so why not capitalize with one of these cards?
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards
If you're looking for money back on everyday purchases, then the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card may be perfect for you. To start, you'll receive a $150 bonus one you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from opening your account (pay your bills and buy gas with it, and that ain't hard at all).
After that, you'll earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase you make, and that's unlimited. Your cash back won't expire for the entire life of your account, and there are no limits on your earning potential. I know this sounds like an interview for a sales job, but it's just a rad credit card. Oh, and there's no annual fee.
Citi Double Cash
Citi's Double Cash card gives you just that: double the cash (sorta). You'll earn 1% for every purchase, and then you'll earn an additional 1% when you pay those purchases off (balance transfers don't earn cash back). You'll also get 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for the first 18 months you have the card.
No annual fee!
Blue Cash Preferred American Express
Green cash is fine, but if you're an AmEx user, then you're just fine with blue too. This card does have a $95 annual fee, but you can spend up to $6,000 at U.S. supermarket in a year and get 6% cash back. That's $360. After you spend the $6,000, you get 1% cash back on the rest of your supermarket purchases for the year.
Buy gas at U.S. gas stations (as well as select U.S. department stores) and get 3% cash back, and get 1% cash back on all other purchases (unlimited). As a welcome offer, you'll receive $200 back when you make $1,000 worth of purchases in the first three months after you open your account.
Bank of America Cash Rewards Mastercard
No annual fee on this one, and you'll get 3% cash back on gas and 2% cash back on purchases at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. You can get that return on up to $2,500 in combined gas, grocery, and wholesale club purchases per quarter. All other purchases get 1% cash back.
If you spend $500 within 90 days of opening your account, you'll get a $150 bonus, and there's 0% APR for the first 12 months your account is open.
Travel and airline rewards
Love to travel? Then why not earn travel rewards while you make your everyday purchases?
Capital One Venture Rewards
Capital One's Venture card has no annual fee for the first year, after which it goes up to $95 a year, but if you travel often, it's worth it. You'll get an unlimited 2 miles per dollar on every purchase you make, and when you book hotels at hotels.com/venture, you'll receive 10 miles per dollar (unlimited).
There's a sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles when you spend $3,000 within the first three months that your account it open. You'll also receive Visa Signature benefits, which include 24/7 personal concierge service, roadside assistance, emergency card replacement, extended warranty coverage on the items you purchase with the card, and auto rental collision damage waiver. There are also no foreign transaction fees.
American Express Platinum
The American Express Platinum card is not for the faint of wallet — there's a $550 annual fee. You'll receive 5 points for every dollar you spend on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, as well as on eligible hotels booked on amextravel.com. You'll receive 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
There are no foreign transaction fees, you get a $200 yearly airline fee credit for incidental purchases, up to $200 in Uber rides per year, a $100 credit toward global entry or TSA precheck expedited screening, and free Boingo Wi-Fi at hotels, airports, and other locations. If you travel a ton, this card could definitely be worth it to you.
Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
The AAdvantage card from Citi gives you 2 miles for every dollar spent with American Airlines and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. There's a $95 annual fee, which is waived in your first year.
As a sign-up bonus, you'll get 50,000 miles if you spend $2,500 in the first 3 months after opening your account. Travel benefits include preferred boarding on American Airlines flights, a free checked bag on domestic American Airlines flights for you and up to four travel companions, as well as 25% off in-flight food and drink. There's no foreign transaction fee.
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express
Having booked luxury hotels in a previous job, I know great hotels, and Starwood has some of the best properties in the world. As a Starwood Preferred Guests member, you'll receive up to 5 points per dollar of eligible purchases at many Starwood hotels. You'll also get 2 points per dollar at participating Marriott Rewards hotels. All other eligible purchases earn you one point per dollar. And if you drop $3,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account, you'll get 25,000 bonus points.
Points can be transferred to 30 airline frequent flyer programs, and many of them allow transfer on a one-to-one basis. You'll get 5,000 bonus points when you transfer 20,000 points to a frequent flyer program.
No annual fee!
Best for Canadians
Living in the Great White North? These are the credit cards you want that support Apple Pay.
President's Choice Financial Mastercard
If you live in Canada, then you know the Loblaw family of companies has at least one store in just about every city in the country. Love free groceries? This is the card for you, and it's the only credit card I've used since I was 19. President's Choice recently amalgamated it's PC Points program with Shoppers Drug Mart's Optimum points program, so you can now earn points for both stores on every single purchase you make.
With the base PC Mastercard, you'll earn 10 PC points or 25 Optimium points for every dollar you spend. As you receive upgrades, your PC Points will increase to 20 and then 30 for every dollar you spend (PC World Elite Mastercard — it's awesome). Every 1,000 PC Points is one dollar, and you can redeem your points in $10 quantities at participating Loblaws stores. You'll also receive travel offers, and can even earn points if you're signed up for wireless services via PC Mobile.
The interest rate is quite high at 19.97%, but if you shop at loblaws stores for your groceries, the benefits are excellent.
See at President's Choice Financial
Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite
Want 4% cash back on groceries and gas? Of course you do, and your cap is an annual $25,000, so you can get up to $1,000 back. You'll also get 2% back at pharmacies and auto-pay recurring bills. All other purchases get you 1% back.
You'll also get special perks, like advanced ticket purchases for concerts, as well as fine dining and luxury hotel perks. You also get a 24/7 personal concierge for any reservations or other planning questions you may have. You'll receive several kinds of travel insurance, and there's no annual fee for the first year. After that, the annual fee is $39 for the primary card and $15 for each additional card.
RBC WestJet World Elite Mastercard
WestJet is the best airline in Canada. That's just empirically true, and I won't have any argument. Royal Bank's WestJet World Elite Mastercard gets you 1.5% in WestJet dollars on all purchases, and you'll get 2% back on every dollar spent on WestJet flights or WestJet Vacations packages.
You get 250 welcome WestJet dollars for signing up and the primary cardholders first checked bag is always free.
American Express Gold Rewards
This card has a $150 annual fee, and for that you get 2 points for every dollar you spend on eligible travel purchases and 1 point for every dollar you spend otherwise. Travel benefits include a $75 USD hotel credit to use on hotel amenities like dining or the spa, a one-category room upgrade at check-in (when available, at participating hotels), and Hertz car rental benefits if you enroll in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program.
If you're an avid traveler, this card's for you.