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Good credit can help you qualify for loans and borrow money at lower rates, but those aren’t the only advantages. Maintaining a high credit score can also help you get approved for the very best credit cards, as cards that require excellent credit tend to offer high-end benefits and lavish rewards.
Your credit score is only one of several factors that determine whether your credit card application will be approved. Having a low credit score doesn’t automatically disqualify you, but you’re most likely to be approved if you have an excellent credit score (a FICO score above 800) or a very good credit score (between 740 and 799).
Read on to see our selection of credit cards tailored to those with FICO’s highest ratings.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit
The Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit of April 2023:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Product Name Only: Best valueThe Platinum Card® from American Express – Product Name Only: Best for luxury travel benefitsChase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Product Name Only: Best mid-tier travel cardBank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card – Product Name Only: Best for cash back rewards (with qualifying banking relationship)Discover it® Miles – Product Name Only: Best for 0% APRWyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card – Product Name Only: Best for gas
Methodology: How we chose the best credit cards for excellent credit
We looked at dozens of popular credit cards that typically require an excellent credit score for approval, and considered several factors:
Ease of use — Does the card make it easy to earn and redeem rewards? Are there any hoops to jump through, like having an existing relationship with the bank?Rewards earning potential — Is there a generous welcome bonus and/or useful bonus categories? Are any of the categories capped?Annual fee — Many cards geared to folks with excellent credit charge an annual fee. Is the fee reasonable, and do the card’s benefits and rewards make it worth paying?Options for different types of consumers — The cards for excellent credit we chose appeal to various users, from frequent flyers to small business owners to folks looking to save on interest
You can read more about how we rate credit cards at Insider for a closer look at our methodology.
Credit Cards for Excellent Credit Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best credit card for excellent credit?
With an excellent credit score, the best card for you depends on your spending habits and the types of rewards you like to earn. There is no single best card for excellent credit that works for everyone. For instance, our overall pick for the best value, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Product Name Only, is an outstanding card — but if you don’t travel, it won’t be of much use to you.
The great thing about having an excellent credit score is that you have a good shot at qualifying for just about any card you want.
What is an excellent credit score?
FICO and VantageScore define an excellent credit score slightly differently. With FICO, an excellent (exceptional) credit score is between 800 and 850. Meanwhile, VantageScore‘s range is slightly lower — it considers any score 780 or higher as excellent.
Can I qualify for a credit card without excellent credit?
Absolutely. There are plenty of credit cards that don’t require a top-tier FICO score for approval. Many cards ideal for those with good credit or fair to average credit still offer rewards and useful benefits, and there are even cards specifically for folks with bad credit or those who are starting out with credit.
How can I get an excellent credit score?
Credit scores aren’t fixed, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t yet qualify for the credit cards you want. There are various steps you can take to improve your credit score depending on what’s keeping it down.
If you lack sufficient credit history, consider adding data points to your profile by getting a secured credit card, reporting rental payments, or getting added as an authorized user on someone else’s credit card account. If your credit has negative marks like late payments or too many recent inquiries, you can try to repair your credit score either on your own or with the help of a credit counseling agency.
Best value
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Product Name Only is Capital One’s entry into the premium credit card market. The card comes with valuable benefits to rival its competitors, but charges a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Annual Fee annual fee that’s lower than most other premium cards, making it an excellent value overall.
As a cardholder, you’ll get an annual statement credit of up to $300 toward travel booked through the Capital One Travel Portal, plus access to the new Premier Collection luxury hotel booking program. You also receive an annual bonus of 10,000 miles on your account anniversary; that’s worth $100 when you redeem directly with Capital One, or you can get a better return by transferring miles to airline and hotel partners.
Those two benefits alone more than offset the annual fee, but you’ll get plenty more. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Product Name Only grants cardholders access to Priority Pass airport lounges with 1,300 locations worldwide, as well as Plaza Premium lounges and Capital One’s own (very) small but growing network of lounges. The card offers an application fee credit of up to $100 for expedited security programs Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, and comes with first-rate travel protections like primary rental car insurance and trip delay insurance that applies after just six hours.
The card comes with an introductory offer of Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Intro Bonus. That’s worth about Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – Featured Reward Value in travel, according to Insider’s valuation of Capital One miles.
Beyond that, you’ll earn 5 miles per dollar on flights and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when you book through the Capital One Travel portal. You’ll also earn 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases, making it a good option for everyday spending.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review
Best for luxury travel benefits
The Platinum Card® from American Express – Product Name Only has long been considered among the top travel rewards cards thanks to its array of high-end benefits, many of which apply to authorized users along with the primary cardholder. While the The Platinum Card® from American Express – Annual Fee annual fee is one of the highest you’ll find on any publicly available credit card, it’s a surprisingly good value if you put enough of those benefits to use.
Travel perks include up to $200 annually in statement credits toward airline incidental fees on one airline of your choice**, up to $200 annually toward prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel, up to $200 in Uber Cash credits each year**, and credits to cover the cost of both a CLEAR expedited airport security membership and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck**. Credits aside, you get access to Amex Centurion lounges and other airport lounges, elite status with Marriott and Hilton, hotel perks through the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, and travel protections like trip delay and lost baggage insurance.
Amex Platinum also offers a variety of retail and shopping benefits you can enroll in, including credits toward Saks Fifth Avenue purchases, select digital subscription services, Walmart+ membership, and more. You’ll also get coverage like purchase protection, return protection, and extended warranty for eligible items you buy with your card.
The The Platinum Card® from American Express – Editorial Name Only comes with a welcome bonus offer of The Platinum Card® from American Express – Intro Bonus. Based on Insider’s valuation of Amex points, that’s potentially worth The Platinum Card® from American Express – Featured Reward Value in travel.
It’s not the best card for everyday spending, since it only earns 1 point per dollar on most purchases. However, the flexible spending limit makes it handy for large purchases, especially those that wouldn’t earn bonus points on another card.
American Express Platinum Card Review
Best mid-tier travel card
Our pick for the best travel rewards credit card overall, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Product Name Only is a great fit for frequent travelers who don’t want to spring for a premium card with a high annual fee. Cardholders earn rewards at competitive rates, have quality redemption options with Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners, and get essential travel benefits and a handful of other perks for a relatively modest Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Annual Fee annual fee.
The card comes with a welcome bonus offer of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Intro Bonus. With an average redemption value of 1.8 cents per Chase point, we value that bonus as worth Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Featured Reward Value in travel.
Beyond that, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar on travel booked through Chase and on Lyft rides, plus 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases, and 2 points per dollar on other travel. Cardholders also get an anniversary bonus that effectively adds 0.1 points per dollar spent, making purchases slightly more rewarding.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Product Name Only doesn’t have benefits of the same caliber as the cards listed above, but it does offer primary rental car insurance and an assortment of travel insurance and purchase protections, including baggage delay insurance that kicks in after only six hours. The card also comes with an annual credit of up to $50 for hotels booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal, as well as perks with delivery services DoorDash, Instacart, and Gopuff.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Review
Best for cash back rewards (with qualifying banking relationship)
Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card – Product Name Only isn’t flashy, but it offers unique long-term value for those who prefer cash-back rewards and have a broader banking relationship with Bank of America.
The card earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining, and 1.5 points per dollar on other purchases. Since Bank of America has no airline or hotel transfer partners, these points have a flat redemption value of 1 cent apiece, yielding 2% cash back on travel and dining, and 1.5% cash back elsewhere.
Neither of those rates is compelling, but you can boost your earnings by as much as 75% as a Bank of America Preferred Rewards customer. At the top tier, you’ll earn uncapped 3.5% cash back on travel and dining, and 2.625% cash back on other purchases. That compares favorably with other cash-back options.
The card comes with an intro offer of Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card – Intro Bonus (worth $500). It also offers up to $100 in airline incidental credits each year (enough to offset the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card – Annual Fee annual fee), plus an application fee credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and a standard set of travel and purchase protections.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card Review
Best for 0% APR
Plenty of cards come with a 0% introductory APR, but many of them don’t earn rewards, offer too short of an introductory period, or limit the introductory rate exclusively to balance transfers. The Discover it® Miles – Product Name Only offers a good balance of a lengthy zero-interest period and better-than-average rewards for spending.
New cardholders get a Discover it® Miles – Intro APR (followed by a Discover it® Miles – Regular APR APR). That rate also applies to balance transfers, which incur a reduced introductory fee of 3% (down from 5%). If the length of the 0% APR period is your primary concern, then you may prefer an option like the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card – Product Name Only, which charges zero interest for as long as 21 months with on-time minimum payments (Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card – Intro APR, then a Wells Fargo Reflect® Card – Regular APR APR). However, that card offers nothing in return for your spending.
In comparison, the Discover it® Miles – Product Name Only earns an uncapped 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases. Rather than award a large welcome bonus upfront, the card offers an unlimited bonus that matches all the cash back you’ve earned after the first year. That effectively boosts the earning rate to 3 miles per dollar on all your spending. Discover miles are worth 1 cent each when you redeem for statement credits or transfer to a bank account, so earning 3 miles per dollar equates to 3% cash back.
Best for gas purchases
Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card
Wyndham Rewards has two personal credit cards also issued by Barclays, but the small business card is the standout of the bunch. Don’t be discouraged by the name; you can qualify for a small business credit card like this one even if you don’t own a formal business.
One strength of the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card – Product Name Only is its bonus categories: you’ll earn 8 points per dollar on Wyndham stays and gas purchases, and 5 points per dollar on eligible utilities, marketing and advertising expenses. Based on our average redemption value of 0.8 cents per point for Wyndham Rewards, those bonus categories yield returns of 6.4% and 4%, respectively.
The card comes with a welcome bonus of Wyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card – Intro Bonus, and offers a bonus of 15,000 points automatically after each card anniversary (more than enough to offset the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card – Annual Fee annual fee). On the redemption side, cardholders get a 10% discount on go free awards, as well as a 4% discount off paid stays when you book directly with Wyndham.
Wyndham has a large global footprint, and you can take advantage of it with the top-tier Diamond elite status granted by the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card – Product Name Only. If Wyndham properties don’t fit in your plans, you can get good (or sometimes great) value by transferring points to Caesars Rewards or redeeming for vacation rentals through Wyndham’s partnership with Vacasa.
Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card Review