Citi Simplicity® Card

A typical rotating bonus category earns 5%, while other cards are limited to earning 2% or 3% cash back, says Daniel Gillaspia, travel and rewards expert and founder of the travel rewards blog UponArriving. Category choices are gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or home improvement/furnishings.

The Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card (Review) is one of the most flexible cash back cards around, with a 3% bonus category you can change every month. Dining is one of your choices, along with quite a few other useful options, and you’ll always get grocery stores for one of your smaller categories.

Secured cards are designed for people with bad, limited, or no credit, so they usually come with pretty unfavorable terms. But the Discover it Secured is different, and even provides a decent rewards program. Not only that, your cash back is doubled for the first year! That’s even better than some reward credit cards.

No-annual-fee travel credit cards offer rewards for no yearly cost of card ownership. This can be appealing to frugal or infrequent travelers. Keep in mind, however, that these cards lack the richer rewards and perks of cards that do charge annual fees. For some travelers, paying an annual fee is worth it thanks to those incentives, which can include things like travel credits, bonus rewards, airport lounge access, free checked bags, priority boarding, hotel status and more.

The signup bonus — one of the most valuable and coveted credit card features, with the potential to put a huge dent in your spending or help you score free flights and hotel stays. Many rewards cards come with signup bonuses, also known as introductory bonuses or welcome bonuses. These bonus offers can provide a surprising amount of value, with returns on spending ranging from around 20% on average to more than 50% in some cases.