5 Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit in 2022

Excellent credit comes with several perks including access to the very best credit card offers available. Whether you're looking for a travel rewards card or want to earn cash back, an excellent credit score opens the doors to better perks and possibly lower APRs.

Our guide walks through the best credit cards for individuals with excellent credit, what to look for in a card, and how to improve or maintain your credit score.

What to Look for in a Credit Card for Excellent Credit

When researching the best credit card offers for excellent credit, factors to consider include:

Rewards: You want to find a card that offers rewards that match your spending habits and offers redemptions you'll use. A cash back card is no good if you want to earn points towards free travel. Some general rewards credit cards offer a variety of redemption options and are good for almost anyone.

Check to see if there's a welcome bonus offer included. This is an easy way to boost your rewards balance quickly by hitting spending requirements.

APR: The annual percentage rate (APR) determines the interest charge you end up paying if you don't pay your balance in full. Most credit cards come with an APR range based on your credit and other factors. Having excellent credit should qualify you for a lower APR.

Annual fees: Most of the top rewards credit cards carry an annual fee. Fees can range from $0 to over $600 depending on the card and the type of rewards and benefits provided.

Card perks: In addition to earning rewards, credit cards also come with other benefits like travel perks, free credit score monitoring, purchase protections, and more.

At a Glance

Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit

Discover It® Cash Back Credit Card: Best for Cash Back Rewards

The Discover It® is among the very best cash back credit cards. It also comes with one of the best introductory offers. Discover automatically matches all the cashback you've earned at the end of your first year.

Highlights

• Get a cash back match on all rewards earned your first year

• 5% cash back on quarterly rotating categories

• 1% cash back on all other purchases

• 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 14 months

• Free FICO credit score access

• Social Security number alerts

• No annual fee

Learn more about the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card: Best for Travel Rewards

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card gives you access to Chase Ultimate Rewards, one of the most versatile travel rewards programs around. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® introductory offer, you’ll receive 100,000 ultimate rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months.

Highlights

• Introductory offer of 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within three months of opening your account

• 5X points on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards

• 3X on select streaming services

• 3X points on select online grocery purchases

• 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide

• 1X points on all other purchases

• Your Ultimate Rewards points carry 25% more value when redeemed for travel through Chase UltimateR ewards®

• Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022

Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card here.

Capital One VentureOne Credit Card: Best for No Fee Travel Rewards

Most of the best travel rewards credit cards feature an annual fee, but not the Capital One VentureOne Credit Card. Through the card's introductory welcome offer, you can earn 20,000 bonus miles after you spend $500 in the first three months. Plus, the card offers a handful of other valuable travel benefits.

Highlights

• Earn 20,000 bonus miles after spending $500 in the first three months

• 1.25X miles on all purchases

• Travel accident insurance

• Auto rental collision damage waiver

• 15+ travel loyalty partner programs

• No foreign transaction fees

• No annual fee

Learn more about the Capital One VentureOne Credit Card here.

Citi® Double Cash Card: Best for Balance Transfers

The Citi® Double Cash Card earns cash back in two ways. You earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay your credit card bill. You can't overlook the card's long intro APR offer on balance transfers or its lack of annual fee.

Highlights

• Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% once you pay for those purchases

• To earn cash back, pay (at least) the minimum due on time

• 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. (Note: Balance transfers do not earn cash back)

• No annual fee

Learn more about the Citi Double Cash Card here.

The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best for Luxury Travel Rewards

The Platinum Card® offers a wide range of luxury travel perks along with a long list of other benefits. Don't forget a massive 100,000-point welcome offer. Yes, it carries one of the highest annual fees of any card at $695, but if you take advantage of most of its perks, its value exceeds any fees.

Highlights

• Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on your new card in the first six months

• 10X points on eligible purchases on the Card at restaurants worldwide and when you Shop Small in the U.S., on up to $25,000 in combined purchases, during your first six months of Card Membership

• 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year

• 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel

• 1X points on all other purchases

• $200 Fine Hotels + Resorts hotel credit

• Access to American Express Global Lounge Collection

• $200 airline fee credit

• $200 Uber cash

• $179 Clear credit

• Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck

• Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite status

• Hilton Honors Gold status

• No foreign transaction fees

Learn more about the Platinum Card from American Express here.

What is an Excellent Credit Score?

Credit scores generally range from 300 to 850. An excellent credit score depends on the specific credit score model but is typically a credit score of 800 or higher. An excellent credit score demonstrates that you're an exceptional borrower and follow responsible credit practices.

How to Check your Credit Score for Free

You can obtain a free copy of your credit score and credit report from Annualcreditreport.com. Several credit cards and bank accounts come with free access to credit score monitoring. Check your current credit cards to see if any of them offer this free service.

You can also use a service like Credit Karma to get free access to your credit score.

How to Get Excellent Credit

One of the fastest ways to boost your credit score is to lower your credit utilization ratio. This is the percentage of available credit that you use. Experts recommend keeping your credit utilization ratio below 30%. You can lower your ratio by paying off existing debt. Increasing your available credit also helps but shouldn't be the primary way you lower your credit utilization ratio.

How to Maintain Excellent Credit

Credit scores are calculated using five factors: your credit utilization ratio, payment history, length of your credit history, credit mix, and new credit.

Making on-time, full payments goes a long way in maintaining and improving your credit score. Avoid closing any credit accounts unless necessary since this affects the length of your credit history. You don't need to avoid opening new credit accounts but try to do so with a specific reason in mind.

Summary

If you have excellent credit, you may be eligible for better rewards and benefits through cards geared towards people with higher credit scores.

Use this guide to research the best cards for individuals with excellent credit scores. If your credit score isn't quite there, check out our list of the best credit cards to find one that better suits your current situation and needs.