Credit Card Rewards: The Best and Worst

The credit crunch might be easing, but credit card companies are still cutting back—even on those prized rewards. Some cards used to award bonus points after the first purchase but don’t anymore. Others are imposing stricter rules and fees upon redemption. We singled out some of the best and worst rewards cards available.

American Express scored top marks for its rewards program in a J.D. Power survey last fall, and experts cite this card as one of the best. It has no annual fee and provides up to 5 percent cash back on gas station, drugstore and supermarket purchases. But to boost its rewards from 0.5 to 1.25 percent on all other purchases, you’ll first need to spend at least $6,500. “It’s best suited for more aggressive chargers,” says Curtis Arnold, author of "How You Can Profit From Credit Cards" and founder of CardRatings.com.

RATING: ****

Among the newest and most lucrative cards, these two offer 2 percent cash back on retail purchases. But they’re both linked to brokerage firms, and rewards get swept into retirement or brokerage accounts. Though neither card has an annual fee, card holders might find that their APRs—17 and 14 percent, respectively—offset any rewards they receive.

RATING: ***

Among credit card users, gift-card rewards are more popular than merchandise, hotel stays and gas rebates combined, according to J.D. Power. Yet most consumers who try to redeem rewards points for gift cards find they aren’t getting a full 1 percent return. Research firm Corporate Insight shows that two of the worst offenders are Capital One’s No Hassle card, which gives just 0.74 percent back, and Discover’s Miles card, which provides a mere 0.63 percent. A spokesperson for Capital One says the company believes its card returns 1 percent in rewards, and Discover declined to comment.

RATING: **