How To Choose the Right Credit Card for Your Lifestyle

• Written by Joseph Hostetler
  

  Joseph Hostetler

  Credit cards, travel rewards

  Joseph Hostetler is a credit card rewards expert who has covered travel and loyalty programs professionally since 2016. He has authored and edited for prominent travel rewards sites such as Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, and point.me. He has also written for dozens of national publications, including Business Insider, Newsweek, CNN, TIME and AP News, and more.

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• Edited by Amen Oyiboke-Osifo
  

  Amen Oyiboke-Osifo

  Generational wealth, credit card travel rewards

  Amen Oyiboke-Osifo is an editor at GOBankingRates and CardCritics, and has been in the personal finance space since 2019. She specializes in personal finance, credit cards, and generational wealth money trends. Amen brings over a decade of experience in digital, broadcast, and print journalism. She previously served as the executive producer of The Richer Way Podcast, presented by GOBankingRates, where she highlighted wealth-building strategies and financial insights from industry leaders. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications from Prairie View A&M University and her master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. Amen’s current work focuses on demystifying credit cards, rewards, and debt payoff strategies.

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• Reviewed by Jasmin Baron
  

  Jasmin Baron

  Credit Cards, Travel Rewards, Loyalty Programs, Family Travel, Credit Building, Credit Scores

  Jasmin Baron is CardCritics’ senior SEO editor, responsible for editing and writing credit cards, travel rewards, loyalty program, and other credit-related content. She is passionate about personal finance education and enjoys sharing tips and tricks for making the most credit card points and miles with her readers. Her expertise in maximizing credit card travel rewards originated from over two decades of aviation industry experience, including 18 years working as a pilot and college professor/flight instructor in her native Canada. Her work has appeared on sites such as CNN Underscored Money, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and point.me. When she’s not planning her next trip with credit card rewards, you’ll probably find her tinkering around in the kitchen, hanging out with her three kids, or playing with her dog, Benji.

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• Last Updated Aug 14, 2025

It’s the golden age of credit cards. Hundreds of plastic rectangles are vying for your affection — but there’s one credit card that fits you better than any other.

So, how do you find it?

Check Out: How Many Credit Cards Should I Have?

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Here are a few questions to ask yourself that’ll help you quickly narrow your search for the perfect credit card.

What Are Your Financial Goals?

Here’s the most important question to ask yourself at the beginning of your quest: What do you want your credit card to do for you?

Credit cards can serve myriad aspects of your life, from saving money on everyday expenses to helping you escape high-interest debt to funding your annual holiday trips to visit family. For example:

• Cash-back credit cards are effectively a rebate on your purchases. If you pay your $1,000 grocery bill with a card that earns 2% cash back, your out-of-pocket will be $20 less.
• Travel credit cards earn points and miles that can be redeemed for free flights, hotel stays, rental cars and more. These are often (but not always) worth more than cash back. Travel credit cards can also confer perks like airport lounge access, free checked bags and even an expedited airport security experience.
• 0% intro annual percentage rate (APR) credit cards can save you hundreds (even thousands) of dollars in interest fees. If you’re struggling to pay down credit card debt, transferring your balances to one of these cards will give you a lengthy window (21 months or more, in some cases) to pay toward your principal without hemorrhaging money from APR.
• If you’ve got poor (or limited) credit, secured credit cards can help you to improve your credit profile so you can qualify for bigger and better things down the road — be it a rewards credit card, an auto loan or a mortgage.

All to say, you need to pinpoint your financial goals before you can even identify which category of card to open.

What Are Your Spending Habits?

The best credit cards offer bonus rewards for making specific purchases. Choose a credit card that complements your everyday expenses. If you’re a road warrior, open a card that rewards you for swiping at the pump. If your large family spends a lot on groceries, find a card that earns bonus points at supermarkets.

If the majority of your spending doesn’t fall into a common bonus category, you should open a credit card that offers a flat rate on all purchases. Several cards offer a respectable 2% back (or 2 points per dollar) on all purchases.

Are You Willing To Pay an Annual Fee?

Credit card annual fees get a bad rap. They’re certainly unpleasant, but cards that charge annual fees typically offer ongoing benefits that are worth considerably more.

Don’t write off a credit card just because of its annual fee. Do the math to see if you’ll save money in the long run. You may organically save $700 per year from a card that charges a $395 annual fee. If you save more than you spend on fees, the card is a great deal for your lifestyle.

Make Sure You Qualify Before You Apply

Credit card issuers can be a bit persnickety when it comes to eligibility requirements. Before you apply for a card, be sure you tick all the basic criteria.

For example, the best rewards credit cards tend to require at least a good credit score (670 or higher on FICO’s scale). If your score is below 670, your options will be limited.

Banks also enforce their own unique rules that may thwart approval. Common examples include:

• If you’ve applied for too many credit cards in too short a time, you may be denied.
• If you’ve already got a specific card, you may not be able to open another one.
• If you’ve previously applied for a certain credit card, you may have to wait a few years before you can qualify for its bonus again.

What To Do When You Just Can’t Decide

Nailed down your credit card suitors to two or three options, but you just can’t decide which one to get? With everything else being equal, go for the credit card that’s offering the highest welcome bonus.

Credit card welcome bonuses are the fastest and (often) easiest way to rack up credit card rewards. Many are worth several hundred dollars. Choose the credit card that gives you the biggest bang for an achievable minimum spending requirement.