Best Chase Credit Cards for 2016

The best Chase credit cards offer big cash rewards, enticing signup bonuses or great deals for travel, business or balance transfers. The #1 best Chase credit card on the market is the Chase Freedom Unlimited card because of its solid sign-up bonus, stellar cash back program and long no-interest grace period.

Chase Bank is a lending powerhouse whose credit cards rank near the top among every credit card available. Better still, Chase customers are generally very satisfied, ranking their cards between four and five stars.

The Five Best Chase Credit Cards

The top five best Chase credit cards are listed in the table below. There’s a best overall card, a best card for travel, for business, for cash back, balance transfers and signup bonus. The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is our overall pick because it’s the most flexible. With no annual fee and 1.5% unlimited cash back on all purchases it’s hard to beat for heft and simplicity. Other best Chase card offers carry a $1,000 signup bonus, a no-fee balance transfer, double travel rewards or colossal business perks. Click any card name to jump down to details.

Best Chase Credit Card Overall, Best Cash Back: Freedom Unlimited

At a solid #1 on our list of best Chase credit cards is the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card. This card pays a healthy 1.5% cash back on all purchases. The rewards happen in the background without any hassle. It has no annual fee and a long 15-month no-interest grace period. It also pays an enticing $150 signup bonus for spending $500 in the first three months. 14.24%-23.24% interest.

Sign up for the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card

Also see: Best Credit Union Credit Cards

Best Chase Credit Card for Business: Ink Plus

The Ink Plus business credit card comes in at #2 on the list of the best Chase credit cards. It pays unlimited points for regular purchases and 2x points on gas and hotel spending. It also gives 5x points on bills for cell phone, internet, cable and office supplies for up to $50,000 in spending per year. $95 annual fee, 15.49%-19.49% interest.

Sign up for the Chase Ink Plus business card

Best Chase Credit Card for Travel: Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card pays one point on regular purchases and double points on travel and dining. It also adds a 25% points multiplier when redeeming through Chase Ultimate Rewards. It has no annual fee the first year and no foreign transaction fees ever. It also gives 50,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 the first three months. Redeemed through Ultimate Rewards that comes to $625. $95 annual fee, 16.24%-23.24% interest.

Sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card

Best Chase Credit Card for Balance Transfers: Chase Slate

Anyone with existing credit card debt looking for the best Chase credit cards for balance transfers will love the Chase Slate credit card. This card makes the debt burden a little lighter by giving the one-two punch of no transfer fee on transfers made in the first 60 days and no interest on transfers and purchases for the first 15 months. After that pay 13.24%-23.24%. No annual fee.

Sign up for the Chase Slate credit card

Also see: Best Student Credit Cards

Best Chase Credit Card Signup Bonus: Sapphire Reserve

Sometimes the sweetest deal is the one that comes with the best reward for signing up. That said, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is our least favorite of the best Chase credit cards. Yes it pays 100,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. Yes, it comes with the 25% multiplier for redeeming through Chase Ultimate Rewards. All that comes to $1,250. Also true, this card offers 3x points for travel and dining. In spite of all those great lures, we don’t love this card’s $450 annual fee. 16.24%-23.24% interest.

Sign up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card

Best Chase Credit Card for Online Shopping: Amazon Rewards Visa

Anyone who does a ton of online shopping will agree the Amazon Rewards Visa is the best Chase credit card for them. This is technically one of Chase’s specialty partner cards, but it works very well for high volume Amazon shoppers. The card pays a 1% cash back rate on regular purchases, 2% at restaurants, gas stations and drug stores and 3% back at Amazon.com. It also gives a $50 Amazon gift card for signup. No annual fee, 14.49%-22.49% interest.

Sign up for the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa card

Best Chase Credit Cards for Specialty Users

The best Chase credit cards are listed above. The offerings below aren’t the best cards from Chase. They’re specialty credit cards designed to offer a higher level of rewards for brand-loyal Chase customers who frequent a certain business, vendor, hotel or airline. We’ve included them here to show exactly who they’re best for. The cards all offer special perks to frequent customers of Chase partners like Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways and Marriott. There are also cards for Disney fans and customers of Hyatt Hotels, Ritz-Carlton and IHG. There’s also a Chase card for AARP members.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

This is the best Chase credit card for frequent Southwest Airlines flyers. It pays double points on all Southwest purchases, plus single points on everything else.

United MileagePlus Explorer Card

The best Chase credit card for loyal United Airlines customers gives double rewards miles for every dollar spent on United tickets. It also racks up a mile for every dollar spent on all other purchases.

British Airways Visa Signature Card

This best Chase credit card for regular British Airways travelers offers 3 “Avios” points for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases. It pays one Avio per dollar on other purchases.

Also see: Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards

Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card

The Marriott Rewards card is the best Chase credit card for Marriott customers. It pays single points on regular purchases, double points on tickets bought straight from any airline and 5x points for Marriott purchases. It’s really a great card.

Disney Premier Visa Card

This is the best Chase credit card for Disney fans. It shells out a $200 Disney gift card when users spend $500 on purchases in the first three months. Beware its $49 annual fee though.

The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card

The best Chase credit card for Ritz-Carlton regulars pays 5x points at Ritz-Carlton hotels. It also gives three complimentary nights at a Ritz for spending $5,000 on any purchases made in the first three months. Watch out for its $450 annual fee.

IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card

5x points at IHG hotels make this the best Chase credit card for frequent IHG guests. After the fourth year it levies a $49 annual fee.

The Hyatt Credit Card

This is the best Chase credit card for Hyatt hotel devotees. It pays 3x points on Hyatt purchases and regular points on other spending.

AARP Credit Card from Chase

The best Chase credit card for AARP members pays 3% unlimited cash back at restaurants and gas stations. It also gives 1% back on other purchases.

A Word About Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

The best Chase credit cards can offer either cash back or rewards points. What’s the difference? Cash back is a lot easier. It happens automatically and there’s no head-scratching involved. Ultimate Rewards Points are a little different. They can almost always be redeemed for cash back at a rate of one cent each. The nice feature of these points is, cardholders can give a nice 25% boost to the points by spending them in selected categories. Those categories include travel spending on airline tickets, hotels and rental cars. The points can also be transferred to airline or hotel programs with any Chase travel partner. Those include Southwest, United, British Air, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, Disney and Ritz-Carlton.