Navy Federal cashRewards Plus

The appeal here is simple: 2% cash back on everything with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee, which makes it a legitimate everyday catch-all rather than a category card. The $250 bonus after $2,500 in purchases within 3 months is easy to hit, and the ongoing APR range of 14.15% to 18% is well below what most rewards cards charge if you ever carry a balance. There is one real condition to understand: the Plus version at 2% is issued only when you are approved for a credit limit of $5,000 or more, and lower limits get the standard cashRewards card at 1.5%, so the headline rate is not guaranteed at application. For anyone moving debt, the 12 months at 1.99% on balance transfers with no balance transfer fee is a rare combination, since most issuers charge 3% to 5% up front. Beyond a rental car collision damage waiver, there are no travel perks or credits, which is the tradeoff for a card that just pays a flat rate cleanly.