Best contactless credit cards of June 2023

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Contactless credit cards are a faster and safer way to pay for purchases in-store, especially during the current climate with health and safety concerns top-of-mind.

In fact, the majority of Americans (51%) use contactless payments, such as tap-to-pay credit cards and mobile wallets, due to concerns over the cleanliness of signature touchpads and paying with cash.

Most major card issuers began issuing all new cards with contactless capability last year and promoted tap-and-go transactions with initiatives like installing contactless payment systems at NYC subway terminals.

However, if your card doesn't have the contactless indicator (a wave-like symbol on the front), you may want to consider opening a contactless card and benefiting from tapping to pay.

Below, CNBC Select rounds up the best contactless credit cards in five main categories, so you can choose the best card based on your spending habits.

• Best contactless card for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Best contactless card for gas: PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card
• Best contactless card for food delivery: American Express® Gold Card
• Best contactless card for cash back: Citi® Double Cash Card
• Best contactless card for 0% APR: Citi Simplicity® Card

Who's this for? If you prefer to cook at home versus order takeout, it's a good idea to use a grocery rewards card to save money. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers the highest cash-back rate at U.S. supermarkets at 6% (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%). This card can earn you a significant amount of cash back when shopping at qualifying supermarkets, such as Whole Foods Market and Stop & Shop.

Beyond a high cash-back rate on groceries, you earn an industry-leading 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, which is great for Netflix, Hulu and over a dozen other eligible subscriptions. Plus you earn 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and transit and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

This card also provides access to Amex Offers, which provides limited-time discounts via a statement credit or additional cash back at a variety of dining, retail and travel merchants.

This card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year (then $95) (see rates and fees), but it can be offset by the cash back you earn and discounts you can get through the Amex Offers.

Who's this for? If you frequently commute to work with your car or drive to the local grocery store, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card can help you maximize rewards on refueling your car. This card offers the highest rewards rate at gas stations with 5X points per dollar spent on gas purchases at the pump, which is why it ranks as our best gas rewards card.

In addition to a great rewards rate on gas, this card offers a decent 3X for supermarket purchases. Plus you can benefit from no annual fee.

Keep in mind, membership is required to open this card since PenFed is a credit union, though anyone can join. Simply complete these three steps: Apply, open a savings account with a $5 deposit and maintain a $5 account balance.

Who's this for? Food delivery and takeout are great services that let you enjoy meals from your favorite restaurants in the comfort of your own home. Cards that earn rewards at restaurants, such as the American Express® Gold Card, are a great choice for foodies.

The Amex Gold Card earns 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery services in the U.S. The 4X rewards rate also applies to U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X), which may come in handy if you alternate takeout and food delivery with cooking at home.

This card also stands out for its annual $120 dining credit ($10 a month) at select restaurants and food delivery services, including: Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment is required. This credit helps offset some of the costs of ordering takeout or food delivery.

Similar to the Blue Cash Preferred Card mentioned earlier, Amex Gold Card members receive money-saving Amex Offers that can earn you a statement credit or additional points at select retailers, which may include restaurants and food services, such as Grubhub and Seamless.

The Gold Card does have a pretty steep $250 annual fee, but the annual $120 dining credit can effectively reduce it to $130. (See rates and fees.) Plus, you can recoup more of the annual fee through rewards and Amex Offers.

Who's this for? The Citi® Double Cash Card is a simple and straightforward cash-back card that allows you to maximize rewards with little effort. There are no rotating reward categories or activation to keep track of. Instead, cardholders earn a competitive 2% cash back: 1% cash back on purchases and 1% when you pay off your bill.

This card also has no annual fee and waives your first late fee — which is a great reminder to set up autopay and payment reminders.

With the Citi Double Cash Card you can benefit from no interest for the first 18 months from account opening on balance transfers (then a 18.99% - 28.99%  variable APR). There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first four months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).

You can maximize rewards by pairing the Citi Double Cash Card with another rewards card such as the Blue Cash Preferred Card. You can use the Blue Cash Preferred Card for all the categories it earns more than 2% cash back in, such as eligible U.S. supermarkets, U.S. streaming subscriptions, U.S. gas stations and transit. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. Then use the Double Cash Card for everything else.

Who's this for? Whether you're looking to get out of debt or finance new purchases, you can benefit from an intro 0% APR card. The Citi Simplicity® Card offers one of the longest balance transfer intro periods at 0% for the first 21 months from date of first transfer (after, 18.99% - 29.74% variable APR; balance transfers must be completed within four months of account opening).

This provides you with nearly two years to pay off debt, which can save you hundreds of dollars compared to leaving debt on a high interest card. And the intro period for purchases can help you repay upcoming transactions over the course of a year with no interest.

Keep in mind that 0% APR cards like the Simplicity typically require good credit or excellent credit (scores above 670). And like many other balance transfer cards, this card charges an introductory balance transfer fee of 3% or $5, whichever is greater for transfers completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). The fee can be worthwhile if you're paying high interest charges. (Check out the best no-fee balance transfer cards.)

This card does have no annual fee, no penalty APR (meaning your interest rate won't increase if you pay late) and it never charges late fees (though we recommend you pay your balance on time and in full to avoid harm to your credit score).

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed popular credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.