Best credit cards for excellent credit in May 2024

An excellent credit score (800 to 850) allows you to qualify for the very best credit card offers. Most of the top cards require good or excellent credit if you want to earn lucrative rewards, benefit from 0% APR periods and enjoy a bunch of luxury perks. The higher your credit score, the better chances you have at qualifying for these offers.

Excellent credit also gives you access to better terms on other financial products, such as auto loans and mortgages. It's in your best interest to work toward excellent credit so you can benefit from lower interest rates and more generous loan terms.

If you don't fall within the excellent credit range, check out our roundup of the best cards for bad credit (scores below 580), fair/average credit (580 to 669) or good credit (670 to 739).

CNBC Select breaks down the best cards for people with excellent credit, so you can choose a card that fits your needs.

• Best for travel: American Express® Gold Card
• Best for cash back: Citi Double Cash® Card
• Best welcome bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Best 0% APR period: Citi Simplicity® Card
• Best for luxury perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Who's this for? The American Express® Gold Card is a smart choice for consumers who love travel and dining out. While the card comes with a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees), it offers a number of luxury rewards that help offset the cost.

One big perk travelers can take advantage of is the annual statement credits. Cardholders get $120 to cover restaurant charges ($10 in statement credits per month at Seamless, Wine.com, Grubhub and other participating restaurants; enrollment required) and a $100 experience credit with a minimum two-night stay when you book The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel. Experience credit varies by property.

When using the American Express Gold Card, users earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, 4X Membership Rewards® points on dining at restaurants and purchases made at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1X) and 1X Membership Rewards® points earned on everything else. Terms apply.

There are also special travel perks, such as room upgrades at specific hotels, as well as special travel discounts and amenities for those who enroll with The Travel Collection by Travel Leaders Group at no extra cost.

Who's this for? The Citi Double Cash® Card is a straightforward rewards card that offers one of the best flat-rate cash-back programs. Cardholders earn 2% cash back on all purchases — 1% when you make a purchase and an additional 1% when you pay your credit card bill.

There is no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn, and you don't have to worry about activating bonus categories. Cash back can be redeemed for a statement credit or direct deposit.

This card is also a good choice for debt consolidation: There's a 0% APR for the first 18 months on balance transfers (then 19.24% - 29.24% variable APR). There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).

Who's this for? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is one of the best travel cards available with a competitive rewards program and generous welcome bonus. Cardholders earn 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3X points on dining, 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X on all other purchases.

New cardholders earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

This card stands out from the pack thanks to the strong rewards rate when you redeem points for travel via Chase Travel℠. Points are worth 25% more, so 75,000 points are worth over $900 towards travel. This is a great way to maximize the value of points and the welcome bonus.

Beyond rewards, cardholders can benefit from helpful travel perks, such as no foreign transaction fees, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, travel and emergency assistance services, baggage delay insurance and trip delay reimbursement.

Who's this for? The Citi Simplicity® Card offers one of the longest balance transfer intro period at 0% intro APR for 21 months from the date of first transfer (after, 19.24% - 29.99% variable APR). This is nearly two years to pay off debt, which can be helpful if you have a large balance or if your cash flow doesn't allow you to pay off debt within the 6-, 12- or 15-month time periods of other balance transfer cards.

This card has no annual fee and come with an introductory balance transfer fee: 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). This can be worthwhile if you're paying high interest charges.

New cardholders have four months to complete their balance transfer (longer than the typical 60 to 90 days). While you have more time to complete a transfer, the intro APR period starts at account opening — so try to make the transfer as soon as possible to get the most benefit of the interest-free period.

This card also offers 0% intro APR for the first 12 months on purchases from the date of account opening (after, 19.24% - 29.99% variable APR) and never charges late fees (though we always recommend you pay your balance on time and in full). There isn't a welcome bonus or a rewards program.

Who's this for? Chase Sapphire Reserve® is enormously popular among travelers for its luxe perks and strong rewards program. In addition to offering 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025, 5X points on flights, 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ and 3X points on dining and travel purchases, cardholders get a $300 annual statement credit to apply to qualifying travel expenses.

But it's the perks that really make this card stand out for globetrotters. You can get a statement credit of up to $100 (every four years) to help cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees as well as enroll in Priority Pass Select, which gives you access to more than 1,000 airport lounges worldwide with free amenities, such as Wi-Fi, snacks, beverages and more.

The Chase Travel℠ portal has everything you need to plan a vacation from booking rental cars to cruises. You can also use the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection to book rooms and take advantage of upgrades upon arrival, complimentary meals, flexible check-in times, extra amenities and special discounts.

The value of points increases 50% when you redeem for travel on Chase Travel℠. For example, 75,000 points are worth $1,125 toward airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruise reservations when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. This is a great way to maximize the value of your rewards and makes this card stand out from the pack.

While this card does come with a substantial annual fee of $550, the many statement credits help to offset the costs. Cardmembers traveling internationally also don't need to worry about foreign transaction fees.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards.

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed 234 of the most 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 2018 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, 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 for the Amex Gold Card, click here.