The Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card is no longer available to new applicants.
If you've ever missed a credit card payment, you probably had to pay a late fee. These penalties can run up to $41, which can add up.
Below, CNBC Select has named the best cards with no late fees.
Best credit cards with no late fees
- Discover it® Cash Back (no fee the first time you pay late; after that, up to $41)
- Discover it® Miles (no fee the first time you pay late; after that, up to $41)
- Discover it® Student Cash Back (no fee the first time you pay late; after that, up to $41)
- Citi Simplicity® Card
- Apple Card (no late fees)
- Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card (no late fees whatsoever*)
Credit cards that waive the first late fee
In addition to waiving the first late fee, Discover cards don't charge a penalty APR or foreign transaction fee.
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers; balance transfer fee applies. Then 17.49% to 26.49% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness
- INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Redeem cash back for any amount. No annual fee
- Terms and conditions apply
Balance Transaction Fee
3% for the first 15 months; 5% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you at any other time
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers ; balance transfer fee applies. Then 17.49% to 26.49% Standard Variable Purchase APR will apply
- UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited mile-for-mile match for all new cardmembers. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the miles you've earned at the end of your first year. There's no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a mile-for-mile match. You could turn 35,000 miles into 70,000 miles
- Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x miles on every dollar of every purchase
- No annual fee
- Turn miles into cash. Or redeem as a statement credit for your travel purchases like airfare, hotels, rideshares, gas stations, restaurants, and more. Redemption rates for these options may vary and are subject to change
- Terms and conditions apply
Balance Transaction Fee
3% for the first 15 months; 5% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you at any other time
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the standard variable purchase APR of 16.49% - 25.49% applies
- INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 cash back into $200
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Redeem cash back for any amount
- No annual fee
- Terms and conditions apply
Balance Transaction Fee
0% at the Transfer APR; 5% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you at any other time
Credit cards with no late fees
These cards don't have any late fees and many have eliminated other common card charges, including annual fees.
The Citi Simplicity® Card has amazing intro-APR offers and is particularly valuable for balance transfers due to its lower introductory fee.
- Long intro APR offers for balance transfers
- Low intro-fee for balance transfers
- No annual fee
- No rewards
- No welcome bonus
Apple Card
Rewards
3% cash back on goods or services purchased directly from Apple (including Apple retail stores, the Apple online store, the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music and other Apple-owned properties) on Uber and UberEats, at Walgreens and Duane Reade stores, on the Walgreens app and on Walgreens.com, in T-Mobile stores, at Nike, at Exxon and Mobil stations and at Panera Bread, 2% cash back on Apple Pay purchases and 1% cash back on all other purchases
Welcome bonus
None
Annual fee
$0
Intro APR
None
Regular APR
19.24% to 29.49% variable
Balance transfer fee
None
Foreign transaction fee
None
Credit needed
N/A
Terms apply.
Pros
- No annual fee
- 3% cash back on goods or services purchased directly from Apple, on Uber and UberEats, at Walgreens and Duane Reade stores, on the Walgreens app and on Walgreens.com and in T-Mobile stores and at Nike
- No fee charged on purchases made outside the U.S.
Cons
- Apple Pay isn’t accepted everywhere
- Purchases with the physical card only earn 1% cash back
- No special financing offers or welcome bonus
Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. 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 with no late fees.
Our methodology
To determine which credit cards offer the best value, CNBC 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.
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Information about the Apple Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuers prior to publication.
Petal 2 Visa Credit Card issued by WebBank.
