Here are the best Mastercard credit cards for cash back, travel and getting out of debt

Mastercard is a 50-plus year-old credit card network that facilitates transactions between merchants and card issuers, while providing extensive benefits to its cardholders, including Priceless dining and entertainment experiences.

Well-known Mastercards are primarily issued by Citi, with some offered by other major banks, such as Capital One. There are also dozens of Mastercards issued by credit unions, such as Navy Federal Credit Union, and smaller banks like Commerce Bank.

All Mastercards are designated a certain tier — Standard, World and World Elite — that provide various added perks that range from $0 liability protection to free two-day shipping with ShopRunner. The tier you receive varies by credit card, but you'll typically need to pay a higher annual fee to benefit from a higher tier.

Beyond tiers, Mastercard holders can earn competitive rewards, benefit from no annual fees and even pay off debt with an intro 0% APR depending on which card you have.

Below, CNBC Select breaks down the best Mastercard credit cards in six categories, so you can choose the best card for your needs.

• Best no-annual-fee Mastercard: Citi Rewards+® Card
• Best cash-back Mastercard:  Citi® Double Cash Card
• Best travel Mastercard: Citi Premier® Card
• Best balance transfer Mastercard: Citi Simplicity® Card
• Best student Mastercard: Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students
• Best Mastercard for bad credit or no credit history: Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card (see rates and fees)

Who's this for? The Citi Rewards+® Card is one of the most unique no-annual-fee cards around. Cardholders who frequently make small purchases can benefit from this card's "round up" feature that automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase — with no cap. That means a $1 bag of chips earns 10 points, compared to only earning one point without this benefit.

The Citi Rewards+® Card also gives you 10% of your points back for the first 100,000 ThankYou® Points you redeem per year. For instance, if you redeem 25,000 points in a year, you get 2,500 of those points back, which is enough for a $25 gift card. Likewise, if you redeem150,000 points in your first year, you'll get 10,000 points back, equating to $100.

Beyond unique perks, cardholders earn 2X ThankYou® points at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X points thereafter. Plus, you earn 1X points on all other purchases.

This card offers a competitive 0% APR for the first 15 months from account opening on purchases and no interest for 15 months on balance transfers from date of first transfer (after, 18.74% - 28.74% 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).

Who's this for? The Citi® Double Cash Card is one of the best cash-back credit cards, and it has been since it launched in 2014. Cardholders earn 2% cash back on every purchase: unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.

This is a simple way to earn generous rewards on everyday spending without the hassle of keeping track of bonus categories.

Plus this card offers a long 18-month 0% APR 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 four months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).

This card also has no annual fee, and Citi will waive your first late fee — but you'll still want to set up autopay so you avoid interest charges and future late fees. You'll also receive access to Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, a service that will help you if you're a victim of identity theft.

Who's this for? Frequent travelers can benefit from the Citi Premier® Card with 3X points per $1 spent on air travel and hotels and at gas stations. Plus this card recently got a revamp and cardholders now earn 3X points per $1 spent at restaurants and supermarkets (up from 2X and 1X, respectively).

Cardholders can qualify to receive $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) once per calendar year on bookings through thankyou.com.

The Citi Premier Card has a $95 annual fee, but that's in line with other travel cards and cheaper than luxury cards which can cost hundreds. This card has no foreign transaction fee, so you can benefit from using it abroad without the typical 3% fee.

Who's this for? 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, 19.24% - 29.99% variable APR). This intro period can provide you with over a year and a half to pay off a large balance.

This card has no annual fee and come with an introductory balance transfer fee: either 3% ($5 minimum) for transfers completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5). It can be worthwhile if you're paying high interest charges and need more than the usual 12- or 15-month interest-free periods.

New cardholders have four months to complete their balance transfer (longer than the typical 60 to 90 days), but the intro APR period starts at account opening — so aim to transfer your debt as soon as possible.

Beyond a balance transfer intro period, this card offers a 0% APR for the first 12 months on purchases (after, 19.24% - 29.99% variable APR), has no annual fee and never charges late fees. One thing this card is lacking, however, is a rewards program. But if you're goal is to get out of debt, that shouldn't be an issue.

Who's this for? The Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students is a rare college student card that offers top-notch perks and lets international students without social security numbers qualify. You earn 1% cash back on all purchases, which is decent for a student card.

Cardholders also receive a year of Amazon Prime Student after spending $500 in the first three billing cycles with their EDU card — valued at $59 — which is a great money-saving perk that provides free two-day and same-day shipping, discounts at Whole Foods and access to Prime Video.

You can also benefit from cell phone protection, an auto rental collision damage waiver and no foreign transaction fees — which can save you money if you drop your phone or travel.

Similar to most other college student cards, you must be over 18 and enrolled in college to qualify. Plus you'll need a U.S. bank account.

Who's this for? If you have bad credit or no credit at all, you should consider a secured card, especially one with a low deposit, like the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. This card has no annual fee and minimum security deposits of $49, $99 or $200, based on your creditworthiness.

If you qualify for the low $49 or $99 deposits, you'll still receive a $200 credit limit. This is a great feature considering many secured cards require $200 deposits to receive an equivalent line of credit.

Even if you don't qualify for the lower deposits, you may receive access to a higher credit limit in as little as six months based on your payment history and creditworthiness with no additional deposit needed. This is a good incentive to maintain a timely payment history.

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, Select analyzed popular Mastercard 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.