Here are the best Visa credit cards for rewards and special financing

Visa is a credit card network that's been around for over 60 years, but it wasn't always called Visa. The company was originally known as BankAmericard, after Bank of America's first credit card launched in 1958, and it didn't become Visa until 1976.

Today, Visa provides the infrastructure to process transactions between merchants and card issuers and backs credit cards from dozens of issuers, notably Bank of America, Capital One and Chase.

Visa cards are grouped into one of three tiers — Traditional, Signature and Infinite — and the tier determines the benefits you receive. Typically, the higher the card's annual fee, the higher the tier. All Visa cardholders receive standard perks, such as $0 liability protection, while higher tiers can also enjoy purchase protection and travel insurance.

Depending on the card you have, you also can benefit from lucrative rewards programs, introductory interest-free financing, airport lounge access and more, just by having a Visa card.

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

• Best no-annual-fee Visa card: Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card
• Best cash-back Visa card:  Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card
• Best travel Visa card: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Best balance transfer Visa card: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card
• Best student Visa card: Bank of America® Travel Rewards for Students
• Best Visa card for bad credit: DCU Visa® Platinum Secured Credit Card

Who's this for? If you're looking to maximize cash back in everyday spending, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card may be the card for you. This no-annual-fee card offers cardholders 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on drugstores and dining at restaurants (including takeout) and 1.5% on all other purchases. (Learn more about how Chase classifies bonus category purchases.)

Beyond rewards, you can take advantage of no annual fee and a competitive no-interest period for the first 15 months from account opening on new purchases and balance transfers (after, 19.99% - 28.74% variable APR).

The Freedom Unlimited will either be a Visa Platinum (Traditional) or Visa Signature, depending on your credit limit. Visa Signature cardholders receive a few more benefits, including access to the Visa Signature concierge and Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection. Both versions provide select partner benefits, such as 5% cash back on Lyft purchases through March 31^st, 2025 and complimentary three months of DashPass, plus 50% off for the next nine months when you activate by December 31^st, 2024. This perk provides you with free delivery on DoorDash orders over $12 and lower service fees.

Who's this for? The Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Card offers 2.5% cash back on your first $10,000 of qualifying eligible purchases (1.5% for purchases over $10,000), which is ideal for anyone looking for a high-earning, yet easy-to-use card. There are no bonus categories to keep track of so you can easily maximize cash back on everyday purchases.

In order to qualify for this card, you'll need to be a member of Alliant Credit Union and open an Alliant bank account. If you don't qualify for membership based on location, job or family member, you can join Alliant for free by supporting Alliant's partner charity, Foster Care to Success, since Alliant pays the $5 membership fee on your behalf.

Who's this for? The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a standout travel card with unique rewards and luxury perks. Most notably, points are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel via the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 redeemed toward airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Cardholders earn points at a rate of 5X points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards; 3X points on travel worldwide (immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit), 3X on dining at restaurants worldwide and 1X point per $1 on all other purchases. Plus 10X points on Lyft rides through March 31^st, 2025.

Additional Lyft and DoorDash perks include a complimentary year of Lyft Pink membership, which provides 15% off car rides, priority airport pickups and more, plus a free DashPass subscription when you activate by December 31^st, 2024.

This card also comes with an annual $300 travel credit, which can cover everything from airfare and hotels to parking and tolls.

Take note that this card has a steep $550 annual fee, but all the card's added credits and benefits can help offset the cost. If you're not willing to pay that much for a card, consider the lower-cost Chase Sapphire Preferred®, which has a $95 annual fee (see how the Reserve and Preferred cards compare).

The Sapphire Reserve card is one of few Visa Infinite credit cards, which provide access to premium perks, such as Priority Pass™ Lounge membership and discounts on car rentals, compared to Visa Signature cards. 

Who's this for? The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card offers the longest 0% APR intro period for a Visa card at 18 billing cycles on balance transfers and purchases (then a 19.49% - 29.49% variable APR) Balances must be transferred within 60 days from account opening. This is a longer-than-average intro period for a balance transfer card and can provide you with a low-cost way to finance large purchases.

The balance transfer fee is 3% (minimum $5). That can be a worthwhile expense when you calculate how much you'll save on interest. There are no-fee balance transfer cards that can save you more money, but these cards often come with less time to pay off your balance at 0% interest.

Keep in mind that you'll have 60 days to complete your balance transfer, starting from the day you open your account, so it's a good idea to transfer it as soon as possible.

While this card doesn't have a rewards program or welcome bonus, you can benefit from no annual fee and cell phone protection against damage or theft.

Who's this for? The Bank of America® Travel Rewards for Students is a good choice for college students who are learning to use credit for the first time. Cardholders earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases.

You can redeem rewards as a statement credit to cover the cost of qualifying travel and restaurant purchases — a simple way to reduce the cost of taking a spring break vacation, buying a plane ticket home or having a meal with friends. This card also has no foreign transaction fees, making it an ideal card for students studying abroad.

Even better, cardholders with a Bank of America checking or savings account receive a 10% customer points bonus. That increases the rewards rate to 1.65 points per $1 spent.

Who's this for? Many credit cards for bad credit charge high fees, but the DCU Visa® Platinum Secured Credit Card is an exception. There's no annual fee and a reasonable 16.25% variable APR (though you should aim to pay your bill in full every month).

While there are low fees, you'll be required to make a higher-than-average $500 minimum security deposit to receive an equivalent credit limit. That's compared to other secured cards that typically require $200 deposits. You can use this card to make purchases just like a traditional card and by making on time-payments, you can build or rebuild your credit score and work your way toward qualifying for the best cards for fair/average or good credit.

This card does offer some helpful perks, including travel insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver and extended warranty protection. 

Since this card is issued by a credit union, membership to the Digital Federal Credit Union is required. However, anyone can join in one of several ways: if you're a family member of a DCU member, live in select communities, work for select employers or make a one-time contribution (as low as $10) to a participating organization.

Visa does not actually issue any of its own credit cards directly to consumers — it's simply the credit card network.

The best Visa credit card for you is one that most closely aligns with your purchasing habits and your financial goals — and this list is a good place to start. You can find more Visa cards on our other credit card lists, including:

• The best credit cards
• The best rewards credit cards
• The best cash-back credit cards
• The best no annual fee credit cards
• The best travel credit cards

The majority of credit cards, including Visa cards, have 16 digits, plus a three-digit card verification value (CVV).

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed popular Visa 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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