Shopping Black Friday sales at Target? Here's the best way to pay

With Target's wide array of home décor, beauty items, accessories, toys, electronics and more, it's easy to stock up on many household items. So when Black Friday comes around, something that'll make your Target shopping experience even better is making sure you get as many discounts and rewards as possible.

Using the right credit card can really make a difference when you make a purchase — especially when it comes to potentially saving big on your holiday shopping this season.

CNBC Select analyzed dozens of credit cards to find the top picks for Target Black Friday purchases. Here are the details of the benefits you should know about before you place your next order.

You can typically pay for Target purchases with a credit card, debit card or a Target gift card, though, credit cards are often one of the best forms of payment since they provide excellent benefits including rewards and consumer protections.

Here are a few of the best cards to use when shopping Target's Black Friday sales:

Best card for discounts

You won't receive cash back or rewards points, but the Target RedCard does offer a 5% discount on every purchase made (excluding some items like prescriptions and Target Optical™ eye exams; read our full review of the Target RedCard for the full list of exclusions). So every time you purchase a gift, you'll automatically receive the discount when you pay with the RedCard. And if you're doing your holiday shopping online at Target.com, you'll receive free two-day shipping without the $35 minimum purchase amount required for non-cardholders. Just keep in mind that if you upgrade your shipping method, shipping fees will apply. 

Best card for cash back

The Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card allows cardholders to earn 2% cash rewards on all eligible purchases and there's no limit to how much cash rewards you can earn. Because of this, the card can be a great way to maximize your earnings for purchases you need to make during the holidays and beyond. Plus, there's also a welcome bonus without spending too much money: You'll earn $200 in cash rewards after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months from account opening. And to top it all off, the card has no annual fee so it won't cost you anything to own.

Best 0% APR period

For those looking to finance their purchases with no interest, consider a credit card with an introductory 0% APR period. The Wells Fargo Reflect Card gives cardholders an introductory 0% APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 21 months from account opening. After the introductory period, the interest rate will increase to 18.24%, 24.74%, or 29.99% variable APR thereafter. Balance transfers made within 120 days from account opening qualify for the intro rate, BT fee of 5%, min $5.

Best card for travel rewards

The Platinum Card® from American Express is a luxury travel card that comes with a ton of benefits, including TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credits, airport lounge access, travel credits and more. The $695 annual fee may be costly for some (see rates and fees), but the card's benefits pretty much make up for it. New cardholders can also take advantage of the generous welcome bonus: You'll earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Plus, the Platinum card offers great purchase and return protection.

Shopping portals

A shopping portal is a service offered by affiliates of Target to bring in more customers through special offers, usually by offering cash back or points. Typically, all you need to do to earn additional rewards is download the browser extension for your desired shopping portal, log in and make sure it's activated when you're shopping on the Target website.

Rakuten is one shopping portal that gives shoppers the chance to earn cash back when shopping on Target.com (and hundreds of other websites). CashBackMonitor is another shopping portal aggregator you can use to find rewards opportunities at Target and other retailers.

Credit card shopping benefits

Unfortunately, there are cases where items purchased from Target are damaged, defective or they're stolen from your doorstep when ordering online. In these cases, there are credit cards with shopping protections that can help consumers who find themselves with lost or damaged gifts. These benefits include purchase protection, return protection and extended warranty.

However, for coverage to kick in, the purchase must be made with the credit card that offers the benefits. Check with your credit card provider to see what protections your card offers. A few examples of credit cards with these benefits are the Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Target offers buy now, pay later services through Affirm and Sezzle, which might come in handy for those who want a little more repayment flexibility when it comes to holiday shopping. With Affirm, shoppers can spread out their payments over three to 12 months for orders over $100. While there are no hidden or late fees when using Affirm, you could be charged up to 36% interest when financing purchases.

Sezzle, on the other hand, splits each purchase into four interest-free payments over the course of six weeks. And for even more flexibility, the service allows you to reschedule one payment date for free so you can create a repayment schedule that works with your finances. However, if you reschedule a payment a second or third time, you will be charged a fee. You will also be charged a fee if you don't pay an installment on time.

Make sure you understand the terms before signing up for either buy now, pay later service.

Shopping Black Friday sales can be both exciting and stressful, especially when it comes to the money management side of things. So if Target is where you'll be doing the vast majority of your Black Friday shopping, be sure you're paying with the best credit card possible to earn rewards and protect your purchases.

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 guide 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 for Target.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.

For rates and fees of the Platinum Card® from American Express, click here