Families have a lot of expenses, including groceries, clothes, activities, gas, and whenever possible, a nice family vacation.
Families can maximize their spending, earn extra rewards, and enjoy nice benefits like airport lounge access with several credit cards.
By choosing the right credit card, you can make the most of your family’s spending.
Below are our recommended credit cards for families.
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred
Best for Travel for Beginners
- Earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards Bonus Points for Spending $4,000 in the First 3 Months
- 5x Points on Travel Booked Via Chase
- 3x Points on Dining and Eligible Delivery Services
- 3x Points on Select Streaming and Online Grocery (excluding Walmart, Target, and Wholesale Clubs)
- 2x Points on Travel
- 10% Anniversary Points Boost
- Trip Delay and Trip Cancellation Insurance
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- $95 Annual Fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best rewards cards for travelers who want solid earning rates for travel and dining expenses.
For only $95 per year, this card earns 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and 3x points on dining, online groceries, and streaming services.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a 10% anniversary points bonus, 12-month DoorDash DashPass subscription, and a $50 anniversary hotel statement credit.
Plus, it provides extensive travel protections, including trip delay, primary rental car, baggage, and purchase protection plans.
2. American Express® Gold Card
Best for Groceries and Restaurants
The American Express® Gold Card is one of my favorite cards because it earns:
- 4x Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.,
- 4x Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x).
- 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
Plus, card members get nice credits when you enroll your Gold Card to offset the annual fee:
- $120 Uber Cash: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account, and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations.
3. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Best for Lounge Access for Families
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium travel rewards card that’s perfect for travelers who want outstanding travel perks like annual travel credits, worldwide airport lounge access, and travel and purchase protections.
The Venture X earns 2x miles on all purchases helping you maximize every dollar of your spending. Plus, you can earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, and 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One.
The card has a $395 annual fee, it is completely offset by an easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit for bookings via Capital One Travel and 10,000 points (worth at least $100) each account anniversary.
Plus you get airport lounge access at Priority Pass, Capital One, and Plaza Premium Lounges, Hertz President’s Circle elite status, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, rental car insurance, trip and luggage insurance, cell phone insurance, and purchase protection.
4. Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer
Best for Cash Back
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer boasts a strong 2% rewards rate on purchases, where you get 1% back when you buy and 1% when you pay.
This zero-annual-fee card offers a solid earning potential as long as you pay your balance on time, and it provides a simple way to rack up points with no bonus categories to track.
You can also boost your rewards by also holding the Citi Premier® Card (review), which allows you to transfer points to airline and hotel programs. This combination effectively allows you to earn 2 airline miles per dollar on all spending with the Citi Double Cash.
5. Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
Best for 5% Cash Back in Your Top Category
- Earn $200 Cash Back After Spending $1,500 in the First Six Months
- 5% Cash Back on Purchases in Your Top Eligible Spend Category Each Billing Cycle up to $500 (1% after that)
- 0% Intro APR for 15 Months on Purchases and Balance Transfers ($5 or 5% fee). After that, a variable APR of 18.24% – 28.24% applies.
- No Annual Fee
The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is a no-annual-fee card that earns 5% cash back in your top spending category each billing cycle.
Eligible 5% cash back categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, home improvement stores, drug stores, select transit, select streaming, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
This allows you to turn the Custom Cash into your 5% cash back card for gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, or several other categories.
6. Citi Premier® Card
Best for Earning Points
- Earn 60,000 Points After Spending $4,000 in the First 3 Months
- 3x Points at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas Stations, Flights, and Hotels
- $100 Off a Single $500 Hotel Stay Per Year
- Extended Warranty and Purchase Protections
- $95 Annual Fee
The Citi Premier® Card is the best card for earning points because it offers 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, airlines, and hotels.
The Premier card also comes with no foreign transaction fees, purchase protection, and an extended warranty for items purchased, adding an additional 24 months to the manufacturer’s warranty.
7. Chase Freedom Flex℠
Best for 5% Cash Back in Quarterly Categories
- Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back After Spending $500 in the First 3 Months
- 5% Cash Back in Quarterly Bonus Categories (up to $1,500 in combined spending after activation)
- 5% Cash Back on Travel Purchased Via Chase
- 3% Cash Back at Restaurants, Eligible Food Delivery, and Drug Stores
- Cell Phone Insurance and Purchase Protection
- No Annual Fee
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a great no-annual fee card that earns 5% cash back in quarterly categories (up to $1,500 in combined spending) and on travel purchased via Chase Ultimate Rewards.
The Freedom Flex also earns 3% cash back at restaurants, eligible food delivery, and drug stores.
The card also comes with nice benefits such as cell phone insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection, secondary rental car insurance, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.
