The Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping

Up-to-date as of: Nov 14, 2012

The Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping Santa and his elves are hard at work these days, double checking their lists and trying to make sure that every child who’s been nice this year has a merry holiday season. But times have been tough for a lot of us, including Mr. Claus, and we could all benefit from savings during such an expensive time of the year. Luckily, credit card companies are following in the tradition of retailers offering their best promotions and sales during the holidays. So, as long as credit cards haven’t left lumps of coal in your stocking in the past, you should consider the following list of the Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping because they truly have the potential to spread holiday cheer.

There are two groups of credit cards that can help you this holiday season: those that you already have in your wallet and those that you can apply for. You see, not only are there a number of attractive new rewards and 0% interest credit cards currently on the market, but certain credit card companies are also sweetening the deal for existing customers as the holidays roll around.

When it comes to finding the right credit card to apply for this holiday season, it is important that you determine which of the following five primary consumer needs you’re trying to address: A) Lowering your holiday spending tab by getting the card with the highest initial rewards bonus; B) Earning the best ongoing rewards in order to benefit throughout the entire year and beyond; C) Performing a balance transfer in order to minimize the cost of existing credit card debt and create some breathing room for holiday shopping; D) Buying time to pay down holiday purchases without interest by opening a 0% credit card; or E) Garnering an initial discount at a major retailer. For your convenience, we have listed the best credit cards for each purpose below:

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Initial Rewards Bonus) Offers 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 during the first three months the card is open, which means you could get a big payoff for using the card to handle holiday shopping. The bonus points can be redeemed for either $500 in travel booked through Chase or a $400 statement credit. This card does not have a first-year annual fee, but a $95 fee will be charged beginning in the second year.
  • Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express (Ongoing Rewards) Offers 6% cash back at supermarkets (up to a $6,000 annual limit), 3% at gas stations and department stores, and 1% on everything else. It also offers a $150 initial bonus for spending $1,000 in the first three months, which will cover the $75 annual fee for first two years. Therefore, not only could this card help you save during the holidays – from cooking holiday meals and buying gifts to driving to visit loved ones, but it obviously brings a lot of value to the table throughout the rest of the year as well.
  • SlateSM From Chase (Balance Transfer) Offers 0% on balance transfers for 15 months and doesn’t charge a balance transfer fee or an annual fee. A credit card calculator will show you that the Slate Card could save the average household – which has roughly $6,700 in credit card debt – more than $1,000 in interest in becoming debt free.
  • Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card (0% on Purchases) Has a 0% introductory interest rate on new purchases for 18 months and an 11.99 - 21.99% regular rate, based on creditworthiness. It does not charge an annual fee. This card could therefore save you from a lot of interest on gift purchases that you won’t be able to pay off in full within in single billing period.
  • JCPenney Store Card Gives new cardholders up to 20% off purchases made the day they’re approved. More specifically, it offers 20% off apparel, shoes, handbags, and fashion jewelry and 10% off fine jewelry, watches, and home merchandise. In light of the variety of goods that JCPenney offers, the store’s nationwide presence, and the fact that store cards are easier to get than traditional credit cards, the JCPenney Store Card could certainly help a lot of folks save this holiday season.
A number of credit card companies are also offering interesting holiday specials to existing cardholders. The highlights of these holiday programs are listed by issuer below:

American Express

  • 20% Off membership rewards points price on merchandise from the following retailers through November 30:
    • Bose
    • Michael Kors Handbags
    • LG Televisions
    • Dyson
    • Wine Enthusiast
    • American Express cardmembers can browse great holiday gift ideas available with membership rewards points in the American Express Membership Rewards Catalog.
    • American Express will once again offer a $25 statement credit for our Cardmembers who spend at least $25 on Small Business Saturday (November 24th) at a qualifying small business. You must register on www.ShopSmall.com to be eligible.
Bank of America

  • Customers can earn 5 percent cash back or bonus rewards on their Bank of America credit card when shopping at department stores, electronic stores, toy stores, sporting stores, and book stores through December 31.
  • During the fourth quarter of the year, Bank of America is offering various gift card specials and travel discounts for Reward customers. These holiday offers include extra bonus points for customers who book travel through the end of the year. There are also travel discounts available for hotels, car rentals, and resorts.
  • Customers will also be offered specials on a wide variety of gift cards allowing them to use less points to redeem. BofA has gift cards that range from $25 to $250. Beyond these specials, customers can always redeem their rewards for a wide selection of merchandise to help with their holiday shopping.
Barclaycard US

  • Families who choose the new Upromise World Mastercard can save 10% or more cash back for college through Upromise.com this holiday season and throughout the year. There is no annual fee or limit on how much you can earn. The card also provides 4 percent cash back at thousands of Upromise Dining restaurants if you need a break from cooking, up to 3 percent on eligible gas purchases at Exxon or Mobil locations, 2 percent at movie theaters and 1 percent on everything else. And grandparents and others can use their cash back as a continuous gift– of college savings.
Capital One

  • Capital One cardholders can take advantage of mobile deals to maximize their holiday shopping budgets. These deals offer personalized, money-saving offers from select merchants such as Coldwater Creek, Whole Foods Market, The Body Shop, Quiznos, Qdoba, Starbucks, and Boston Market, etc. The deals are integrated into Capital One's mobile banking app. The best part - you don’t have to search or clip coupons and carry them physically with you to the store. Just sign up for the weekly deals and receive them via email or access them on your smartphones via the Capital One mobile banking app. Go the store, make the purchase and the discount will be automatically credited to your account. It’s that easy.
  • CapOne also has offers through Perk Central, its online shopping portal for rewards customers. Capital One rewards customers can earn bonus rewards (up to 15 bonus miles per dollar spent) in addition to regular rewards by making purchases on Perk Central during the holiday season. Currently this site offers more than 300 online merchants and 500 local and national in-store merchants.
Chase

  • Chase Freedom®, Chase Sapphire℠, and Ink℠ from Chase cardholders can earn bonus points for holiday gift shopping at the Ultimate Rewards Mall or use existing points to redeem for unique experiences, such as a meet and greet with the Radio City Rockettes.
  • Throughout the season, Chase Freedom cardholders with Ultimate Rewards will receive 10 or 20 percent off select gift cards purchased with points through Ultimate Rewards.
  • Chase cardholders can now use their Ultimate Rewards points to pay for millions of items on Amazon.com in the same way they would use any other payment method.
  • With Chase Ultimate Rewards, cardholders can get any flight or hotel room, anytime – with no blackout dates or restrictions – whether they pay with points, their Chase card or both. Ultimate Rewards is available to all Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire and Ink from Chase cardholders.
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold and Ink Plus cardholders can transfer their Ultimate Rewards points to nine partner travel rewards programs at full one-to-one value. These include Amtrak Guest Rewards®, British Airways Executive Club, Hyatt Gold Passport®, Korean Air SKYPASS, Marriott Rewards®, Priority Club® Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® and United MileagePlus®.
Discover

  • From October 1 – December 31, 2012, Discover cardmembers can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in department store and online purchases by signing up either online or over the phone.
  • Starting November 1 – January 10, 2013, ShopDiscover will highlight 70-plus merchants through which consumers can earn increase cash back on purchases. This deal can be combined with the aforementioned cash back increase available through department stores.
  • Discover cardmembers planning to shop on Amazon.com will receive 5% Cashback Bonus on all items purchased up to $1,500, Free 1-day shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S., and the ability to pay with cash back directly at the point-of-sale.
  • Discover cardmembers also have exclusive access to the following packages:
    • Discover Orange Bowl - January 1, 2013 -- $225 per package (you can split the cost between rewards and your Discover card)
      • One (1) premium lower sideline ticket to the Discover Orange Bowl
      • On-field access to the Discover Orange Bowl Halftime Preview, featuring a live performance by the Halftime artist, the day before the game
      • Exclusive Cardmember access to the on-site Discover Tailgate party on game day
      • One (1) Orange Bowl Game Day Fan Zone pass, including a photo with the Discover Orange Bowl Trophy
    • 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game – January 7, 2013 -- $350 per package (you can split the cost between rewards and your Discover card)
      • One (1) premium lower sideline ticket to the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game
      • Exclusive cardmember access to the on-site Discover Tailgate party
      • One (1) National Championship Game Day Fan Zone pass
      • Discover cardholders can also redeem their rewards in a number of different ways, including: statement credit, direct deposit to another account, merchandise, Discover gift cards, charitable donations, or using the Cashback Bonus to pay on Amazon.com. Discover spokeswoman Kathryn Henry adds that, “My personal favorite, though, is the ability to redeem your Cashback Bonus for partner gift cards that always give you more value. So, for example, $20 of Cashback Bonus will actually buy you a $25 Banana Republic gift card (you can also redeem $40 and get a $50 Banana Republic gift card). This is truly a great value and comes in handy for me when I need to give holiday gifts to my babysitter, dog walker, kids' teachers, etc.”
USAA

  • Use your USAA credit card between November 18 and December 28, 2012, to be automatically entered to win one of the $1,500 weekly prizes and even the $50,000 grand prize.
It certainly appears that many credit card companies are in the giving mood these days. That’s a good thing too because it gives us a bit of a break when it comes to the $749.51 that the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates the average consumer will spend on gifts this holiday season. Hopefully, less stressful gifting will lead to a happier holidays for everyone!