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Chris holds a B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism Management and managed social media for all Marriott properties in South America, making him a perfect fit for UP and its social media channels. He has a ...
Juan has been involved in credit cards, loyalty, travel, and personal finance for more than 10 years. He has worked for several outlets including The Points Guy and Forbes and was previously Editor-in...
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
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It’s no secret that raising kids can be very expensive. With a constant list of expenses and responsibilities, managing the monthly bills can get overwhelming. But with the right credit card, you can save money on your family’s expenses and get rewarded with perks.
Whether you and your family prefer cash-back or want to earn some points and miles, we’ve found the best credit cards for families.
Gas and groceries can not only help fast-track your next family vacation, but they can also offer valuable benefits such as travel insurance and purchase protection. You might want some extra coverage on that new tablet — and the right family credit card can offer it!
For family travelers, having the right credit cards in your wallet can help reduce your costs and give you peace of mind if something goes wrong. That can offer value whether you’re just going on a quick road trip for the weekend or planning a big European summer vacation.
From bonus points to unlimited cash-back, we’ve got you covered. Don’t worry if this all sounds overwhelming — we will break it all down for you!
Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024.
Annual fee of $95
3x points at gas stations, supermarkets, restaurants, airfare, and hotels
Access to Citi ThankYou travel portal and transfer partners
Earn $300 Statement Credit after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Annual fee of $49
2% in Disney Rewards Dollars on purchases at grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and most Disney locations
5% in Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, or ESPNPlus.com
How To Pick The Best Family Credit Card
As with any credit card, you should choose a family credit card that works for you. Your family’s needs may be very different from the next when it comes to everyday expenses and reward preferences.
Some families may prefer to receive cash-back, while others like to redeem points for a family vacation.
To each their own! We don’t judge, we just want to educate you on your options.
Rewards for Everyday Expenses
Parents constantly juggle an ever-increasing amount of responsibilities and expenses. Doctor appointments, school supplies, homework, after-school sports, grocery shopping, clothes shopping, family dinners, filling up the car with gas — the list goes on and on.
If you have to make all of these everyday purchases, you should at least be rewarded for it. By using the right card for your family’s everyday expenses, you could be padding your bank account with some cash-back or building up points and miles for a family vacation.
For example, some cards offer increased earnings in categories like gas and groceries. So if your family spends a lot on those categories each month, you could earn extra rewards.
Welcome Offer
When applying for a credit card, one of the most important factors you should consider is the current sign-up bonus.
A sign-up bonus is usually a fixed amount of points that you will receive after spending a predetermined amount on your new credit card within a certain amount of time, usually the first 3 months.
For example, you could earn a 50,000-point bonus if you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of approval for a new credit card. Those 50,000 points are in addition to the points earned from spending $3,000.
Hot Tip: Sign-up bonuses change all the time, so watch for the best credit card bonuses to get for a new card when the bonus is high.
Perks
When it comes to credit cards, and especially travel credit cards for families, there are often competitive perks.
Depending on how much your annual fee is — which could be $0 — your perks can vary greatly from one card to another.
Common perks on family travel credit cards often include:
These perks may be considered more valuable to some than others, so it’s always a good idea to compare cards to see what’s included and consider what you will really take advantage of.
Annual Fee
Many credit cards come with an annual fee. You may balk at the idea of paying to have a credit card. But depending on the perks and sign-up bonuses, more often than not, you can get value out of paying an annual fee.
While there are certainly some travel credit cards with no annual fee, some of our favorite cards for families come with annual fees. In fact, it can be easy to justify paying hundreds of dollars per year in annual fees by the amount of value you receive from them.
That said, if you look at the benefits and don’t think you’ll be able to take advantage of them, a no-annual-fee card may be a better fit.
Ease of Use
An often-overlooked obstacle when gathering points for a big trip is how complicated it can be when it comes time to redeem said points.
Parents have enough on their plates without needing to add hours of research just to learn how to redeem their points and miles.
For example, it doesn’t make sense for you to sign up for a Delta credit card if Delta doesn’t serve your local airport, right?
It may make more sense to sign up for a Chase card where you can book whatever you want directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.
Best Credit Cards for Families
Alright, let’s jump into the fun part and start looking at some credit card options for you and your family!
Below, we’ll dig into credit cards that are a good fit for families looking for cash-back or points and miles. We’ll break them down into categories that are best for earning and redeeming based on family spending habits and redemption goals.
Want cash-back for your family to use immediately? We’ve got you covered. Prefer to save up some points so you can plan a family vacation for cheap? We’ve got that too!
Best Family Credit Cards for Cash-Back
Families looking for immediate rewards in the form of cash-back have some great credit card options.
Swiping the right card could mean extra discounts on all of your family’s purchases.
The Double Cash card has been a popular credit card for families for a long time, and for good reason.
This card earns unlimited 2% cash-back on every purchase: 1% when you buy, and another 1% when you pay your bill. That means no chasing after bonus categories, just spending and earning. This makes it an easy choice for rewards and ease of use for families.
Best Credit Cards for Family Travel
There is nothing like taking a special family vacation that will create memories for a lifetime…but sometimes the costs be prohibitive.
Fortunately, some of our favorite cards earn points that can help you greatly reduce or even eliminate some of those expensive travel costs — and even make travel a little bit more comfortable!
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a great card for families who want to focus on their next family vacation.
This card earns 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, so regular monthly expenses can quickly boost your balance. And when you’re ready to hit the road with the kids, just transfer those points over to one of the many Chase transfer partners or book via the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.
The CapitalOne Venture card is one of the most straightforward, easy-to-use rewards credit cards available. That means less time doing math and more time enjoying vacations with your family!
When you and your family travel, you can enjoy 2 complimentary visits to a Capital One Lounge or Plaza Premium Lounges each year, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit, travel assistance, and more!
The Amex Platinum card is a premium card from Amex, which means it carries a hefty annual fee, but also has a long list of benefits that many families should be able to take advantage of.
From bonus points to statement credits and lounge access, this card has a lot to offer families.
If you’re looking to take some luxurious family vacations, the Amex Platinum card would fit nicely in your wallet.
Best Family Credit Cards for Online Shopping
If you’re like many families in the U.S., online shopping is a big part of your expenses.
The convenience of being able to order almost anything online and have it delivered to your door means you can spend less time shopping and more time with your family.
If you want to maximize your rewards when you click “add to cart,”, check out these cards.
The Amazon Prime Visa card is a no-brainer for families who shop on Amazon.
The card offers a whopping 5% cash-back at Amazon, Whole Foods Market, and Chase Travel (with a Prime membership), plus 2% cash-back at restaurants, gas stations, and on local transit and commuting purchases.
For no annual fee, this credit card is a family favorite.
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card is a great everyday cash-back card for families.
This no-annual-fee Amex offers 3% back on online purchases, as well as gas stations and groceries! Those are popular categories for many families.
Plus, the card comes with monthly credits toward the Disney Bundle and Home Chef. And don’t forget about other benefits of having an American Express card, such as purchase protection and access to Amex Offers.
Best Family Credit Cards for Gas and Groceries
Gas and groceries are easily the biggest spending categories for many families. If you’re spending that money anyway, why not get rewarded for it?
Some of our favorite credit cards for families earn big bonuses on these categories, which means more money and more points in your pocket!
The Amex Gold card is a go-to card for food lovers. This iconic card earns 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets — that can add up to big rewards!
With this card, you’ll get up to $120 in annual dining credits and up to $120 in annual Uber Cash — not bad! The annual fee may scare some families off, but if you can use the benefits, it can easily pay for itself.
If you’re looking to earn some cash-back on your grocery purchases, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card is one of the best options.
This card earns 6% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year) and on select streaming services, plus 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations and on transit.
With a nice little welcome bonus and no annual fee for the first year, this credit card is a great option for many families.
Costco fans, rejoice! There is a card here for you and it has no annual fee with your paid Costco membership.
The Costco Anywhere card earns 4% cash-back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. Plus, get 3% cash-back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases. Those are some great rates for a card that has no annual fee beyond your Costco membership.
And let’s not forget that it earns a solid 2% cash-back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com.
Best Family Credit Cards for Everyday Spending
As a parent, it’s easy to see how almost any of the cards listed above could be ideal for everyday spending.
But if you need another option to earn great rewards on anything that doesn’t fit into major rewards categories, here you go!
The Freedom Unlimited card is easily one of the best cash-back credit cards available for families.
This card will earn 3% cash-back on dining and drugstore purchases, and then 1.5% back on everything else — for no annual fee! You can even score 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards!
And if you already have a Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card, you can receive that cash-back as UR points instead. So you can earn 3x to 5x points on your purchases, which is really good.
Best Family Credit Cards for Dining and Entertainment
We get it, it’s not all diapers and gas station trips for your family. Sometimes you need to go out and have some fun.
If you want to maximize your rewards, take a look at these dining and entertainment cards for families.
We’ve got your budget in mind with the Capital One SavorOne card because this card packs in big rewards with no annual fee.
Not only does the Capital One SavorOne card earn a very respectable 3% cash-back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), restaurants, entertainment, and even popular streaming services, but it also earns 10% cash-back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases and 8% cash-back on Capital One Entertainment purchases!
Plus get 5% cash-back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel on your family vacations.
If you want to earn Disney Dollars, the Disney Premier card is the fastest way to do it.
This card earns 2% in Disney Rewards Dollars on purchases at grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and most Disney locations. For families, that can add up quickly and be a great way to visit Walt Disney World for cheap or even free.
Plus you can earn 5% in Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases made directly at DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com, or ESPNPlus.com.
Methodology
The Upgraded Points team constantly analyzes and performs real-world testing of the most popular cards on the market. We do this to help our millions of readers make important decisions about which cards they put in their wallets, and we use our “U.P. Rating” to make that process easier for them.
We analyze many factors including benefits, earning structure, welcome bonuses, fees, redemption value, APR, and credit-building features.
For our best cards for families’ choices, we take all of those insights and then filter them even further so we are left with only cards that provide maximum returns on common family expenses, with justifiable annual fees (if necessary), and high ease of use when it comes to redeeming rewards.
Final Thoughts
Families looking to get cash-back, free flights, hotel nights, or travel perks from their everyday spending have no shortage of options when considering credit cards in the United States.
Finding the balance between annual fees and benefits is something that each family will need to look at and evaluate individually. Hopefully, we have laid out your best options clearly.
If you’re looking for even more information on making the most of family travel, explore our Family Travel section to make all your vacations stress-free and point-earning!
The information regarding the Capital One SavorOne Card Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Chase Disney Premier Visa® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here. For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® from American Express, click here. For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Prostock-studio via Adobe Stock
Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on your individual goals, there could be multiple cards that work for you and your family. Whether you like cash-back, travel domestically or internationally, want to stay at luxury hotels, or stretch your points at budget hotels, we have all of your options laid out clearly with all of the important information you need to make your decision!
We’ve reviewed every credit available in the U.S. market and picked out our favorites for you. Depending on how much you spend, there may be multiple options that could be a good fit. Some premium credit cards come with an annual fee of over $500, but they could be worth it if you use all of the benefits! Scroll up and read our review!
Getting cash-back on your purchases is like stacking coupons and getting an instant discount on every purchase. Depending on where you shop the most, the right credit card for your family may vary. Take a look at our list here.
Chris holds a B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism Management and managed social media for all Marriott properties in South America, making him a perfect fit for UP and its social media channels. He has a passion for making content catered toward family travelers.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
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