Costco Visa

How I use it:

• Gas
• Travel (hotels, airplane tickets, etc)
• Costco purchases

Quick details:

• 4% back on Gas
• 3% back on Travel and Restaurants
• 2% back on Costco purchases
• 1% back on everything else
• No annual fee (but you need a Costco membership)

Annual Value:  $468

• $300 from Travel (3% x 10 trips/year x $1,000/trip)
• $96 from Gas (4% cash back x $200/month x 12 months)
• $72 from Costco purchases (2% x $300/month x 12 months)
• Ignoring the annual Costco membership fee (notes below)

If you’re going to pick any single card, I can’t think of a better one out there.  The rewards are spread across categories nicely, and if you shop at Costco even semi-regularly you’re getting your value from the membership so there this is essentially a no-annual-fee card.

Plus, the value above is probably understated quite a bit, especially for work travel and family vacations.  Not to mention, if you decide to make a big purchase from Costco, that $300/month can get blown significantly out of the water.