Top credit and debit cards compared

About Top credit and debit cards compared

This ranking covers credit and debit cards from 1,573 brands, ordered for readers who weigh costs, the safety of the money and how the account behaves day to day. The order is not a league table of plastic. Some names here are cards you spend from, some exist to build a credit file from almost nothing, and others lend money quickly, so the first question is what the account is actually for. Costs arrive in layers: an annual fee, a rate on borrowed money, and a charge every time you spend in another currency. The typical annual fee across this list is €0, so the yearly charge rarely decides it, while conversion and the rate after an interest free offer are where money goes missing. By the middle of this group foreign exchange costs 1%, and several cards convert for nothing at all. Credit history narrows the field more than price does: 56.2% of the cards here want good credit, against 21.3% that work with poor credit. Support counts too, because a card is only as useful as the help when a payment is blocked.

How we picked

Every card here is scored on three things, weighted for readers who care about costs, the safety of the money and how the account works. Trust carries the most weight at 40%, cost comes next at 35%, and the offer itself sits at 25%. The score combines what each provider publishes about fees, rates, credit checks, protection features, support channels and the account tools inside the app. Figures come from plan pages, pricing pages, product terms, help centres and perk lists, so an annual fee is taken from the plan that carries it and a rate is taken from the product page that states it. Where a card has more than one plan, the fee is described with the plan it applies to. Partners are listed first in the order the score gives them, and everything else follows by score alone. Cards that only lend money sit in the same ranking as spending cards because readers ask both questions at once, and each write-up says which is which rather than blurring the difference. Where a card earns nothing back, that comes from its rewards listing rather than an assumption.

What to look for

The annual fee

Most cards in this group charge €0 a year, and the lower quartile sits at €0, so the yearly charge rarely decides it. The upper quartile sits at €8.59 and the top of the range reaches €570.03, which is where premium travel and metal cards sit.

What conversion costs

Foreign exchange is where everyday spending quietly costs extra. The middle of this group charges 1% to convert, the upper quartile 2.5%, and a good share of cards charge 0%. If you travel or buy in another currency, this line matters more than the yearly fee.

The rate on borrowed money

A balance left uncleared or a purchase you do not clear is billed at the card rate, and the middle of this group sits at 14.45% with the upper quartile at 22.8%. Cards built for thin credit files often sit at 0% with a low spending limit instead of a competitive rate.

Who can actually get one

Credit checks decide more than fees do. Cards wanting good credit make up 56.2% of this group, while only 21.3% will work with a poor credit history. A soft prequalification before a full check is offered by 14.9% of them.

Getting help when a payment goes wrong

A blocked payment at short notice needs a person rather than a form. Phone support appears on 76.5% of these cards, a help centre on 72.8%, and live chat on 33.5%. An email address alone leaves you waiting at the worst moment.

What the card pays back

Cashback is the most common reward structure in this group at 45.8%, with 28.2% paying nothing back at all. Read what any rate depends on, such as a subscription tier or a qualifying deposit, before treating it as income.

Frequently asked questions

Top credit and debit cards compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV