I Commute in NYC. What’s the Best Credit Card for the Subway? | Credit Cards

I’m looking to get a no-fee credit card and use it specifically for NYC Metro, which is $3 per swipe. After 12 swipes in a seven-day period, there are a few caps – essentially $36 per week or $144 per month. Do you have any idea on how to get the most rewards, cash back or benefits from this? I currently have the Citi Double Cash® Card, but use it for other things. I want one solely for this purpose. Any recs?

You have a couple of options! Since you specifically mentioned you wanted a credit card without an annual fee, we’ll only look at those. And also keep spending caps in mind.

The U.S. Bank Cash+ card earns 5% cash back on two categories of your choosing with a quarterly spending cap of $2,000. One category you can choose is ground transportation, which covers bus and passenger railway tickets, taxi fares and Uber. Just know that parking meters, parking garages and toll stations don’t count as ground transportation. Since you only spend about $400 to $500 a quarter on Metro purchases, you should have more than enough wiggle room when it comes to the spending cap.

The U.S. Bank Cash+ also earns 2% cash back on one everyday category of your choosing every quarter, such as gas stations, grocery stores or restaurants, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

If you want points instead of cash back, you could check out the Wells Fargo Autograph Card. Another no-annual-fee card, it earns three points on transit purchases, and that includes subways. It also earns three points per dollar spent on travel, restaurants, gas and popular streaming services, so there are plenty of other ways for you to earn, as well.

It all really comes down to what kinds of rewards you want to earn. Do you want to dip your toe in the points and miles game, or do you prefer the ease of cash back rewards? Either way, you can definitely earn more than what you’re earning now. It’s all about playing the credit card game!