What do expert Black Friday shoppers have that you need? The perfect card. Find out why these are the 4 best credit cards to have for Black Friday 2018.

I love Black Friday.

It’s almost like waiting for Christmas, but instead, you wait for deals. As you get older and you need to buy gifts for your spouse, parents, kids, and friends, finding the best deals possible is critical.

But Black Friday deals will only take you so far.

If you’re not using the right credit card, you could be missing out on a ton of benefits and rewards. That’s why in this article, we’ll share the top four credit cards for you to use during Black Friday 2018.

Top Pick for Black Friday 2018: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an excellent card to use for Black Friday shopping this year. First, let’s start with some of the benefits of using an American Express card for shopping.

Benefits for Using American Express

American Express offers Purchase Protection on its cards, and it’s an excellent feature for those who do a lot of shopping. Directly from American Express: “When an American Express Card Member charges a covered purchase with their Card account, Purchase Protection can help protect your purchases for up to 120 days* from the date of purchase if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year.”

That means if you buy something on Black Friday and it gets accidentally damaged (which happens during the holidays between shipping and dropping things), Amex will have you covered.

American Express also provides an extended warranty on the items you purchase with it. Naturally, this will come in handy for Black Friday, as you’ll be buying things like electronics and other pricey items that tend to need a warranty in place to make you feel most comfortable in buying it. But why pay extra for an extended warranty when Amex can cover it for you? According to their policies, “When an American Express Card Member charges an eligible product with his or her Card account, Extended Warranty can provide up to two (2) extra years added to the original U.S. manufacturer’s warranty.”

Rewards and Other Perks

Aside from the purchase protection benefits you’ll get from using American Express, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has some of the best rewards and perks we’ve seen.

• Introductory 0% offer. You’ll get a 12-month 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers.
• Competitive cash back. This card offers 6% cash back on up to $6,000 per year in supermarket purchases, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Welcome offer to start. New card members will get a $200 statement credit when they spend $1,000 on purchases within three months of account opening.

Best for Large Purchases That You’ll Pay Off Over Time: Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card

Sometimes we wait until Black Friday to make that large purchase because of the deep discounts many stores offer. But we don’t always have the cash to pay for it right away, or we don’t ever want to blow our savings right before the holidays. That’s where the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card comes in. It’s not a sexy, high-rewards card like some of the others we’ve reviewed, but it is hands-down, the best card for making a large purchase on Black Friday.

Why?

Because of the insanely-good introductory offer on both balance transfers and purchases. The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card gives you 18 full months of 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers, allowing you to pay off that large purchase throughout a year and a half.

Depending on your level of motivation, you can also lump in credit card balances from past Black Fridays onto the card and pay that off at 0%.

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card has no annual fee, which makes it a lovely long-term card to hold, even if you don’t plan to use it every day after your intro offer.

One of the other features we loved was the cell phone insurance that comes bundled with the card. If you use this card to pay your cell phone bill every month, Wells Fargo will give you up to $600 of protection on your phone with just a $25 deductible.

On the downside, the standard APR on the card is high, and it doesn’t offer rewards, which is why we would encourage you to use this only for a handful of significant purchases on Black Friday that you’ll work on paying off over time.

Best If You Also Plan To Travel For The Holidays: The Platinum Card® from American Express

If you’re a big shopper but also a big traveler, we have the perfect card for your Black Friday shopping. The Platinum Card® from American Express has a very high annual fee ($550), but if you are planning to spend a lot of money on Black Friday, as well as take your family on a holiday vacation, this is a card you have to consider.

First of all, you’ll get the same purchase protections you get with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express that we mentioned above–the ability to return something for up to four months if it gets damaged or stolen, as well as the extended warranty.

Second, The Platinum Card® from American Express offers a lucrative welcome offer. After you spend $5,000 in the first three months of having the card, you’ll earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points. Also, you’ll receive up to $200 in Uber rides each year.

For rewards, you’ll get 5x points on flights booked through American Express or directly through the airline, 5x points on hotels booked through American Express and one point per dollar spent on all other transactions. But it doesn’t stop there. You’ll also get up to a $200 airline fee credit–which helps wipe away things like baggage and seat upgrade fees.

If that’s not enough for you, you can rest assured knowing that your family will travel in comfort because you’ll get access into the American Express Global Lounge collection at airports. This allows you and up to two guests to hang out, watch TV, eat, and drink in a comfortable, dedicated lounge before your flight.

Remember, the fee is big, but if you are someone who frequently makes big purchases and travels around Black Friday and the holidays, this might be the best card for you.

Best For Shopping At Department Stores And Using Long-term: Chase Freedom

The Chase Freedom is an excellent all-around credit card to have so you will end up finding yourself using it far beyond just Black Friday. But for Black Friday, it rocks. Chase offers 5% cash back on specific categories at different times of the year. This year (2018), it’s offering 5% back from October through December on department stores, wholesale clubs, and Chase Pay.

“Department stores” includes both in-store and online purchases, too, so you don’t have to go to the mall if you don’t want to. You can find a full list of available stores from Chase right here.

The other big bonus here is wholesale clubs. Places like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s are great spots to find deals on Black Friday anyway. Since you pay a membership fee to join these wholesale clubs, they tend to offer discounts on items and bundles you won’t see anywhere else. The Costco by me usually extends its Black Friday sales and gives things like video game systems bundled with a couple games and extra controllers for an unbeatable price. So when you use the Chase Freedom this year, you’ll knock an additional 5% off those prices.

Outside of the rotating categories, Chase Freedom offers 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on select purchases each quarter (up to $1,500 spent quarterly) after that. As a bonus, you’ll get a $150 cash bonus after spending $500 in the first three months. Finally, there is no annual fee, and you’ll even get a 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months.

Bottom Line

Shopping on Black Friday can be pure chaos. But that doesn’t mean you have to go broke or miss out on massive savings. By using the right credit card, you can get all the things you need for the holidays in a single day, and either not worry about paying it off for a year and a half or get some hefty cash back for your troubles. Either way, use one of these four cards, and you won’t be disappointed.

Topics: Credit Cards

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via Finance Xpress