Best virtual credit cards of October 2024

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

A virtual credit card is a randomly generated card number you can use when shopping online or over the phone. It’s designed to protect your account information from being stolen in case of a data breach or an insecure internet connection. Typically, if you have a physical credit card, you can also request a virtual card number online — provided your issuer offers this feature.

CNBC Select analyzed credit cards from major issuers that provide virtual card numbers and compiled a list of the best options for various needs. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best virtual cards.)

Who’s this for? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great fit for anyone who wants to earn flexible travel rewards that can be transferred to airlines and hotels.

Standout benefits: You can use virtual card numbers through Chase’s partnership with Paze. You don’t need to register for the service, you simply select Paze as your payment option when shopping with a participating merchant.

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Who’s this for? The American Express® Gold Card is the ultimate travel credit card for foodies. Besides high rewards rates on groceries and dining purchases, it offers generous statement credits that make this card almost pay for itself.

Standout benefits: In addition to instant access after approval, American Express cardholders can request virtual card numbers when shopping online through Google Chrome or Android mobile devices. To get started, you must add your Amex card to your Google account. Then, when shopping online, you’ll be prompted to enroll for a virtual card number on the checkout page.

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The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a cash-back credit card that offers 6% cash back on grocery shopping and U.S. streaming subscriptions. This rate is hard to beat, even considering the card’s modest annual fee. It also offers elevated returns on U.S. gas station and transit purchases.

Rewards

• 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%)
• 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations
• 3% cash back on transit
• 1% cash back on other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new card within the first six months.

Annual fee

$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 (see rates and fees).

Notable perks

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers cardholders an up to $7 monthly statement credit after using their enrolled card to spend $9.99 or more per month on a subscription to the Disney Bundle. Valid only at Disney Plus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com in the U.S.

Other perks include purchase and return protection, a ShopRunner membership (enrollment required), extended warranty and car rental insurance, among other benefits.

Cardholders can also take advantage of a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a 18.74% to 29.74% variable APR applies. (See rates and fees).

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.

Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a popular mid-tier travel card and a great beginner credit card for those new to flexible travel rewards.

Rewards

• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
• 5X total points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $150+ (earn a maximum of 25,000 points through Mar. 31, 2025)
• 3X points on dining
• 3X points on select streaming services
• 3X points for online groceries
• 2X points on all other travel purchases
• 1X on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Annual fee

$95

Notable perks

The Sapphire Preferred comes with a solid array of travel and purchase protections, you’ll be covered by trip delay reimbursement, trip cancellation/interruption coverage, travel accident insurance, rental car insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, travel and emergency assistance, roadside dispatch, purchase protection and extended warranty protection.

Every year, you’ll have access to up to $50 in Chase Travel Hotel credit. To take advantage of this perk, you simply need to book a hotel stay through Chase Travel^SM and pay with your Sapphire Preferred card. A statement credit of up to $50 should post to your account within one or two billing cycles.

The points you earn with this card are worth 25% more (1.25 cents each) when redeemed through Chase Travel^SM. Alternatively, you can potentially get more value by transferring your points to one of Chase’s many hotel and airline partners, such as Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United Airlines MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards and World of Hyatt.

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The Citi Double Cash® Card is a cash-back card that earns an unlimited 2% back on all purchases. Double cash back can add up fast, especially when you consider the card has no annual fee.

Rewards

Earn 2% cash back: 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay. For a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel^SM portal through 12/31/24.

Welcome bonus

Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

Cardholders receive 0% intro APR for the first 18 months on balance transfers (then a 18.74% – 28.74% variable APR) initiated within 4 months of opening an account.

Other perks include Mastercard ID Theft Protection and access to Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, a service that will help you if you’re a victim of identity theft. Plus, cardholders can get special access to ticket sales through Citi Entertainment.

Cashback earned with this card can be redeemed for checks, direct deposits, statement credits, gift cards and more. You can also transfer rewards to three of Citi’s travel partners: Wyndham, JetBlue and Choice Privileges.

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The American Express Gold Card stands out for its generous return on dining and U.S. supermarket purchases. While the annual fee can seem high, the card’s rewards and various perks help make up for it.

Rewards

• 4X points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X)
• 4X points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X)
• 3X points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
• 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Offer ends 11/6/24.

Annual fee

$325 (see rates and fees)

Notable perks

With the American Express Gold Card, you can receive up to $240 in annual statement credits: up to $120 on dining ($10 in statement credits per month) for purchases made with Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys (enrollment required) and up to $120 in Uber Cash ($10 per month) for U.S. Uber Eats orders and U.S. Uber rides (you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. The Amex Benefit may only be used in the United States.).

You can also earn up to $84 per year in Dunkin’ credit (up to $7 back per month; enrollment required) and up to $100 in Resy statement credits for dining at U.S. Resy restaurants or for eligible reservations (up to $50 back semi-annually).

The card also provides *travel insurance, including a baggage insurance plan and car rental insurance. Plus, if you book a stay at one of the properties in The Hotel Collection with AmexTravel.com, you can get a $100 credit (a minimum two-night stay is required; eligible charges vary by property.).

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.  Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

There are several options for redeeming Membership Rewards points, but you’ll get the best value by transferring them to airline and hotel partners.

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The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium credit card that earns at least 2X miles on all purchases and offers many benefits that easily make its annual fee worth it.

Rewards

• 10X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel portal
• 5X miles per dollar on flights booked via Capital One Travel portal
• 2X miles on all other eligible purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

Annual fee

$395

Notable perks

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers up to $300 back annually in statement credits for bookings made through Capital One Travel and a 10,000-mile bonus on each account anniversary (worth at least $100 for travel), making it easy to recoup the $395 the annual fee.

On top of that, cardholders receive an up to $120 statement credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®, access to Capital One and partner airport lounges and Hertz President’s Circle elite status (enrollment required)* through Dec. 31, 2024. Other perks include VIP benefits on hotel stays booked through the Premier Collection and Lifestyle Collection, cell phone insurance** and various travel insurance benefits, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay coverage, lost luggage reimbursement and car rental insurance.

Plus, there are lots of ways to redeem the rewards you earn with the Venture X, such as offsetting eligible travel purchases made in the last 90 days, booking new trips through Capital One Travel, transferring miles to partner loyalty programs or redeeming for cash or gift cards.

*Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.

**Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Refer to your Guide to Benefits for more details.

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The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a great everyday credit card offering a lot of value considering it has no annual fee.

Rewards

• 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 2025
• 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
• 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service
• 1.5% cash back on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

When you open a Freedom Unlimited account, you can take advantage of an intro 0% APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. After that, a variable 20.49% to 29.24% APR applies. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each transfer with a $5 minimum for transfers you complete in the first 60 days of account opening, then the transfer fee increases to 5% of the amount of each transfer ($5 minimum).

Eligible transactions you make with this card are covered by purchase protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, travel and emergency assistance services and rental car insurance.

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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best virtual credit cards.

To determine the best virtual credit cards, CNBC Select analyzed over 250 major credit cards issued through FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions that are widely available in the U.S.  

We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards (e.g., cash back, points and miles), annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR and balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks (e.g., ongoing travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections (e.g., purchase protection, $0 liability protection and travel insurance), the application process when available (e.g., is there a credit pull or required credit score) and how easy it is to redeem points (e.g., are rewards are tied to a specific brand; if transferable, to how many/which partners, can you redeem for straight cash back). 
 
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.  

For the cards that offered a rewards program, we considered consumer spending data forecasts from location intelligence firm Esri to determine where U.S. consumers are spending the most money, like on dining and travel. We used this to help determine what bonus categories are most useful for consumers. Since the value of a point or mile varies based on what they can be redeemed for, we also considered things like transferability and the ability to redeem for cash-back. 

When choosing the best virtual credit cards, we only considered cards that offer virtual card number services. 

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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.