Best Credit Cards For Football Fans Bankrate Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE:
On This Page
Bernhard Lang/Getty Images September 02, 2022 Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. He focuses on the credit card industry and helps consumers maximize rewards, get out of debt and improve their credit scores. Mariah Ackary is a personal finance editor who joined the Bankrate team in 2019, excited by the opportunity to help people make good financial decisions. Send your questions to Bankrate logo
The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo
The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to: Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options. Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions. Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you. At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next. Bankrate logo
Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo
How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Football is back, and it’s possible to show your fandom and save some money with the right credit card. Here are some of the best options:
Chase Freedom Flex
From July 1 through Sept. 30, 2022, the card is giving cardholders 5 percent cash back on select , a category that includes major professional sporting events (among other things). Major ticketing agencies such as SeatGeek, StubHub, Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats are all eligible. I suspect many college football ticket purchases will count, too, especially if they’re made through one of those intermediaries. Gas stations, movie theaters and car rental agencies are other 5 percent cash back categories this quarter. There’s a combined spending limit of $1,500 on these Q3 bonus categories, after which cardholders earn 1 percent cash back on these categories. Activation is required by Sept. 14.
Citi Custom Cash
This popular “choose your own adventure” card gives 5 percent cash back on each cardholder’s top eligible spending category every monthly billing cycle (up to $500 in purchases; all other purchases earn 1 percent cash back). Live entertainment is an option that appeals to football fans. What’s especially nice is that you’re not locked into a single category every month. The automatically adjusts to your spending habits without any action required on your part. Your top spending category could be live entertainment one month and something completely different the next (the list of possibilities includes gas, groceries, travel and more).
Capital One Savor
The was an early adopter of an entertainment rewards category. It gives an unlimited 4 percent cash back on entertainment, streaming and dining purchases, 3 percent cash back at grocery stores and 1 percent cash back on everything else. This card covers a wide range of football-related expenditures — everything from game tickets to food to streaming the action from your couch.
Discover it Cash Back
Another popular 5 percent cash back card with rotating quarterly categories, the card is rewarding 5 percent cash back on rotating categories. Like the Freedom Flex, activation is required and the elevated earn rate applies on up to $1,500 in quarterly purchases (then 1 percent cash back after that). There’s a lot for football fans to like on that list.
Blue Cash Preferred from American Express
Whether you’re tailgating in the parking lot before the big game or hosting a party at your house, if groceries factor into your football plans, the is a great choice. It awards 6 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in annual purchases, then 1 percent cash back after that). Select streaming services also qualify for 6 percent cash back, so this card is especially advantageous if you’ll be watching the action from home and snacking while you’re at it.
NFL Extra Points Credit Card
The National Football League’s officially licensed credit card, the , is worth considering as well, but it’s important to note that it has its limitations. states that the product gives 3 percent in rewards on qualifying NFL and team purchases, 2 percent on groceries, food delivery, restaurants, gyms and sporting goods and 1 percent on everything else. The use of “percent” is a bit misleading, though, because the rewards are only worth half that much when applied as a statement credit. This is really a points card. I think a better way to think about it is that it awards 3 points — not 3 percent — per dollar spent on those qualifying NFL and team purchases, 2 points per dollar on groceries, food delivery, restaurants, gyms and sporting goods and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Each point is only worth 0.5 cents apiece when used toward a statement credit. It is possible to obtain more value from some of the other redemption opportunities (such as gift cards, merchandise and exclusive NFL experiences). For example, a cardholder can redeem 1,000 points for a $10 Fanatics gift card. In that example, each point stretches twice as far as it does when exchanged for a statement credit. A representative from Bread Financial, which issues the card, says the exact value of each point varies. For instance, each experiential reward is valued differently. Some of these sound really fun, such as meet and greets with NFL stars, stadium tours, game day sideline passes and access to major events such as the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft. A true superfan might find them priceless in a sense, even though the math may not work out as favorably. Bread says point values vary based on the experience. VIP Training Camp experiences are valued at around 10,000 points, as an example. Whether or not that’s worth it depends on your personal preferences and level of fandom. For instance, would you prefer that or a $50 statement credit or $100 gift card? In general, most cards tend to offer more favorable redemption rates on travel, cash back and gift cards, with merchandise and experiences bringing up the rear (at least on a cents per point basis). If you want a true cash back card, you’re probably . Nonetheless, for a certain type of cardholder, the NFL Extra Points Card has some interesting perks. There’s a $100 introductory bonus after you spend $500 on non-NFL purchases in your first 90 days with the card. New cardholders also get a free NFL+ subscription if they apply and are approved before Oct. 31, 2022 (NFL+ is the league’s streaming platform which provides access to live video from local and primetime regular season games). Plus, cardholders get a 20 percent discount when they buy something from NFLShop.com with their Extra Points card. And special financing is available for cardholders who buy $250 or more in game tickets directly from an NFL team or from Ticketmaster, StubHub or SeatGeek. Finally, you can display your loyalty with your favorite team’s logo emblazoned on your card.
The bottom line
A key theme of any good credit card rewards strategy is to match the right cards with your lifestyle. Think about how you spend your money and what you want to get out of your rewards. If you’re a football fan, for example, then look to earn rewards on money you would have spent anyway as you watch and snack your way through the season. Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at
[email protected] and I’d be happy to help. SHARE: Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. He focuses on the credit card industry and helps consumers maximize rewards, get out of debt and improve their credit scores. Mariah Ackary is a personal finance editor who joined the Bankrate team in 2019, excited by the opportunity to help people make good financial decisions. Send your questions to
Related Articles