The best credit card for home improvement
On hardware store trips, American Express Blue Business Plus earns the most: $4.00 per $100, $0.00 more than the next card.
Rate × what the points are worth, so points and cash back compare in dollars. Counts as: Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware.
The short version
- Earns the most: American Express Blue Business Plus, $4.00 per $100, with no annual fee.
- No annual fee: the top pick already has none.
| # | Card | EarnsThe rate the card advertises here, in its own currency: cash back, points or miles. | Point valueWhat one point or mile in this currency is worth, in cents: the median of the published valuations we read. Every ranking multiplies by it. | Per $100What $100 of spending earns, in dollars: the rate multiplied by what the currency is worth. This is what the table is ranked by. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Blue Business Plus
American Express, No annual fee
2x on every purchase, with no bonus categories to track. Up to $50,000 per year, then the base rate
|
2x | 2.00¢ / pt | $4.00 |
| 2 |
Business Platinum Card
American Express, $895/yr
U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers. Up to $2,000,000 per year, then the base rate
|
2x | 2.00¢ / pt | $4.00 |
| 3 |
Venture Rewards
Capital One, $95/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.80¢ / pt | $3.60 |
| 4 |
Venture X
Capital One, $395/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.80¢ / pt | $3.60 |
| 5 |
Robinhood Gold Card
Robinhood, $50/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
3% | 1.00¢ / pt | $3.00 |
| 6 |
Strata Elite
Citi, $595/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
1.5x | 1.60¢ / pt | $2.40 |
| 7 |
VentureOne Rewards
Capital One, No annual fee
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
1.3x | 1.80¢ / pt | $2.25 |
| 8 |
Active Cash
Wells Fargo, No annual fee
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2% | 1.00¢ / pt | $2.00 |
Cards that pay more only some of the year
Freedom and Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back pay a bonus on home improvement only in quarters the issuer picks it, and only after you activate it. Not ranked above, since you may not have that rate this quarter.
Cards that pay more here with a condition attached
Not ranked above because each needs a chosen category or a specific store. If that fits how you shop, these can beat the table.
- Custom Cash (Citi) — 5x if you choose Home Improvement as your category; Up to $500 per billing cycle, then the base rate.
- Customized Cash Rewards (Bank of America) — 3% if you choose Home Improvement as your category; Up to $2,500 per quarter, then the base rate.
How to use this list
- Check the store codes as home improvement. Issuers pay by how the store is registered, not by what you bought. This page counts: Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware.
- Start with cards you have. Your highest one in the table is your card for hardware store trips today.
- Read the notes under each card. A cap or "US only" can change the answer.
- Then consider a new card, judged on your whole year of spending.
Why dollars and not multipliers
A multiplier means nothing until you know what a point is worth. Every rate here is converted at a published valuation first, which is why the order can differ from the advertised multipliers.
Point values: published industry valuations, most recently read 2026-09. We track The Points Guy, Upgraded Points, NerdWallet, Frequent Miler and AwardWallet.