The best credit card for public transit
On transit fares, American Express Classic Green Card comes out ahead at $6.00 per $100 spent, $1.20 more than the next card down.
Every card below is scored the way Cardful scores it at a checkout: the rate is multiplied by what that issuer's points are actually worth, so a points card and a cash-back card can be compared in the same unit. Counts as: Subway, bus, commuter rail, Amtrak.
The short version
- Earns the most: American Express Classic Green Card — rewards worth $6.00 per $100 of transit fares, with a $150 annual fee.
- Best with no annual fee: Citi Strata — rewards worth $4.80 per $100.
- Is the fee worth it? On public transit alone, Classic Green Card out-earns the no-fee pick once you spend about $12,600 a year here. Below that, the free card comes out ahead unless the premium card's other categories or credits make up the difference.
| # | Card | Earns | Point value | Per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Classic Green Card
American Express · $150/yr
Transit — trains, taxis, rideshare, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways
|
3x | 2.00¢ / pt | $6.00 |
| 2 |
Strata
Citi · No annual fee
Select transit, and gas and EV charging stations
|
3x | 1.60¢ / pt | $4.80 |
| 3 |
Autograph
Wells Fargo · No annual fee
|
3x | 1.50¢ / pt | $4.50 |
| 4 |
Autograph Journey
Wells Fargo · $95/yr
Travel other than hotels and airlines
|
3x | 1.50¢ / pt | $4.50 |
| 5 |
Attune
Wells Fargo · No annual fee
Planet-friendly spending — public transit, EV charging and select thrift stores
|
4% | 1.00¢ / pt | $4.00 |
| 6 |
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 |
| 7 |
Sapphire Preferred
Chase · $95/yr
Travel booked anywhere else
|
2x | 2.00¢ / pt | $4.00 |
| 8 |
Venture Rewards
Capital One · $95/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.80¢ / pt | $3.60 |
Cards that pay more only some of the year
Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back pay a bonus rate on public transit only in quarters where the issuer picks that category, and you have to activate it. They are left out of the ranking above rather than credited with a rate you may not have this quarter — Cardful tracks which quarter your selection was made in and drops the card to its base rate when it lapses.
Cards that pay more here with a condition attached
Left out of the ranking above because each one needs something from you — a category chosen in the card's settings, or buying at one particular store. If that condition fits how you shop, these can beat everything in the table.
- Custom Cash (Citi) — 5x if you choose Public Transit as your category; Up to $500 per billing cycle, then the base rate.
- Customized Cash Rewards (Bank of America) — 3% if you choose Public Transit as your category; Up to $2,500 per quarter, then the base rate.
- Cash+ Visa Signature (U.S. Bank) — 5% if you choose Public Transit as one of your categories; Up to $2,000 per quarter, then the base rate.
How to use this list
- Check the store codes as public transit. Issuers pay by the category the merchant registers under, not by what you bought. This page counts: Subway, bus, commuter rail, Amtrak.
- Start with the cards you already have. Find the highest one of yours in the table — that is your card for transit fares today, no application needed.
- Read the small print under each card. A spending cap or a "US only" note can change the answer if you spend a lot here or shop abroad.
- Only then think about a new card, and weigh the whole year: a card that wins one category can lose on the rest of your spending.
Why dollars and not multipliers
A multiplier is not a number you can compare with a cash-back percentage until you know what a point is worth. Every rate here was converted using a published valuation before the cards were sorted, which is why the order sometimes differs from the one the advertised multipliers suggest.
Point values: published industry valuations, most recently read 2026-09. We track The Points Guy, Upgraded Points, NerdWallet, Frequent Miler and AwardWallet.
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Your wallet, not this list.
This ranks the whole catalogue. Cardful ranks the cards you actually carry, at the store you are actually on.