The best credit card for public transit
On transit fares, Classic Green Card comes out ahead at $6.00 per $100 spent, $1.05 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 4x card and a 3% card can be compared in the same unit. Counts as: Subway, bus, commuter rail, Amtrak.
| # | 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 |
Autograph
Wells Fargo · No annual fee
|
3x | 1.65¢ / pt | $4.95 |
| 3 |
Sapphire Preferred
Chase · $95/yr
Travel booked anywhere else
|
2x | 2.05¢ / pt | $4.10 |
| 4 |
Attune
Wells Fargo · No annual fee
Planet-friendly spending — public transit, EV charging and select thrift stores
|
4% | 1.00¢ / pt | $4.00 |
| 5 |
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 |
| 6 |
Double Cash
Citi · No annual fee
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.90¢ / pt | $3.80 |
| 7 |
Venture Rewards
Capital One · $95/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.85¢ / pt | $3.70 |
| 8 |
Venture X
Capital One · $395/yr
Base rate — no bonus category applies here
|
2x | 1.85¢ / pt | $3.70 |
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.
Why dollars and not multipliers
"4x points" is not a number you can compare to "3% back" 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: The Points Guy, published 2026-08 (source). Not re-confirmed against the latest monthly update: Wells Fargo Rewards, Capital One Miles.
Your wallet, not this list.
This ranks the whole catalogue. Cardful ranks the cards you actually carry, at the store you are actually on.