The 5 best credit cards to pay your bills: Make it a rewarding experience

The Citi Double Cash Card is our best credit card for paying bills because it enables you to maximize your rewards while saving money. It starts off with an excellent introductory offer for balance transfers, offering a 0% APR for your first 18 months, then 18.99% - 28.99%. The balance transfer fee is lower, too, with 3% of each transfer offered for the first four months before switching to 5% of each transfer, both with a $5 minimum.

Citi offers two types of cash back on your purchases, awarding you with unlimited 1% cashback when you make your purchase and another 1% when you pay it off. Rewards are distributed in the form of ThankYou points. There are no annual fees, no caps, and no category restrictions to give you far greater freedom in your purchase decisions.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express gives you very high, very impressive rewards when you use your card to shop for groceries. American Express will give you 6% cashback on your purchases at U.S. supermarkets, up to $6,000, then 1%. You also receive 6% cashback on your U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% at U.S gas stations, 3% on transit, including rideshare, and 1% on all other purchases. If you spend $3,000 within your first six months, you will also receive $250 back in statement credits. 

When it comes time to pay, you also have the opportunity to opt for the Buy Now, Pay Later introductory offer, which uses Plan It by American Express to split payments into monthly installments. When you choose this option, there is a lower APR on your purchases for the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Regardless, this card comes with a 0% introductory APR on your purchases within the first year, then a variable rate of 18.99% - 29.99%. However, in typical Amex fashion, an annual fee costs $95 per year ($0 intro annual fee for the first year). 

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is a card for business owners, allowing you to earn rewards all while paying the bills. To welcome you as a new cardholder, you start off with 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening. 

That is worth $1,000 in cash back. If you choose to redeem your rewards through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, that can be up to $1,250 in travel. From there, the regular rewards schedule begins with 3x the points on shipping and other rotating business categories, such as advertising, phone and Internet, and even travel. Other purchases earn you one point per dollar with no expiration as long as the account remains open.  

The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card is our pick for the best utilities credit card because you get to pick where you get your savings. To start, U.S. Bank rewards you with a $200 bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days when you apply online. Your first $2,000 earns you up to 5% cash back in each category on your choice of two categories, whether it is your utilities, shopping, and entertainment. 

You also receive 5% cash back when you prepay your air, hotel, or car reservations in the Rewards Travel Center. From there, there is 2% cashback on an everyday category, such as gas, groceries, or dining. All other purchases earn 1% cashback. There is no annual fee, plus you get a 0% intro APR on both your purchases and balance transfers, lasting the first 15 billing cycles, then a variable APR of 19.49% to 29.49%.