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Your credit card can act like a Black Friday discount on every purchase — here's how Yahoo Personal Finance · Ben Walker (CEPF, CFEI®) · Senior Writer, Credit Cards Mon, November 9, 2026 at 12:13 PM EST 9 min read If you're working toward a credit card sign-up bonus, you should use that card for your Black Friday and holiday shopping.
Otherwise, the best card for you depends on your goals and preferences, such as whether you prefer earning cash back or travel rewards. Where you shop, including Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers, can also affect the best available options.
Maximizing rewards: If you want to earn the most rewards possible, regardless of the rewards program or type of rewards, you would likely need several different rewards credit cards. With this strategy, you can switch to whichever card earns the most rewards at each retailer.
Earning specific rewards: The two main types of rewards are cash back and travel rewards, but there are also specific credit card and loyalty rewards, including Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, World of Hyatt points, and many more. Depending on your goals, you may prefer earning one type of reward over another.
Earning a sign-up bonus: Credit card sign-up bonuses often provide the best return on the money spent, far outpacing everyday rewards rates on most cards. Signing up for a new rewards card before doing your holiday shopping is an excellent way to get a big rewards boost.
Protecting your purchases: You can use credit card protections, such as purchase protection and extended warranty coverage, to protect your eligible purchases. This can give you additional peace of mind on big-ticket items like TVs and other electronics.
Getting retailer discounts: Many credit card issuers, including Chase and American Express, provide free card offers to members that provide discounts on eligible purchases. If the offers align with your shopping plans, that's some immediate savings on your upcoming purchases.
There's no single best option between cash back and travel rewards, as it comes down to your lifestyle and spending habits. The simplest way to put it is: if you like to travel, consider using travel credit cards for your holiday purchases, as the points or miles you earn can help cover major travel expenses, including flights and lodging.
However, if you're not much of a traveler, earning cash back is an excellent way to help offset purchases you're already planning to make. In many cases, you can redeem cash-back rewards for bank deposits or statement credits, so it's like you're saving money just because you're using a cash-back card for purchases.
Here are common redemption options for rewards credit cards:
If you prefer earning cash back, consider cash-back cards with quarterly rewards categories. These types of cards typically earn elevated rewards rates of up to 5% on different categories each quarter. In many past years, popular retailers like Amazon and others have been included in the fourth quarter categories.
Read more: Chase Freedom categories and Discover rewards calendar
The rewards you earn from a credit card sign-up bonus can help cover past purchases or purchases you're going to make in the future.
For example, let's consider a cash-back card with a bonus offer of $250 after you spend $500 on purchases. After you spend $500 on holiday shopping, you earn the $250 cash-back bonus, and now you generally have these redemption options available:
Statement credit: This applies a statement credit to your account. If you choose this redemption option immediately, your $250 bonus could cover half of the $500 you just spent on holiday gifts and other expenses. Or you can use this option later to cover different expenses you make in the future.
Bank account deposit: This is essentially cash you can use however you please, whether that means covering part of your credit card balance or saving it for an upcoming purchase.
Paper check: This option works like a bank account deposit, but if available, we recommend using the bank deposit option instead, as it's generally safer and more convenient.
Gift cards: We don't typically recommend redeeming your rewards for gift cards unless they're for a specific purpose, such as giving them as a gift. Statement credits and bank deposits are much more flexible options.
Similarly, earning a sign-up bonus on a travel credit card can help cover future travel expenses, including flights, hotel stays, and rental cars.
You should only consider a 0% introductory APR credit card for Black Friday purchases if you plan to pay off the balance before the promotional window expires.
Black Friday and other holiday purchases can be expensive, especially if you're buying electronics. This is why a 0% intro APR credit card can sound appealing: you can make a purchase and not have to pay any interest on it for the duration of the promo period.
However, the APR will typically return to its normal rate after the promo period ends, so it's essential to pay off the balance before then to avoid interest charges.
The biggest risk is that you don't pay off your purchase and end up carrying a balance that accrues interest. A 0% introductory APR credit card can help you avoid interest charges during its promotional period, but there are some things to be aware of:
The promo period will eventually end. The 0% intro APR offer comes with terms and conditions, including an end date for the promotional period. After the offer ends, your APR will revert to the rate stated in the offer terms, and your balance will start accruing interest.
You still have to make payments. You may lose your 0% APR offer if you miss a payment or make a late payment, after which a penalty APR may apply.
These are popular rewards credit cards that offer both purchase protection and extended warranty benefits:
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 Learn more Rates & Fees, terms apply ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. You may be eligible for as high as $300 cash back after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 6 months. (Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Cash back is received as Reward Dollars, redeemable for statement credit or for other select options. Terms Apply.) Learn more Rates & Fees, terms apply Show details Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 Learn more ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 $0 Earn $200 cash back after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening Learn more Show details Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 Learn more ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 $95 Limited-time offer: Enjoy $300 to use on hotel and vacation rental bookings through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening – that’s more than $1,000 in travel value Learn more Show details Chase Freedom Flex® ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 Learn more ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 $0 Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening Learn more Show details Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 Learn more ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 $95 Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Learn more Show details How does credit card purchase protection work? In general, credit card purchase protection covers eligible recently purchased items against damage, theft, or similar circumstances. For example, if you recently purchased a new cell phone for a trip and it was stolen during your travels, you could submit a purchase protection claim.
The terms and conditions vary by card and card issuer, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
Timing: You typically have 90 to 120 days from the date of purchase to start a purchase protection claim.
Repairs vs. replacements: Your claims administrator may determine whether to repair or replace the item.
Limits: Your coverage will likely have a per-item limit, such as $500 or $1,000. That's the maximum amount you can receive from each successful claim. You may have a per-year and per-account limit as well.
Documentation: It's essential that you collect important documents, such as a police report or repair assessment, as your claim administrator will likely ask for them.
Ineligible items: Not all purchases are eligible for purchase protection. For instance, living animals, plants, boats, automobiles, and aircraft typically aren't covered.
Many retail items, such as electronics, come with manufacturer warranties that cover defects, malfunctions, and certain types of damage. Credit card extended warranty coverage will extend an eligible original manufacturer's warranty, often by up to one year.
For instance, if you used your applicable credit card to purchase a laptop with a one-year warranty, you would actually receive two years of warranty protection.
Here are a few things to keep in mind with credit card extended warranty coverage:
Eligible warranties: This coverage often won't provide an additional year of warranty coverage if your item already has three years of warranty coverage.
Limits: Your coverage may have a per-item and/or per-account limit. For instance, it may provide up to $10,000 per item and up to $50,000 per account.
Documentation: To get a head start on your claim, collect all applicable documentation that you can. This could include an itemized sales receipt, a credit card statement, and an original repair estimate or bill.
Ineligible items: Extended warranty coverage may not cover certain items, such as boats, automobiles, aircraft, or computer software.
Co-branded store credit cards for retailers like Amazon or Target are typically only worth it if you almost exclusively shop at those stores. Otherwise, general rewards credit cards make more sense for their flexible rewards rates that apply to just about any retailer or store purchase.
Most credit cards don't provide specific Black Friday offers, but it's common for card issuers to come out with limited-time sign-up bonuses around the holiday season. This makes it easy to find a card that aligns with your lifestyle preferences and then use it for holiday purchases to earn its bonus offer.
Any rewards credit card essentially has a built-in discount through its rewards rate, but some also provide actual discounts at different retailers. For example, if you have an applicable card, you can use Chase Offers, Amex Offers, Citi Merchant Offers, and others to earn rewards on eligible purchases. Keep in mind that you typically have to add or activate an offer before making a purchase.
These credit cards provide elevated rewards on Amazon or other online shopping purchases:
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Keep in mind that the Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back have quarterly bonus categories that you have to activate to earn additional rewards. These categories often include online shopping retailers.
Questions? Comments? News to share? Reach the Personal Finance Credit Cards Team at credit.cards@yahooinc.com
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