Here are the Best Credit Cards for Home Renovations

Renovating your home is almost always a great idea. You’re likely boosting the value of your home, gaining valuable tax write-offs, and adding features you’ll enjoy. While planning for what you want the final product to look like is important, so is preparing for the financial aspect.

According to HomeAdvisor, the cost of the average home improvement project is $46,000. This bill may sound monstrous to some, but with the right strategy, any small or large home improvement expense can evolve into valuable credit card rewards. Those rewards are something you just can’t get with a home improvement loan.

Your home renovation project will likely be a ton of work, but the right financial strategy can drive down the associated costs. Here are the best credit cards to use for home renovations — and how to use them for maximum rewards.

How to choose the best credit card for home renovations

The first thing to ask yourself is this: Do you have the money to pay off your home improvement-related bills immediately? If you’re charging your project expenses to credit cards with high interest rates and not paying them off, the value of your rewards will be diminished by the interest you’ll have to pay. However, if you have the cash to pay these bills, you can earn valuable rewards without the expense of interest.

Next, ask yourself this: What are you looking for in a credit card? Are you looking to earn valuable travel rewards to take a vacation after your renovations are complete? Are you aiming to lower your bottom line through cash back? Or do you need a card with an extended intro 0% APR (annual percentage rate)?

Regardless of your aspirations, it’s vital to start with your desired end result and work backward to find a product that matches your needs. To help you sort through all the options, I’ve put together a list of the five best personal credit cards and two best business cards for your home improvement projects or office remodels. I’ll also explain the best strategy for using one or more of these cards to maximize your cashback or travel rewards.

The 5 best personal credit cards for home renovations

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card is one of the best rewards credit cards for travel. Known for its valuable rewards, robust perks, and low annual fee, this card is a slam dunk for anyone wanting to earn rewards with the goal of travel.

However, it’s important to be aware of Chase’s 5/24 rule, which excludes any aspiring Chase cardholders who have had more than five credit applications in the past 24 months. Given this, if you’re brand new to optimizing your use of credit cards, you'll want to open any new Chase cards first.

Learn more in our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review.

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

The Chase Freedom Unlimited^® is a great card to drive down the bottom line of your project. It comes with a generous welcome offer: you can earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).

Not to mention you earn 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and 3% cash back on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Along with this, you’ll have a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 15 months (then 19.99% - 28.74% Variable). So, if you anticipate carrying a balance for a bit due to the size of your home improvement project, this card may be a good fit for you. 

Learn more in our Chase Freedom Unlimited® review.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Platinum Card^® from American Express is a heavy-hitting card with a robust suite of travel benefits. This card is great for someone who travels moderately (i.e., more than five times a year). The card does come with a heavy annual fee of $695, but you can get back the vast majority of the value if you travel a decent amount.

Note this isn’t the easiest card to qualify for. As such, this card is great for someone with a good-to-excellent credit score who has the financial means to pay off their home improvement expenses in full each month.

Learn more in our Platinum Card® from American Express review.

Chase Freedom Flex^®

The Chase Freedom Flex^® has quarterly rotating reward categories. Each quarter, you have the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories you activate (on up to $1,500 spent) and travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service); and 1% cash back on all other purchases. That $1,500 cap equates to $75 cash back. 

Along with this, you can earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. 

You’ll also have a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases (then 19.99% - 28.74% Variable) in case you need more time to pay your renovation expenses. This card is great for someone looking for payment flexibility when it comes to their home improvement project expenses.

Learn more in our Chase Freedom Flex® review.

Citi Double Cash^® Card

The Citi Double Cash^® Card is great for someone looking for no-fuss cashback results. You earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25. There are no categories to worry about and no annual fee, so your earnings will come easily as long as you pay your statement balances.

In addition, if you’re looking for a balance transfer card, this could be a great choice for you. There’s a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers (then 18.49% - 28.49% (Variable) APR). This can be an excellent way to consolidate your balances into one card with an extended period of no interest. So, if your home improvement expenses end up higher than you expect, this card could come in handy for helping you pay them off.

Learn more in our Citi Double Cash® Card review. 

The 2 best business cards for office or home improvement

As a business owner, you have even more options for credit cards. If you’re interested in an office remodel, consider the cards below for your project:

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a great choice for simply saving money. The generous early spend bonus means you could be scoring cash back quickly on your home improvement project. And after that, you’ll continue to enjoy earning unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, every day; plus unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

Learn more in our Capital One Spark Cash Plus review. 

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is perfect for someone aspiring to travel after their renovation project is complete. Once you earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, you’ll be well on your way to your next vacation. This card can also serve your business long after your office remodel is done, since you can earn 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases.

Learn more in our Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card review.

Honorable mention

If you have a Lowe’s in your area, it offers its own credit card, which is worth mentioning. The MyLowe’s Rewards Credit Card is a very simple option, giving you 5% off all Lowe’s purchases.

This card offers 0% interest for six months on orders above $299. But if the purchases aren’t paid in full by the end of the six months, you’ll be charged deferred interest. That means you’ll have to pay the full interest all the way back to the purchase date. Given this card’s high standard APR, that can be a costly mistake. If you decide to apply for the MyLowe’s Rewards Card, it’s best to pay off all your purchases each statement period.

Learn more in our MyLowe’s Rewards Credit Card review.

Methodology

Choosing a credit card for your expenses is very much a personal choice. You should select a card based on your priorities and goals. If your priority when it comes to your office or home improvement project is saving money, then a cashback card would suit you best. If travel is most important to you, a travel card would get you the rewards you need for a post-project holiday.

That said, there’s a method to our madness at FinanceBuzz. Here are the reasons we selected the credit cards mentioned above as the best credit cards for renovations:

• Each card has a valuable bonus or spending category (or both).
• Some of the cards come with an intro 0% APR that can be useful for those who don’t have the cash to pay up front for their project.
• There’s value to be extracted from each of these cards beyond the timeline of your home improvement project.

The bottom line on the best credit cards for home renovations

While all of these cards are valuable, you don’t have to limit yourself to just one. A multi-card strategy might earn you the most rewards. Consider laying out a game plan for all your expenses and pairing them with cards.

For example, the situation below is designed for maximized returns on a $15,000 project:

If you were to follow the exact budget laid out above, you’d net $75 in cash back; 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards; and 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards. If you value those Chase and American Express rewards at a modest one cent per point, they’re worth an additional $1,400. In all, that’s $1,475 in welcome offers.

To top it all off, this doesn’t include any of the perks or benefits of each card, such as TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee reimbursement or Priority Pass membership. Note that select benefits require enrollment on the Amex Platinum.

Earning valuable rewards through home improvement

With a large expense such as a home improvement project, there’s a ton of value to be earned from using credit cards to purchase labor and materials. However, credit cards aren’t right for everyone. You can always consider applying for a personal loan or home equity loan. These two options are very different, but each can help get you to the end result of a beautifully renovated home.

Lucrative, Flat-Rate Cash Rewards

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

5.0

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

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Rates and fees

Current Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Low spend threshold for its welcome offer — $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
• Cell phone protection benefit (subject to a $25 deductible)
• Can redeem rewards at an ATM for literal cash

Drawbacks

• Foreign transaction fee of 3%
• No bonus categories

Card Details

• Select “Apply Now” to take advantage of this specific offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
• Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
• 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% Variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5.
• $0 annual fee.
• No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
• Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
• Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.