One of Chase's newer offerings, it deposits a sweet $50 into your bank account after your first purchase. You receive three percent cash back in your top three spending categories (groceries, gas and retail, for instance), and one percent back for every $1 you spend on other purchases. Every time you earn $200 in rewards, you can redeem them for a $250 check (yep, that’s an added $50 bonus!).

"The unique thing about this card is that there are 15 spending categories — more than any other card offers — that can yield triple rewards, and your top three are automatically updated each month to reflect your latest spending habits," says Curtis Arnold, founder of cardratings.com.

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Carry an existing balance on several credit cards

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The Citi Professional Card

"While this card is aimed at business users, it’s one of my favorites in this category because there are no fees when you take advantage of their zero percent balance transfer offer," says Allan Keiter, president of myrateplan.com. "A good trick is to get a card that offers zero percent transfers and move all your other balances to that card." Don’t use it for any new purchases, though, he cautions. Instead, use a card with a zero percent APR or one with the lowest permanent interest rate you can find.

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Prefer cold, hard cash over frills

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American Express Blue Cash or HSBC Weekend cards

If you're an aggressive charger, the Blue Cash card can't be beat. When you exceed $6,500 in annual purchases, you can earn a five percent rebate on "everyday purchases"— gas, groceries and drug-store items, as long as they don’t come from superstores or ware-house clubs — and 1.5 percent on all other purchases, says Arnold. Plus, it offers the first six months of membership at a zero percent APR, and there’s an automatic redemption feature, which means the money is credited to your account each year without your having to lift a finger. (Note: Until you hit the $6,500 mark, everyday purchases will get you one percent cash back, and you’ll snag 0.5 percent on all other expenses.)

If you find yourself doing most of your errands and shopping on weekends, try HSBC’s Weekend Card: It gives you two percent cash back on purchases made on Saturdays and Sundays, and one percent during the rest of the week.

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Have a long commute to work

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The Discover Open Road Card

With oil prices rising, gas rewards cards are becoming more and more popular, notes Keiter. If a long drive is a daily routine and you’re shelling out big bucks at the pump, they’re definitely worth consid-ering. A favorite of the experts at myrateplan.com, Discover’s Open Road offers a five percent cash rebate on the first $100 of gas and auto maintenance, a good intro offer (zero percent APR on purchases till August 2008 and on balance transfers till February 2009), a low permanent interest rate and no annual fee.

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Carry a balance but pay your bills on time

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The Discover Motiva Card

It offers a rare combination of a low APR and cash rewards. When you make your monthly payment on time six months in a row, you’ll receive your next month’s interest back as a Pay-on-Time cash bonus. That’s two bonuses per year if you manage to pay on time for 12 consecutive months. Plus, you’ll earn up to one percent cash back on every purchase.