Smart decisions start with our list of top financial products
This year’s Best-Of Awards list has arrived. Our Nerds researched and selected the top products in every category so you’re confident your next financial decision is a smart one.
Check out the winners
What makes our list one-of-a-kind
Rigorous evaluations
Our Nerds dug down to the last detail to bring you this year’s best financial products. We scrutinized rates, scoured rewards, and studied the fine print on 1,000+ products.
Objective decisions
While some of our winners may be partners, it never influences our decisions. Only products that meet our editorial team's strict standards make the final list.
Comprehensive scope
From credit cards to mortgages to investing platforms, our list has everything you need to take the first step toward your smartest year yet.
Get to know some of our Nerds
These objective financial experts are dedicated to helping you make smart financial decisions. 39 Nerds with a combined 493 years of journalistic experience spent hundreds of hours working on the Best-Of Awards, researching 1,000+ products to bring you this year’s best.
Explore the list by category
Frequently asked questions
NerdWallet's award winners are chosen through a rigorous evaluation process involving 39 writers and editors. NerdWallet's ratings formulas for credit cards, for example, consider the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel, or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards, and other features. For mortgages, we evaluate loan average rates and fees, loan types and products, online rate information, ease of application and other factors. For more info, see our methodologies.
Our team of nerdy experts is composed of writers and editors — based all across the country — who have a combined 493 years of journalistic experience reviewing and writing about personal finance products for consumers.
Yes. Writers and editors use comprehensive scoring formulas that assess each financial product’s key features, weighting them according to their importance to consumers.
Nope. Editorial team members are solely responsible for creating all product reviews and ratings, and these assessments reflect their opinions alone. Only products that meet the editorial team’s standards appear in our Best-Of Awards lists, meaning no company can “buy” an award.
Our Best-Of Awards are given annually to the top financial products on the market. Our other “best” articles may:
• be longer than our Best-Of Awards list
• offer additional consumer choices
• get updated as products change or are discontinued and as new products emerge
This year's Best-Of-Awards list winners were chosen in mid-October 2023, with the exception of Best Airline Rewards Program, which was chosen in early November 2023. Student loan winners were chosen in early April 2024.
Our 2023 Best-Of Award winners are still live. If you’d like to see who won last year, feel free to take a look and compare with this year’s winners.
NerdWallet is not an investment advisor and does not provide investment advice. The list provides information and education for potential investors. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise that investors buy or sell particular stocks or securities.
