2026 Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards

About the Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards
As personal finance experts at Kiplinger, we often review products and services based on fees, interest rates, rewards, online tools and other concrete factors that we can evaluate from the outside. Using that information, we pass along recommendations to our readers, sharing our beliefs on which providers stand above the rest. But as readers, you have valuable insights, too. Customers who use credit cards, banks, brokers, insurance companies and other financial services have everyday experiences that we can't replicate when we make our judgments and so, for the fourth year, we asked our readers to have their say in the Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2026.

We asked readers to tell us about their favorite financial products and services, ranking them on criteria such as their experience with customer service representatives, how likely they are to recommend the providers to others and how satisfied they are overall with the companies or services.

The Readers' Choice Awards 2026 vote is now closed. The results will be announced on Kiplinger.com and in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine later this year.

Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Categories

Rewards Credit Cards

Rewards credit cards offer cash back, points or miles on purchases, helping you to put extra cash in your pocket or offset the cost of flights, hotels and other travel bookings.

We asked readers to rate their experience with the rewards credit card that they use the most in each of four categories: General travel cards, airline program cards, hotel program cards and cash-back cards. We also asked how readers feel about their rewards card's customer service, how likely they are to recommend the card to others, and their overall satisfaction with the card.

Banks

Whether you have a relationship with a large, brick-and-mortar bank or an internet bank, we'd like to know about your experience with the institution that you primarily use for your banking needs, including a checking or savings account.

We asked readers to rate their institution on the strength of its customer service, how likely they are to recommend the bank to others, and their overall satisfaction with the bank.

Brokers

We asked readers about their experience with their primary brokerage firm, including the strength of its customer service, how likely they are to recommend the broker to others, and their overall satisfaction with the broker.

Wealth Managers

Wealth management firms provide holistic financial planning and advisory services, including retirement, tax and estate planning and investment management.

We asked how readers feel about the quality of the financial advice that their wealth manager offers, their level of trust in the wealth manager to provide sound advice, how likely they are to recommend the wealth manager to others, and their overall satisfaction with the wealth manager.

Peer-to-Peer Payment Services

Peer-to-peer payment services allow you to send and receive payments with other individuals. We asked readers to rate the ease of use of these services, how likely they are to recommend them to others, and their overall satisfaction with them.

Tax Software

Tax software helps you prepare and file income tax returns. We asked readers who have used tax software to prepare their returns, to rate the provider on the ease of use of its program, how likely they are to recommend it to others, and their overall satisfaction with it.

Insurance Companies

For primary auto and home insurance companies, we wanted to learn about readers' feelings on the competitiveness of the rates they charge, their experience with the claims process, and how likely they are to recommend the insurance company to others.

Annuities

We wanted to understand more about readers' experience with annuities and their overall satisfaction with these products.

IRA Providers

In a new category for 2026, we asked for readers' opinions on IRA providers. We'd like to know about readers' experience with the investment choices and customer service, as well as if they would recommend it to others.