Every week, cash back credit card deals are decreasing. American Express recently emailed me to let me know that they have lowered the cash back rate on their SimplyCash Business Card from 5% to 3% on gas station purchases. If this is your card, it might be time to seek out another deal.
Here are a few suggestions designed to maximize your cash back based on your spending habits.
Blue Cash from American Express.
If you use credit cards for most of your spending, you might like this card. While the first yearly $6,500 of your spending is subject to only 1% cash back on “everyday” purchases (including purchases at gas stations, supermarkets, and drug stores) and 0.5% cash back on everything else, once you pass that threshold, you will earn 5% cash back on your “everyday” purchases and 1.5% cash back on everything else.
If you’re not a heavy spender on your credit cards but you’re still looking for the best deal, the Discover Open Road Card may be a good choice. You will earn 5% cash back of the first $100 you spend each month on gas and auto maintenance. In other categories, you will earn 0.25% or 0.50% cash back. Spend more than $3,000 over the entire year and you’ll earn 1% cash back on your spending in excess of this minimum.
TrueEarnings Card from Costco and American Express.
Even if you don’t shop at Costco, this card provides a good cash back bonus. You can earn 3% back on gas, as long as you don’t buy 75 gallons or more in one transaction. There’s no yearly limit to this cash back, however. The catch here, as you might have guessed, is that you must be a member of Costco in order to qualify for this card.
Note: This is a “business” card, but you can apply as an individual.
Chase BP Visa Rewards Card (no longer available).
If you’re loyal to these brands of gasoline, this card provides a strong 5% cash back rebate for your purchases at BP or Amoco stations. You’ll also receive a 2% cash back rebate in other categories and 1% cash back on everything else (except gasoline sold at gas stations branded with anything other than BP or Amoco). BP has low prices on the path of my commute, but usually not the lowest. The question is whether the larger cash back amount will offset the slightly higher price.
As with any rewards-offering credit cards, taking advantage of cash back depends on your ability not to carry a balance, accrue interest, or pay late fees. Any method of using a rewards credit card other than paying the balance in full every month will negate any benefit offered by the issuer.
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8:06 am (reply)
I use Blue Cash for EVERYTHING. I pay it off every month and have so far earned over $500 this year cash back. It’s going in the vacation fund.
9:24 am (reply)
Chase PerfectCard Mastercard gives 3% cash back for gas station purchases of up to $500/month (not just gasoline!) and 1% back on all other purchases – no limit. These are actual cash amounts subtracted from your balance due each month… no need to accumulate “points” or submit rebate requests. I pay everything with this card just because it’s effortless on my part.
9:29 am (reply)
For the Costco card, there is an individual and business card. For individual, it is 3% on gas and for business, it is 5%.
2:37 pm (reply)
I earn my measly $5 on my discover card and use it for little else (i’ve had it for years). My other card is a Chase Freedom Visa, which has solid all around cash back. The blue cash is nice, but I think it would take me awhile to hit the $6500, even charging all my expenses.
1:17 pm (reply)
A Great card few know about: Pentagon Federal Credit Union rewards card.
5% on gas, 2% on groceries, 1.25% on everything else. No points, no checks, no application for rewards. Your monthly statement just has the rebate applied to it.
Like most credit unions, there are requirements to join. You have to have an affiliation with the military. But, if you never served, nor had a family member that did, or never worked with the military, you can buy into the National Military Family Association, which is open to all Americans. The NMFA has yearly dues, but you don’t need to stay current to remain a member. So, you pay $20 for a one year subscription, don’t renew, and you’ve got a great card.
http://www.penfed.org
10:36 pm (reply)
So, I checked out that Pentagon website. I have a family member who’s military, so I started walking through the steps to sign up. After 30 minutes of field after field in filing to join the credit union, I clearly clicked to sign up for the rewards card and ended up on a page where I was now filling out loan information. This was the most frustrating, backwards application process I’d ever been through. I gave up. Figures, it’s a government web site. Maybe I’ll try again if I have some signup info/user name info in my inbox when I check, but it was truly frustrating.
I do use the other cards and blog about our cash back rewards and what we use them for about monthly. Been doing this for years and it’s a great tool if you don’t carry a balance.
1:13 am (reply)
@Dan:
Yeah, the site itself is not great, and looks like it was built in the 90’s. Secure though. I’ve had much better luck just calling them. Very friendly customer service, and it clears through a lot of crap.
As for the signin/userinfo, they’ll mail you some stuff you need to register the account with.
Also, don’t bother looking at their checking accounts. They have a basic billpay service for free, but their “premium” service costs money. I keep the $5 minimum savings, and the card, and that’s it.
They also boast very low loan rates (car loans and such), but I’ve never tried, so I can’t give any recommendations.
So, summing up:
Rewards card: Great rewards, uncomplicated, saves money.
Credit union itself: Too much paperwork, crappy looking website, entire process still depends on snailmail, good customer service, other accounts not worth switching banks for.