Cash back credit cards can help consumers practice responsible spending while earning a little extra for their efforts when used properly. It wasn’t long ago that the best cash back credit cards were offering rewards as high as 5% for all purchases, but that is unfortunately no longer the case.
Today’s cash back credit cards are all similar in nature, generally offering 1% cash back on all purchases. However, if you look hard enough, you’ll find a number of credit cards with higher cash rebates than just 1%. This article lists the best cash back credit cards you can find today, and I update the article when there is new information to share. Along with a brief description of each of the best cards, I have included the cash back percentages and any tiers or restrictions, so there are no surprises if your cash back credit card isn’t earning as much as you first thought. Keep in mind that in order to make credit card with rewards programs worthwhile, you must avoid interest charges and late fees by paying your bill on time and in full every single month.
Editor’s choice
Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express. Of all the cash back cards available, this offers the possibility of earning maximum rewards. The Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express Card offers $100 cash back bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months as well as 3% cash back on supermarket purchases, 2% cash back on gas and department store purchases and 1% cash back on everything else. This card is a new version of the standard Blue Cash Card and it even offers a $25 referral bonus. Blue Cash Everyday℠ from American Express also includes a 0% introductory offer on purchases for 12 months and carries no annual fee.
Because there are no limits to the cash back rewards and no need to track rotating categories, the Blue Cash Everyday credit card from American Express is the top pick as your “workhouse” cash back card. If you make your regular household purchases on this card, you should be able to get substantial cash back over the course of the year.
Chase Freedom® Visa. The Chase Freedom Visa offer combines a powerful cash back program with a strong introductory offer. In order to qualify for the $100 bonus, new cardholders must spend $500 during the first three months. The card also offers a 0% APR for an introductory period of 15 months on both balance transfers and purchases. After the introductory period, purchases and transfers are subject to a variable APR currently between 12.99% and 22.99%.
The Chase Freedom Visa offers a standard 1% cash back on all purchases, as well as the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on select categories of purchases throughout the year, subject to a maximum. Every three months, the categories in which you can earn 5% cash back change — so, for example, January through March could be gas stations and Amazon.com, April through June might be grocery stores and movie theaters, July through September could be gas stations and restaurants while October through December could be hotels, airlines, Best Buy and Kohl’s. In order to qualify for the 5% cash back, you must have an account in good standing and follow the terms and conditions set forth by Chase. Categories are announced to cardholders before they happen, so look out for updates from Chase. The card requires no annual fee.
Discover® More Card – 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer. The Discover® More® Card has a tricky cash back rewards program. For the first $3,000 in purchases, cardholders will earn 0.25% cash back then 1% on all purchases after that. Just like the Chase Freedom® Card, the Discover® More® Card offers 5% cash back on rotating categories throughout the year, but there is a cap on the amount of money you can earn with 5% cash back. If you’ve reached your limit, you will only receive 1% on all remaining purchases. If your account is inactive for 18 months or you fail to make your minimum payment for two consecutive months, all rewards will be forfeited. Finally, warehouse purchases (like Costco or Sam’s Club) will always earn 0.25% cash back, no matter what spending level you have reached.
This version of the Discover More Card comes with a 0% introductory offer on balance transfers for 18 months, one of the longest offers available, and there is no annual fee.
Discover® Open Road. After earning 0.25% on the first $3,000 in purchases in a year, cardholders begin earning 1% cash back on all purchases. Gasoline expenses and restaurant spending do even better, earning you 2% cash back for up to $250 in combined spending each billing period in those categories. If you live your life on the road, traveling from town to town and paying your credit card in full every month, this could be a beneficial offer.
Discover® Motiva Card. The Discover Motiva Card offers a cash back program similar to the Discover More Card. Earn 0.25% cash back on the first $3,000 spent using the card and 1% cash back thereafter. There is a unique twist; 5% of any interest charges are credited back to your account. For example, if you pay a $10 interest fee one month, you’ll receive $0.50 cash back. Keep in mind that cash back reward programs are most effective when you do not carry a balance from month to month, but if you’re working on paying down a large balance, this could help reduce your interest cost.
Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card. This card offers 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back on rotating categories throughout the year. The cash back is limited to $300 annually, but this offer includes a $100 bonus after spending $500 during the first three months of owning the card, which is earned above and beyond the cash back. This card also features a 0% introductory offer on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months and carries no annual fee.
True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express. The True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express has a tiered cash back program. Cardholders can earn 3% cash back on gasoline purchases, 2% cash back on travel and restaurants, and 1% cash back on everything else, including warehouse clubs like Costco. Once you’ve spent $3,000 in annual gasoline purchases, your rebate falls back down to 1%. There are no limits to cash back received on restaurants and travel. In addition, the card comes with an introductory rate of 0% on purchases for six months. If you have a Costco membership, the True Earnings® Card from Costco and American Express carries no annual fee.
IBERIABANK Visa® Gold Card. The IBERIABANK Visa® Gold Card made this list for a few reasons. First, the card offers a flat 1% cash back on all qualifying purchases. Second, there is no annual fee associated with this card, so it’s an inexpensive option. Lastly, this card offers a low interest rate. Customers receive an APR of 9.25%, 12.25% or 15.25%, which is about as good as you can do these days. The IBERIABANK Visa® Gold Card is a plain cash back credit card, without anything special, just a very solid offer.
PenFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card. The PenFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card offers 5% cash back on gasoline purchases paid at the pump. Certain restrictions may apply. Earn 0.25% cash back on all net purchases. The card also has a reasonably low interest rate with no annual fee. The catch is that you have to be a member of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. That means you must be a United States Government employee, member of the United States Military and Uniformed Services, employee or volunteer of the American Red Cross, or a family member/housemate of a current PenFed member. Or, another option to establish your membership eligibility to Pentagon Federal Credit Union is, you may become a member of the National Military Family Association, or Voices for America’s Troop (there is a low one-time fee to join one of these two organizations).
If you’re holding on to a cash back credit card that you feel deserves to make this list, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below. If the offer is good, I’ll add it to this best cash back credit cards list.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Updated May 16, 2012 and originally published January 25, 2012. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Does anyone have the history of the rotating categories of the Citi® Dividend World MasterCard.
I’m interested if the #$&*! categories aren’t in perfect alignment with other cards using the “Category Rotation” methods.
However, if they rotated their 5% and the categories are different, I could easily determine which card to use based on a particular month. (ie. if one card offered 5% in gas Jan- Mar and another offered 5% from Jun-Aug) I’d just switch the card I used to pay for gas based on the one that paid me the most cash back.
A comment about the Chase Freedom Card. (At least for me when I applied) If you have a Checking account with them, they will give you an additional 10% of the 1% for a total of 1.1% back. Plus for each transaction they give you an additional tiny amount back. (like $.01 for each transaction)
I didn’t see the Bank of America card which offers 3% for gas(with a spending cap), 2% for groceries(with a spending cap), and 1% for everything else. If you have a Bank of America checking account they pay an additional 10% of your reward if you deposit the money into your BAC checking account.
HSBC has a credit card that pays 2% flat rate, no restrictions or annual fee. I recently set up all my recurring monthly bills to be paid automatically with this card. It makes a lot more sense to earn 2% cash back paying with that than it does paying straight out of my checking account.
do you have a link to this offering? I can’t find that particular card paying 2% & no annual. thanks
I can’t find the HSBC card you’re referring to. The only thing HSBC offers is the first 6 months at 2%, afterwards it falls to 1%.
Household Bank Rewards Card.
They have closed sign-ups. (no word on when or if they will re-open; but, this isn’t the first time they’ve closed sign-ups) You can only sign up for their non-rewards cards.
Plus, the required credit score was pretty low for the decent rewards.
good article too by the way
As for the Penfed 5% Gas cash back CC, you must be a member of their union. However, to become a member, all you need to do is make a $15 donation to their organization serving troops and invest $5 into your own share account as the minimum. From their, your entitled to all of the credit union’s benefits including some amazing loan rates. I just got my card 2 weeks ago : )
Another great benefit to this card is they pay you your cash back each month as a credit to your account statement.
Yup, I had this card for one year – and just got a mailing from them saying they are cutting their cash-back rate on non-gas purchases from 1% down to 0.25%.
Time to find another card and cancel this one.
Yes Chuck,
Same thing just happened to us. All the reasons we chose this card are now gone. And…we’ve mentioned a number of times how you can’t download your transactions so you can plug them into quicken or your choice software & they basically said you can download a pdf of the statement or you need to download them right before the new cycle. I’m sure the troops overseas keeping track of their money sit at their computers so they can download their transaction history. Our relationship with Pen Fed will soon be over.
Maybe this is new, but you may want to update the Citi Dividend World Mastercard details. You have on there that you get a $100 bonus after $500 in the first three months, well I applied and got approved about a week ago for that card, but with a $200 bonus after $500 in the first three months. Anyways, I’m looking forward to getting that card!
Good article, I am looking to switch my everyday use card.
I am currently have Pentagon Federal Credit Union card, and just got a notice yesterday. They are lowering the interests rate (useless for me as I payoff every statement) and LOWERING the 1% rebate to 0.25% starting Feb 2012.
So you might need to drop it from your list.
Jonathan
Extremely helpful article as I am looking for a new everyday use card. Here is my dilemma: I spend most of my money on groceries, gas and misc shopping items at either Sams Club or Wal-Mart. According to many of the card offers, Sams Club does not qualify as a grocer due to their Merchant Category Code. In fact, my wife’s Sam’s Discover Card only gives her.25 % back on purchases. Any recommendations on the best card if your primary purchases are from these outlets on a routine basis?
You generally can’t find good cash back deals at warehouse stores because the prices are generally lower per unit. The AmEx Costco TruEarnings card could be a good option if you shop at Costco stores, free for Costco members.
I pay the $100 Plus member fee to get up to 2% back on my Sam’s Club Discover; the deal has annual spending levels where the % back increases whenever you pass a level threshold. I pay for almost everything with that card and pay off the balance each month to avoid interest. I’m honestly not sure it’s the best deal available, but I typically get back over $400 at the end of the year, so it’s been worth the extra $70 over a standard individual membership to me
PenFed is cutting their cash back for general purchases to .25% as of Feb. 1. Still get 5% at the pump though.
I just signed up for the $200 cash back Chase Freedom card. I spent $500 on some much needed things (i.e. new tires, car maintenance), and now I can receive my $200 cash back. Not to mention….I am getting 5% cash back on all these purchases.
This is great info. I was switched by Chase to the Freedom card a few months ago. My original card with them always paid 5% back on gas, groceries and drugstores. That was a slammin’ good deal. They cut that back before changing to the Freedom card. It’s not bad, but I sure miss that original deal.
My card is the best. 6% groceries, 3% gas & department, 1% everything else.
And what would that be?
It’s the AMEX with the annual fee, like $95 or $75 or something.
Which cards would be best “longterm” once the signing bonuses have been used?
I have my wife delivery expenses coming up in this month, any idea which card would give maximum cash back on hospital / medicines expenses. I did get my Chase Freedom today, is it advisable to apply another card immediately, or it might hurt my credit real bad. thanks.
Pen Fed is changing the Platinum Cash Rewards card which is why I was on this site.
Fidelity AMEX card is the best deal going. 2% unlimited into a Fidelity Investment account. Can’t beat that. To all of you deal seekers out there. If you’re not getting at least $.01 / Point you’re getting taken.
The “Fidelity Investment Rewards” American Express card can give a 2% cash back return, which can be redeemed $50 at a time. The perks aren’t as huge as some other cards, but a card that gives back 2% with no limits sounds promising.
Are there any major shortcomings on this card that I’m not seeing?
Thanks!
That’s a good card. The only shortcomings as I see it are the requirement to have a Fidelity investment account of some type. If you already have one, that works out well. Fidelity does have some low-cost investment options, and you could likely just use a money market account/fund for collecting your 2% savings. Personally, I prefer cards that do not restrict your rewards to a certain account… but that might only be a small concern for some. With 2% cash back for all purchases, you don’t need to worry about enrolling in quarterly cash back programs and other nuisances.
I have this card. It requires $2500 to sign up for a new fidelity account. Then you apply for the card and link it to the account. As long as you maintain $2500 in your fidelity account (in cash or stocks), you won’t get slapped by an investment account annual fee. You can redeem your points monthly to your account and withdraw them from your account whenever you like.
It is my “workhouse card”. while I might be getting only 2% cash back for gas or restaurants, I’m getting 2% for everything else as well. I shop at costco and get 2% on warehouse spending. (I think) the costco amex only gives you 1%.
PNC Bank has a card that offers 1.75% cash back on all purchaes, no caps.
I’ve discovered some cards tout their points earnings, but when you cash them in for a specific purpose, they require more than a point for point exchange. For example I have a Choice Rewards card with the primary purpose of earning hotel/motel points. They also allow you to use the points for gasoline cards etc… A room rate of $80 costs 8,000 points/cents OKAY, but to purchase a $50 gas exchange requires 16,000 points/cents or $160 worth of points. If a member has a CHASE AARP card, they can cash in their points as one-for-one. Each point returns 1cent. How do the above mentioned cards stack up on cashing in the points?
Don,
That’s the case sometimes with cards offering “points,” but these cash back cards earn cash back as indicated above. 1% cash back means you can cash in $1 for every qualifying $100 you spend. You may have to reach a certain level before receiving the cash back, but 1% means 1%.
That’s not always the case with cards where you earn points, like 1 point for every $1.
Amex was good, not so much any more. High tier $6500 to get off the .25%. Used to be 2% after that plateau. They have continued to lower it and now are down to 1.0% after $6500. Will not be with them much longer. Also they charge vendors the highest fee,s for any credit cards. Can you say corporate greed so the boss gets a bigger Christmas bonus.
I am looking for a cash back rewards credit card primarily to use for fuel. My husband is an owner operator of his own trucking business and we will typically spend around $100,000 annually in diesel fuel. The PenFed Visa card looks the most promising, however I was wondering if the cash back rewards for gas included diesel fuel, if there was a maximum amount that can be received in cash back rewards from the PenFed card, and if there are any other cash rewards credit cards with a higher % gas cash rewards?
Randi, I’m fairly certain the card companies can’t distinguish between gasoline and diesel.As long as you pay at the pump, it shows up on your statement the same therefore you should be good on diesel.
Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards Card. 2% on everything, no limit and no annual fee. You do need a Fidelity account to convert your points into cash. If you convert points via other methods provided, you will not get the 2%. I just have a small Fidelity account so I can get the 2%. Best card by far!
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