What is the best cash back credit card?

catsareniice1 · January 2015

I currently have a Defenders of Wildlife credit card from Bank of America. The rewards are 1% back for all purchases, except 2% back on groceries and 3% back on gas.

Does anyone know of a card with better cash return?

I always pay my balance off by the end of the billing cycle.

als1982 · January 2015

How much do you charge a month/year? The cards that earn the most points or miles typically have an annual fee so you'd want to weigh that cost against however much you spend.

SmrBrd2012 · January 2015

I like the Amazon Chase CC. 3% back on Amazon purchases, 2% on gas station/restaurants, 1% on everything else. The cash can only be used for future Amazon purchases though. I love Amazon so I get use out of it.

hoffse · January 2015

If you really want to work points, you need multiple cards. H and I have 9 cards and use 3 of them regularly. The others are for occasional purchases at specific stores or for traveling out of the country.

Probably the best flat-rate cash back card is the Fidelity American Express card. It's 2% back on everything. Every time you earn $50 in rewards (which is $2500 in purchases) they automatically deposit the cash into your account at the beginning of the next month. The only catch to this one is you have to have a Fidelity account. They are free to open. There is no annual fee.

Assuming you pay your card off in full each month, there's that new card I've seen advertised that gives you 1% back when you buy and 1% back when you pay. So this is also 2% back. I can't remember the name of it though.

I've looked for years for a deal better than 2% back, and I've never run across it. All the other cards that offer more than that are either tied to a specific store or category of shopping (ie: gas) or the categories rotate and you have to register your card every quarter to get the rewards. 2% back is the best flat rate I've ever found if you want to just earn rewards and not have to think about it.

That said, if you want to get into points you need multiple cards to maximize the cash back you earn. We have:

Fidelity AmEx: most of our daily spending goes on this - 2% back on everything

Amazon Visa card: 3% back at Amazon.com and 1% back on everything else. This is the card we use for those few vendors who don't take AmEx

Target RedCard: 5% off your Target purchase at the cash register

Costco AmEx: 3% back on gas at all gas stations. This has an annual fee, but it's our Costco membership, which we would buy anyway (business members get 4% back)

Pottery Barn card: 10% back on all purchases and a few times a year they do 20% back. Rewards come as a gift card.

Kohls: 15%, 20%, and 30% off coupons if you use the card. We only shop at Kohls when we get the 30% off coupons in the mail.

Macys: Regularly get 10-15% off purchases at Macys with the Macy's card. We only use it when they are running that deal.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union visa: One of the few chip & PIN cards you can get in the US. Also has no foreign transaction fee to convert currency. This is the card we take overseas, and it's really the only time we use it.

Capitol One card: H's first card that also has no foreign transaction fee. This is the "backup" card we travel with in case our PenFed card gets pickpocketed. We carry the PenFed card on us and keep the Capital One card in the hotel safe. I buy a pack of gum with it once a year to keep it active, since we hardly ever use it. We mostly keep it because of the credit history with it and because it's our only mastercard.

We don't have an airline card because we don't fly often enough yet. At some point we might start traveling for our job(s), and if that happens then we will probably open a Southwest card or some other card that gives good miles. I have a personal rule that I want to be able to redeem my rewards at least once a year - because the T&Cs on them can change at any time. Until we travel more often, we wouldn't be able to redeem airline rewards that frequently. There are a few on this board who work airline miles pretty well, and they can speak to that better than I can.

Some people are anti-credit-card-rewards because you have to spend to earn. The real key is to make sure your spending doesn't increase. There are things you have to buy anyway - gas, groceries, clothes, your cell phone bill, etc. Pay for those with credit cards and you'll earn points on stuff you were going to be paying for anyway. Just make sure you always ALWAYS pay off the card in full each month. We do pretty well with rewards. In 2014 we earned well over $1000 in rewards simply by paying with our cards strategically.

hoffse · January 2015

One other point - the people who manage to fund their lifestyle with credit card points really just chase sign-up bonuses. Most cards give you some bonus reward for signing up and charging $x to the card within a certain time period. There are a lot of people who successfully open and close cards all the time to work sign-up bonuses. This can affect your credit, though, and you have to be really on your game to not lose track of it.

formerlyGDaisy09 · January 2015

We also have several cards that we work for points. some of what you choose to sign-up for depends on your life-style and where you choose to shop.

our first card was an LLBean Visa card (we live up north and are usually in need of a winter coat or snow boots between the two of us, their wrinkle free shirts for men are also some of the best dress shirts we've found for H, I LOVE their flip-flops) we get 5% back at LLBean and 1% everywhere else. this card has our highest limit so big purchases go on it.

We also have a kohl's card...really it isn't worth shopping at kohl's unless you have their card. we only shop when we have a 30% coupon.

We have a limited selection of stores in our area, one of which is TJMaxx, so we have one of their master cards, we earn 5% when we shop at TJMaxx and 1% elsewhere

We have an Amazon visa card (3% on amazon, 2% on gas/restaurants, and 1% on everything else)

I have a banana republic card they often offer card members a deeper discount, I earn 5% on banana purchases and they often send incentives like earn an extra $10 when you make 3 purchases outside the gap brand (so I charged a couple small purchases I was making anyways (yarn for a baby hat for a friend, our annual dog park membership, and our groceries for the week).

The other one we have that isn't really for points is a CareCredit account, which our vet's office accepts, the incentive here is that any charge over $200 is interest free for 6 months from the date it's charged...just offers us a little cushion should one of our pets have an emergency.

cbee817 · January 2015

We pay everything off in full each month and use our credit cards for everything we can.

Target- 5% right off the bill- also use cartwheel and get free shipping on anything online.

Banana Republic Luxe- free shipping, free basic alterations, $10 for every 1,000 points (but it's 5 points for every $1) plus they always offer 30-50% off and it's good at Old Navy, Gap, BR, Piperlime, and Athleta. We pretty much buy all of our clothes from there anyway- especially for the girls that grow like weeds.

Citicards- 1 point for every $1, 2 points for gas.. not great, but they're our oldest cards so we keep them.

Capital One - 1.5% cash back. I usually use this card for larger bills like car repairs/car insurance renewal (we pay a lump sum once a year). It also does not have a foreign exchange fee- we're about 30 minutes from the Canadian border so it's used for that as well.

American Express- just opened this one to get the 0% APR for 15 months, free Amazon Prime for 1 year, and $100 back when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. They also have 1 point for every $1 you spend. We had a huge sewer repair bill at $8,200 so getting 15 months to pay it back interest free is great. We easily have the money in savings, but the extra perks with this card was worth opening it.

Like @hoffse said, if you're responsible with it, credit cards are great. I hate having cash and I never use my debit card for security reasons... these credit cards definitely save us $ every year.

mana8503 · January 2015

We put gas on our AAA rewards through Bank of America. We get 3x for AAA purchases, 2x for gas and pharmacy, 1x for everything else. This usually pays for our membership each year plus a few gift cards for Christmas.

Groceries, eating out, etc goes on our PNC cash builder. We get 1.75% back. It keeps building, but we need to decide on what to use it for. We might do a weekend getaway for our 3 year anniversary in September. I think then I'll be ready for my parents to watch E overnight...

als1982 · January 2015

We leverage for travel, so might not be much help, but we have the following:

Chase United: In the past 2 years, I've used this for United flights to Hawaii and London/Paris. We have enough points right now to also pay for 3 nights in London/Paris or we might keep saving those to fly first class on our next international trip. This card comes with a $98 annual fee.

Chase Southwest: H earned enough miles though a combination of actual flights, CC spend and other ways (portal purchases and dining rewards etc.) to earn the companion pass. This means anytime he flies, I fly free. We've used this for about half a dozen free trips in 2014 plus flying his dad here this winter. Unlike United, I'm not sure if you can use this for hotels, however, you do get double points for qualifying travel expenses (hotels, car rentals, etc.) which United does not do. This card comes with a $98 annual fee.

Capital One: We have the no annual fee version. I believe it offers 1.5 points per dollar. We did use this one during our wedding for cash back. It's no longer our primary card, but we keep it for my credit score as it's the card I've had the longest. Card can be used for both cash and travel and the points for travel offer a much better value.

Barclay Arrival Plus: This is a pin and chip card, although I've never had issues with other standard US credit cards abroad. This is our newest, and is different in that it allows you to redeem points for past travel. It gives you up to 120 days to earn enough points to cover the cost. This card has a $98 annual fee that is waived the first year.

strickland8052 · January 2015

LOVE my Chase Freedom card. They offer 1% cash back on everything and 5% cash back on a certain category that changes every quarter (right now it is groceries). On top of that, they have a rewards mall where you can shop at regular online retailers like Amazon or whoever else. If you use the rewards mall to get to the online retailer and then pay with your Chase card, you can get up to like 15% cash back.

It has no annual fee and amazing customer service.

They also have really good sign up bonuses. I received $300 when I first signed up. Then I referred my husband and parents, and they got the same bonus plus I got $50 for each of them. Then recently they had an offer to get $100 for opening a checking account with them, and $200 for opening a second card with them (the Saphire card which offers 2% on all restaurants).

EmilyM1121 · January 2015

I second the Chase Freedom. My limit is pretty good too. $3,000 with just okay credit, at that time just a month of full time work. I'll have had it for a year in March and I'll probably ask to have it bumped up around then. Half the year it's 5% on gas. Always 1% and no annual fee makes it a no brainer. The other categories are a quarter of restaurants, groceries, department stores/amazon around the holidays, restuarants, Starbucks, etc. Usually 2 "categories" a quarter with gas always being in two different quarters.

dragonstarjk · January 2015

I think it kind of depends on what rewards you are looking to get from the card. Like several previous posters, we juggle several cards for their points programs. Here's what we have:

Alaska Airlines card--This card has a $75 fee and normally I am adamant about not paying to use a credit card. However, we get a companion fare ticket once per year for $99, and since we're in the middle of nowhere and two hours from the nearest airport, we save way more than the $75 annual fee on plane tickets. Therefore, it's worth the annual fee.

Amazon Chase--3% back on Amazon purchase, 2% back on gas and groceries, 1% back everywhere else. Same rewards levels as the one your are using, but I like the bonus for Amazon purchases because I shop a ton from Amazon.

Discover More--1% back on all purchases but I think you have to meet a certain minimum each year before it's 1%. 5% back on special spending categories throughout the year. I will use this only for the times I can get 5% back.

FirstRewards MasterCard--this is the credit card from our local bank (where I work). Through our points program, we can redeem for local gift cards, such as to our favorite restaurant in town. Since again, we're in the middle of nowhere, this is more beneficial to me than gift cards to big box stores that are two hours away.

csuave · January 2015

dragonstarjk said:

I think it kind of depends on what rewards you are looking to get from the card. Like several previous posters, we juggle several cards for their points programs. Here's what we have:
Alaska Airlines card--This card has a $75 fee and normally I am adamant about not paying to use a credit card. However, we get a companion fare ticket once per year for $99, and since we're in the middle of nowhere and two hours from the nearest airport, we save way more than the $75 annual fee on plane tickets. Therefore, it's worth the annual fee.
Amazon Chase--3% back on Amazon purchase, 2% back on gas and groceries, 1% back everywhere else. Same rewards levels as the one your are using, but I like the bonus for Amazon purchases because I shop a ton from Amazon.
Discover More--1% back on all purchases but I think you have to meet a certain minimum each year before it's 1%. 5% back on special spending categories throughout the year. I will use this only for the times I can get 5% back.
FirstRewards MasterCard--this is the credit card from our local bank (where I work). Through our points program, we can redeem for local gift cards, such as to our favorite restaurant in town. Since again, we're in the middle of nowhere, this is more beneficial to me than gift cards to big box stores that are two hours away.

@dragonstarjk you should call Discover and ask to be moved to the It card. It is the same card but with a couple more benefits like 1% cashback instead of building up to the 1% and I believe it also has a payment forgiveness feature.

catsareniice1 · January 2015

Thanks everyone! This is helpful! I like the idea of opening a couple of more cards for specific uses!!

catsareniice1 · January 2015

Just thought I would let you know my decision. I decided on the Fidelity American Express card that offers 2% cash back. Thanks again!

What is the best cash back credit card?

Re: What is the best cash back credit card?

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