When it comes to earning rewards from a credit card, you have plenty of options. Many bank rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise or travel reservations while many others offer cards with travel rewards from airline and hotel partners. Still, many rewards credit card users prefer a cash-back option.
How to Choose the Right Cash-Back Credit Card
It may seem easy to choose the best cash-back card; just look for the card offering the highest rate of return for your spending. But in the highly competitive credit card industry, some card issuers offer high return rates within certain merchant categories in addition to a cash-back rate for all purchases. So the trick is to pick a credit card offering the best combination of returns for bonus categories and general spending.
Adding to the confusion is some cards will place limits on the amount of rewards you can earn in bonus categories. Meanwhile, many credit card users will overestimate the amount of money they spend in featured categories. For example, you may consider gasoline a major expense. But with gas prices as low as they’re been in over a decade, in addition to increased fuel efficiency, more drivers are spending less than $1,000 annually on gas. For some, a credit card offering 3% cash back on gasoline will only realize $30 a year in rewards. This makes it important for applicants to consider their actual spending on bonus categories when choosing a cash-back card.
Other Factors to Consider
Beyond the cash-back rewards, there are several other important aspects to cards such as these. For example, some of these cards offer generous welcome offers that can dramatically increase your cash back earned during your first year as a cardmember. In addition, some of these cards feature 0% APR introductory financing on new purchases, balance transfers or both. It’s also important to consider other cardholder benefits as well as fees such as annual fees and foreign transaction fees.
And, of course, a cash rewards credit card isn’t for everyone. Though there are increasingly more options for those with fair or bad credit, the best rewards credit cards are only available to those with good or excellent credit. You can check two of your credit scores for free on Credit.com to see where you stand.
After ranking a number of cash-back credit cards on a variety of these factors, here are the three credit cards that topped our list of the best cash-back credit cards in America.
Winner: Quicksilver® Rewards
Why It Won: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day.
Other Features: Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 0% intro APR for 15 months; 18.99% - 28.99% variable APR after that and 0% intro APR for 15 months; 18.99% - 28.99% variable APR after that; Balance transfer fee applies. See pricing and terms for details.
Runner Up: Savor Rewards
Why It Won: Earn unlimited 3% cash back at grocery stores, on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, plus 1% cash back on all other purchases. Earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.
Other Features: Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 0% intro APR for 12 months; 18.99% - 28.99% variable APR after that and 0% intro APR for 12 months; 18.99% - 28.99% variable APR after that; Balance transfer fee applies. See pricing and terms for details.
At publishing time, the Quicksilver® Rewards and Savor Rewards Card are offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com is compensated if our users apply and ultimately sign up for this card. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment.
Note: It’s important to remember that interest rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products frequently change. As a result, rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products cited in these articles may have changed since the date of publication. Please be sure to verify current rates, fees and terms with credit card issuers, banks or other financial institutions directly.
This article was last updated on September 25th, 2018
