Best by audience
Best credit cards for the cashback
Cashback cards trade ceiling for floor. You won't extract aspirational value from them, but you also can't forget how to redeem, miss a transfer window, or watch your points get devalued. The right cashback card matches your top spending categories and has no annual fee, or a small one that you offset on category spend alone.
What we look for
- Earns cash (not points) so the value of your reward never moves.
- Either flat 2%+ on everything, or category bonuses that match how you actually spend.
- Annual fee is zero, or low enough that ~$2,000 of category spend pays for it.
What to watch for
- Quarterly rotating categories sound great until you forget to activate. Check whether the card auto-enrolls.
- Some 'cashback' cards pay in proprietary points redeemable for cash; redemption math may not be 1:1.
The full list
24 cards from the catalog-
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
Capital One
No annual fee -
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
Capital One
No annual fee -
Discover it Cash Back
Discover
No annual fee -
Discover it Student Cash Back
Discover
No annual fee -
Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
Amex
$95 AF -
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Bank of America
No annual fee -
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express
Amex
No annual fee -
Hilton Honors American Express Card
Amex
No annual fee -
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
Capital One
No annual fee -
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase
No annual fee -
Citi Double Cash Card
Citi
No annual fee -
Discover it Chrome
Discover
No annual fee -
Ink Business Cash Credit Card
Chase
No annual fee -
Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card
Chase
No annual fee -
United Gateway Card
Chase
No annual fee -
Citi Strata Premier Card
Citi
$95 AF -
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card
Chase
$95 AF -
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One
$95 AF -
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase
$95 AF -
Wells Fargo Active Cash Card
Wells Fargo
No annual fee -
Wells Fargo Autograph Card
Wells Fargo
No annual fee -
Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card
Wells Fargo
$95 AF -
World of Hyatt Credit Card
Chase
$95 AF -
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Chase
$95 AF
Ranking is formulaic, not editorial. The criteria above are the score function in plain English; you can see the exact weights in
src/lib/best-topics.ts on GitHub.