Current choices for Cash Back Credit Cards

[pb4uski]

The Discover card has 2% cash back on all purchases, no annual fee, and it runs periodic 5% cash back on select categories. Plus, you can select the color/theme of the card.

I had a 2% cash back Discover card for many years, probably 10 or so, but it had an annual fee... $50 as I recall. When I first got it the extra 1% it more than made up for the $50 annual fee.

Then Citi came out with the 2% cash back card with no annual fee. I called Discover and asked them to waive the annual fee and they refused so I switched.

Then they drop the annual fee.

 

[euro]

The Discover card has 2% cash back on all purchases, no annual fee, and it runs periodic 5% cash back on select categories. Plus, you can select the color/theme of the card.

There must be different Discover cards then because MY Discover only does 1% on all purchases and 5% on quarterly rotating categories.

 

[steelyman]

Here are the Discover details for the regular cash back:.

Wow. I had no idea of this “tiered” business! Thanks back your way.

Practically, I don’t see my usage pattern changing. I’m too used to swiping and tapping when I want.

[ADDED] I vaguely recall a call from Discover asking if I wanted to switch to “DiscoverIT” from my existing card. They may have said that a benefit and reason to switch would be the 1% cashback always (vs. the tiered levels). It’s been a while though so my memory is fuzzy on it.

 

[Sue J]

If you are already hooked up with PenFed they have a Power Cash Rewards VISA card that pays 1.5%. That is increased to 2% if you have their Access America Checking account. We got promotional bonuses for opening both of these, I don't know if that's still offered. The checking account fee is waived if you keep $500 minimum balance.

In the before times we used cash for most things but since the pandemic we are now putting everything on a credit card so we may as well get a decent cash back bonus. This has been working well with the PenFed Power Cash Reward card.

 

[aja8888]

If you are already hooked up with PenFed they have a Power Cash Rewards VISA card that pays 1.5%. That is increased to 2% if you have their Access America Checking account. We got promotional bonuses for opening both of these, I don't know if that's still offered. The checking account fee is waived if you keep $500 minimum balance.

In the before times we used cash for most things but since the pandemic we are now putting everything on a credit card so we may as well get a decent cash back bonus. This has been working well with the PenFed Power Cash Reward card.

I have that PenFed VISA card and the checking account. On CC purchases, it pays me 2% back. I write a check every so often and keep the balance above $500.

 

[jazz4cash]

Oh no. Didn’t know I needed to keep $500 in the PenFed Access America checking. I just checked and sure enough I had a $10 debit since I took the balance down after the bonus posted. I really have no need and hate the idea of holding money in a 0.2% account.

 

[Sunset]

Oh no. Didn’t know I needed to keep $500 in the PenFed Access America checking. I just checked and sure enough I had a $10 debit since I took the balance down after the bonus posted. I really have no need and hate the idea of holding money in a 0.2% account.

Now that rates are so low I don't mind holding $$ in a 0% checking account, as it's not going earn much these days anyways.

 

[Gotadimple]

Chase just made changes to their Freedom Unlimited Card. This is the no-fee 1.5% cash back with no maximum on cash back. They have added:

5% back on travel booked through Ultimate Rewards (generally have good prices here)
3% on dining including delivery
3% on drug stores

Note the details on their web page. The 5% isn't 5% + 1.5%, but 3.5% on travel + 1.5% cash back.

- Rita

 

[gwraigty]

Chase just made changes to their Freedom Unlimited Card. This is the no-fee 1.5% cash back with no maximum on cash back. They have added:

5% back on travel booked through Ultimate Rewards (generally have good prices here)
3% on dining including delivery
3% on drug stores

Note the details on their web page. The 5% isn't 5% + 1.5%, but 3.5% on travel + 1.5% cash back.

- Rita

Chase has also added a new Freedom Flex card with the 5%/3% benefits listed above, while keeping the 5% quarterly rotating categories and straight 1% cash back on everything else. I applied for the new card and was accepted right away.

Sign up bonus for new cardholders includes $200 cash back for spending $500 in the first 90 days, plus 5% cash back on groceries for a full year, up to $12,000 of grocery spending, excluding Walmart and Target. Rumor has it that current Freedom cardholders can request a product conversion right now, or wait to be automatically converted when they sunset the Freedom card. However, people report that product conversions don't come with the sign up bonus, which is why I didn't go that route.

 

[gwix98]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m adding the Freedom card, and may add the Fido card. 3 cards are way more than I need, but cash back seems to be a better way to go in these times.

 

[Lsbcal]

Chase just made changes to their Freedom Unlimited Card. This is the no-fee 1.5% cash back with no maximum on cash back. They have added:

5% back on travel booked through Ultimate Rewards (generally have good prices here)
3% on dining including delivery
3% on drug stores

Note the details on their web page. The 5% isn't 5% + 1.5%, but 3.5% on travel + 1.5% cash back.

- Rita

I have that one too. Am saving our considerable points total to use in Ultimate Rewards when we travel again. We will be eligible to get a bonus on a new Chase Card such as Chase Sapphire after March 2021. That is when an agent told us we could get a new card after I cancelled the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

So maybe a decent plan is to save the points, sign up sometime in 2021 or 2022 and get the multiplier that card gives for Ultimate Rewards usage (25% currently). I think this might apply to points moved from other cards to a new card that has a multiplier like Chase Sapphire.

Complicated.

 

[Sunset]

I have that one too. Am saving our considerable points total to use in Ultimate Rewards when we travel again. We will be eligible to get a bonus on a new Chase Card such as Chase Sapphire after March 2021. That is when an agent told us we could get a new card after I cancelled the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

It has been a year, but I pretty distinctly remember it was a 4 yr wait for any Sapphire card to qualify for signup bonus if one cancelled a card.

Are you planning out a 4yr wait

https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/sapphire/preferred?CELL=6269

"This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months."

So maybe a decent plan is to save the points, sign up sometime in 2021 or 2022 and get the multiplier that card gives for Ultimate Rewards usage (25% currently). I think this might apply to points moved from other cards to a new card that has a multiplier like Chase Sapphire.
....

It worked for their Freedom card , so probably would work for this new card of theirs.

 

[Lsbcal]

I guess it has been some years since I got the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Just ended it today. The agent said in March 2021 I'd be eligible to get a new one with any bonus reward.

Now that I read the Covid thread on how long it might take to really really really go away, I may not need a new card in 2021 or even 2022.

 

[calmloki]

This is not something that would bother me, but I did switch away from Citi cards last year when they slashed the travel protections of the Citi Premier. I went with Chase Sapphire Reserve, and then the Freedom Unlimited, which is 1.5% back on everything. But if you transfer the points to your Reserve points bucket, they are an extra half point when redeemed for travel.

And then travel ground to a halt. [emoji16]

I think the Unlimited just upped the cash back for drugstores and maybe dining? I've completely lost track.

Gal had built up a pile in her CSR card. When travel got iffy Chase made some other categories available for points. Like so:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/should-you-upgrade-to-the-chase-sapphire-reserve/

We have run those accrued points down at Home Depot and Lowes replacing fence panels and grocery stores/Walmart for food and a couple monitors. Very gratifying to spend $1 in points for $1.50 in goods!

I like our Fidelity card as the mainstay - 2%, no annual fee, we have a Fidelity savings account that the cash back accrues in. Other than that I hunt bonus amounts on new cards which far exceed our normal point earnings.

 

[Sunset]

I guess it has been some years since I got the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Just ended it today. The agent said in March 2021 I'd be eligible to get a new one with any bonus reward.

Now that I read the Covid thread on how long it might take to really really really go away, I may not need a new card in 2021 or even 2022.

I totally misunderstood the credit card conditions, probably as I was influenced by my actions of only keeping the card for 1 yr.
So for me it is a 4 yr wait.
But it is the actual bonus that is only every 4 yrs.
Thanks for the correction.

 

[Done]

Alliant Credit Union has a Visa Signature that pays 2.5% cash back on everything. No annual fee the first year but $99 thereafter, so it’s better than a free 2% card if you spend more than $19,800/yr. No foreign transaction fee. Anyone can join.

I use the Costco Visa for 4% on gas and 3% on restaurants/travel and the Alliant card for 2.5% on everything else. The Costco card provides an extended warranty so I also use it (at 1% cash back) for some electronics and big-ticket items.

 

[kgtest]

We have:

Chase Freedom
DW Chase Freedom
DiscoverIT
Citi Cash Back
Bank Of America
Amazon


I tried to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited the same time as the Citi Cash but they denied me, I think too many chase cards so I closed one and will try again in a few more months.

DW is also probably going to apply for Chase Freedom Unlimited beginning of year.

The only one we pay a "fee" for is the Amazon, but that's because you NEED the $120 prime membership to be eligible, sorta like costco charges a membership fee of what $60...

We use Chase Freedom the most. I put each cards rotating "categories" on our paper calendar so its visually there before we run out to buy something, check to see if its in a rewards zone and use accordingly.

This has worked well for us, we've saved on Gas, eating out, online purchases and straight hard cash many times of 1, 1.5 or even up to 5% back depending on the category. IMHO the simplest way to never pay retail...just use a discount card.

I noticed our switch pre-kids from targeting airline miles oriented cards, to now cash back cards...we collected so many airline miles and now COVID post kids it just doesn't seem to make sense to continue that strategy.

 

[target2019]

Penfed Cash Rewards Visa - 5% all gasoline purchases
Amex SimplyCash Business Card - 5% telecom and office supply
DiscoverIt Garnet Card - Categories vary for 5% off
Amazon Prime Visa - 5% off amazon & whole food purchases
Lowes Advantage - 5% in store
USAA Cash Rewards Visa - 1.5% all

These are all no-fee cards. Each time I look at a fee card there is some attraction. The problem for us though is in execution. For example I went for a higher fee BJs card, but our purchases have fallen off dramatically. Now I'll have to monitor this, and remember to drop the card or figure out an alternative. That's just us, and I'm sure all the cards mentioned in thread are worthwhile in some cases.

 

[Lsbcal]

We have:

Chase Freedom
DW Chase Freedom
DiscoverIT
Citi Cash Back
Bank Of America
Amazon


I tried to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited the same time as the Citi Cash but they denied me, I think too many chase cards so I closed one and will try again in a few more months.

DW is also probably going to apply for Chase Freedom Unlimited beginning of year.

The only one we pay a "fee" for is the Amazon, but that's because you NEED the $120 prime membership to be eligible, sorta like costco charges a membership fee of what $60...

We use Chase Freedom the most. I put each cards rotating "categories" on our paper calendar so its visually there before we run out to buy something, check to see if its in a rewards zone and use accordingly.

This has worked well for us, we've saved on Gas, eating out, online purchases and straight hard cash many times of 1, 1.5 or even up to 5% back depending on the category. IMHO the simplest way to never pay retail...just use a discount card.

I noticed our switch pre-kids from targeting airline miles oriented cards, to now cash back cards...we collected so many airline miles and now COVID post kids it just doesn't seem to make sense to continue that strategy.

If you'd like to change the Chase Freedom to the Freedom Unlimited, I think you could just call them and they would offer to make the switch. When I was cancelling the Chase Sapphire they offered to make it a Freedom Unlimited but I already had one of those.

 

[Sunset]

If you'd like to change the Chase Freedom to the Freedom Unlimited, I think you could just call them and they would offer to make the switch. When I was cancelling the Chase Sapphire they offered to make it a Freedom Unlimited but I already had one of those.

A problem with simply making a switch is you don't get the signup bonus, at least that is what happened to me when I made a switch.

The signup bonuses can equal a lot of spending:
A card that returns 2% would need spending of $10,000 to equal a bonus of $200.

 

[Gotadimple]

Alliant Credit Union has a Visa Signature that pays 2.5% cash back on everything. No annual fee the first year but $99 thereafter, so it’s better than a free 2% card if you spend more than $19,800/yr. No foreign transaction fee. Anyone can join.

I use the Costco Visa for 4% on gas and 3% on restaurants/travel and the Alliant card for 2.5% on everything else. The Costco card provides an extended warranty so I also use it (at 1% cash back) for some electronics and big-ticket items.

The Costco Visa (Citi) also has no foreign transaction fee.

Rita

 

[Sunset]

We have:

Chase Freedom
DW Chase Freedom
DiscoverIT
Citi Cash Back
Bank Of America
Amazon


I tried to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited the same time as the Citi Cash but they denied me, I think too many chase cards so I closed one and will try again in a few more months.

DW is also probably going to apply for Chase Freedom Unlimited beginning of year.

..

Maybe you ran into the Chase 5/24 rule

https://www.uponarriving.com/chase-5-24-rule/

 

[RunningBum]

Which of the 2%/no fee cards gives you notifications when used? I use Penfed's Power Cash Rewards for 2% (with PF checking acct), but it doesn't give me notifications. I don't like when my card leaves my hands (many restaurants), card reader could be compromised (gas station risk) or can be hacked (online), so I'd rather have a card that notifies me of every transaction so I can quickly see it's been compromised. I have a couple of 1.5% cards I use in those situations. I'd rather find another 2% card.

 

[Sunset]

All my Bank of America CC's give me notice, I set them to notify me of anything over $1.00

The Cash reward one, is super great if you are willing to join their Preferred Rewards program (which is free and great). It does mean having a Merrill Lynch brokerage account.

With the Preferred Rewards designation my Cash CC returns 5.25% (instead of 3%) on my choice of category, and 3.5% (instead of 2%) on grocery and wholesale clubs.

 

[foxfirev5]

Spending has a greater benefit than savings. Here in bizarro world I sticking with the Fido 2% card crediting monthly to my cash account. All monthly bills that have no surcharge go auto to the card.