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13 Best cash back credit cards for March 2024

Updated March 12, 2024

Cash back credit cards earn a small percentage of your purchases back, redeemable in the form of statement credits, gift cards, direct deposits or more. Many of these cards earn cash back on eligible categories automatically, with some requiring quarterly activations to achieve the highest rate. The best cash back cards on the market offer high cash back rates and flexible reward categories, letting you earn anywhere from 1 percent to 6 percent cash back on common spending items, including travel, groceries, gas and more. Here are the best cash back cards on the market for March 2024.

Info
awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for flat-rate rewards
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
4.3
Info
Apply now Lock
on Wells Fargo's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

2%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for online shopping
Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5
4.6
Info
Apply now Lock
on American Express's secure site
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1% - 3%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Best for rotating categories
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
Info
Apply now Lock
on Discover's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit

Intro offer

Info

1% - 5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for dining
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5.0
Info
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1% - 8%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for flexibility
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
4.3
Info
Apply now Lock
on Bank of America's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1% - 3%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for groceries
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
Info
Apply now Lock
on American Express's secure site
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1% - 6%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
Best for everything else
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
4.2
Info
Apply now Lock
on Citi's secure site
Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1% - 5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
awards-badge
2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
Best for stacking
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
Info
Apply now Lock
on Citi's secure site
Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1% - 5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

BEST FOR DRUGSTORES AND DINING
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5.0
Info
Apply now Lock
on Chase's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit

Intro offer

Info

1.5% - 5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
Best for Bank of America customers
Rating: 3.8 stars out of 5
3.8
Info
Apply now Lock
on Bank of America's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1.5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Info
Best for simplicity
Rating: 3.8 stars out of 5
3.8
Info
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

1.5% - 5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Best for low APR
Rating: 3.1 stars out of 5
3.1
Info
Apply now Lock
on USAA's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit

N/A

Intro offer

Info

1.5% cash back

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Best for personal loan alternative
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
4.2
Info
Apply now Lock
on Upgrade's secure site
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit

Intro offer

Info

2.2%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

BEST RETAIL CARD
Image of Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®

Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®
*

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
4.0
Info
Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info
Recommended Credit

Intro offer

Info

1% - 5%

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Compare Bankrate's top cash back credit cards

Card name Best for Cash back highlights Welcome offer
Annual fee
Bankrate review score
Flat-rate rewards
2% cash rewards on purchases
Intro Offer: $200 cash rewards
Info
Regular APR: 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR
$0

4.3 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Wells Fargo's secure site
Online shopping
3 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. online retail purchases of up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases in each 
Intro Offer: Earn $200
Info
Regular APR: 19.24% - 29.99% Variable
$0

4.6 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on American Express's secure site
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Rotating  categories
5% cash back on up to $1,500 per quarter of rotating category purchases (activation required), then 1% 
Intro Offer: Cashback Match
Info
Regular APR: 17.24% - 28.24% Variable APR
$0

4.4 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Discover's secure site

Dining

3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding Walmart® and Target®)
Intro Offer: $200
Info
Regular APR: 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
$0

5.0 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site
Flexibility
3% cash back in choice category purchases (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases)
Intro Offer: $200
Info
Regular APR: 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
$0

4.3 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Bank of America's secure site
Groceries
6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year, 1% after)
Intro Offer: Earn $250
Info
Regular APR: 19.24% - 29.99% Variable
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

4.4 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on American Express's secure site
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Everything else
Up to 2% cash back (1% when you purchase and 1% when you pay)
Intro Offer: $200 cash back
Info
Regular APR: 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
$0

4.2 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Citi's secure site
Stacking
5% cash back on your top eligible category purchases each billing cycle (up to $500, then 1% cash back)
Intro Offer: $200
Info
Regular APR: 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)
$0

4.4 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Citi's secure site

Drugstores and dining 

5% cash back on Lyft purchases (through March 2025) and travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards

3% cash back on dining at restaurants and drugstore purchases

1.5% cash back on all other purchases

Intro Offer: Up to $300 cash back
Info
Regular APR: 20.49% - 29.24% Variable
$0

5.0 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Chase's secure site

Bank of America customers

Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases
Intro Offer: $200
Info
Regular APR: 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
$0

3.8 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Bank of America's secure site
Simplicity
1.5% cash back on purchases
Intro Offer: $200
Info
Regular APR: 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
$0

3.8 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site

Low APR

1.5% cash back on purchases

Intro Offer: N/A
Regular APR: 17.15% to 31.15% variable regular APR
$0

3.1 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on USAA's secure site
Personal loan alternative
2.2% cash back on purchases upon card payment
Intro Offer: $200
Info
Regular APR: 14.99% - 29.99%
$0

4.2 / 5

Info
(Read card review)
Apply now Lock
on Upgrade's secure site
Image of Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®
Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard®

Retail

5 percent cash back at Walmart.com, including pickup & delivery

2 percent cash back in Walmart stores & fuel stations, at restaurants and on travel

1 percent cash back everywhere else Mastercard is accepted

Intro Offer: 5%
Info
Regular APR: 19.48% or 29.99% (Variable)
$0

What is a cash back credit card?

Cash back credit cards reward you for eligible purchases by giving you a percentage of your purchase price back. 

For example, if you have a credit card that earns 5 percent back on eligible purchases, and you make a $100 purchase, you’ll earn 5 dollars to your account. 

The flexibility, simplicity and ongoing value of cash back cards make them one of the more popular types of credit cards on the market. Chances are if you frequently spend on groceries, gas or other essentials, there's a cash back card that's a great fit for your wallet.

Pros and cons of using cash back credit cards

While cash back cards can put hundreds of dollars per year back into your wallet, they can also come with drawbacks. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of carrying a cash back card.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    Earn rewards: If you pick a card that fits your spending habits, you can earn some extra cash every month just by using your credit card.

  • Checkmark

    Build credit: Used responsibly, a cash back credit card can help you improve your credit score by adding to your credit history.

  • Checkmark

    Many have no annual fee: If you choose a no-annual-fee card, you won’t have to worry about whether you’re coming out ahead with your cash back earnings (as long as you pay your bill in full each month).

  • Checkmark

    Sign-up bonuses: A first-year sign-up bonus or welcome offer can be worth a few hundred dollars if you can meet the spending requirement.

Cons

  • Travel rewards can be more valuable: With cash back cards, you usually can’t score a particularly lucrative deal with your redemption, as you might when redeeming travel rewards points for a flight.

  • Higher APRs: Rewards cards typically come with higher interest rates, so carrying a balance can eat through any value you’d get via rewards. Some cards also hit you with a higher penalty APR if you are late making a payment, which can last a year or more.

  • Can be high maintenance: Some cards require you to periodically activate or enroll in your cash back category to earn cash back rewards.

  • Fewer travel perks: You might not see a ton of travel benefits on cash back cards, like lounge access, free hotel room upgrades or a TSA Precheck application statement credit.

Types of cash back credit card rewards

Cash back cards come in many forms. The best one for you depends on your spending habits and lifestyle. Before you apply, make sure you know the types of cash back cards available. 

Common categories on cash back credit cards

Cash back cards differ in the reward categories they offer, though there are a few common categories you can expect to find.

  • Groceries: This category usually covers a variety of types of items you can purchase at supermarkets. Many cards exclude purchases from superstores and warehouse stores. 
  • Dining: Most cards include most kinds of dining out at restaurants, though some also allow you to earn cash back on take out and delivery as well. 
  • Gas: Some cards allow you to earn cash back at any gas station, though some cobranded cards only allow you to earn at specified locations. 
  • Travel: This category can include a variety of travel methods. Airline and hotel purchases are the most common options. Some cards only award boosted cash back if you book travel through the issuer’s travel portal.  

Looking for a particular type of cash-back credit card?

For suggestions based on your spending habits, try Bankrate’s Spender Type Tool. Select the spender type that you most closely identify with and you’ll get card recommendations that may suit your spending habits.

Expert advice on how to use a cash back credit card

Cash back cards are one of the simplest reward credit cards available, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for maximizing your potential value. Here are some tips from the experts at Bankrate on how to best use and choose a cash back credit card

Maximizing your cash back cards

Here are some tips from Bankrate’s experts that can help ensure you’re getting as much cash back as possible with your credit card.

  • Debt

    Don’t spend just to earn

    It’s tempting to spend more than usual knowing that you’re getting some of that spending back. But overspending can result in a balance you can’t pay off in full. If you carry a balance instead of paying it off in full each month, you’ll lose the cash back you’ve earned (and then some) to interest. Paying monthly balances on time and in full is a credit card best practice, no matter what type of card you’re carrying.

  • Calendar Clock

    Enroll or activate your bonus categories each quarter

    Rotating category cards typically require you to enroll in or activate your bonus cash back categories for the upcoming quarter to earn the higher bonus rate. If you don’t, you’ll earn the standard rate and lose out on the additional value. 

  • Congrats

    Earn your welcome bonus

    Welcome bonuses can deliver a substantial amount of value, and some cards are worth getting for the welcome bonus alone. Leaving this value on the table is a missed opportunity. Just make sure you won't have to overspend to meet the spending requirement.

  • Add Card

    Combine cards

    combination of cards will allow you to maximize your cash back opportunities when making purchases. Pick cards that cover your major spending categories and at least one card that earns a high flat rate on all purchases: this lets you always earn the maximum amount of rewards on purchases.

  • Moneybag

    Explore your card’s shopping portal

    Many cash back cards offer shopping portals. These portals feature special cash back deals — like 5 percent back at a specific retailer for a limited time — that the card doesn’t normally have. Explore your issuer’s shopping portal and activate the offers to earn some extra cash back when you’re shopping.

Here’s how a Bankrate editor crafted his cash back strategy

With this advice in mind, let’s see how a credit card expert made their picks. Here’s Bankrate editor Nouri Zarrugh on how he chose his cash back cards to create a cash rewards strategy:

I’ve been writing about cash back and credit card rewards for several years now, so I understand the benefit of carrying multiple cards and using them strategically to maximize my earnings. But I also know that sometimes juggling so many cards to earn a little more cash back can be more trouble than it’s worth.

When I first got into rewards strategy, I went a little overboard, carrying a card for every spending category I could think of, constantly switching based on where I was shopping or which bonus category was available in a given quarter. I even had a spreadsheet I used to track my purchases and cash back earnings. It eventually became a headache, though. Now I take a more streamlined approach, focusing on a few key spending categories as I try to strike a balance between high earnings and low maintenance.

Here’s what I focus on with my current credit card stack:

  • Groceries: The Citi Custom Cash Card. This card automatically rewards your top spending category each billing cycle, and I only use it for groceries, making that my top category by default.
  • Gas and online shopping: The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express. Since I use the Custom Cash for groceries, it made sense for me to use the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday to get a solid rewards rate on gas. As an added bonus, this card comes with an online shopping category missing from the Blue Cash Preferred’s categories. Online shopping is another key category for me, so this card is quite versatile.
  • Dining: The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card. This card offers one of the best rates you can get at restaurants without paying an annual fee (See Rates & Fees).
  • Everything else: The Citi Double Cash. I use this card for all purchases that fall outside of groceries, gas, dining, travel and online shopping. A flat rate of up to 2 percent back (1 percent when you buy, 1 percent when you pay off purchases) is hard to beat.

Is my stack perfect? Definitely not. I still have a co-branded airline card, a rotating category card and a specific online retailer card sitting around, and using them could help me squeeze a little more earnings out of my purchases. But for now, five cards is plenty to juggle."

— Nouri Zarrugh, Bankrate Editor
Lightbulb

Bankrate Insight

People who spend across a wide variety of categories can often combine cards from the same issuer for greater effect. For example, by having a Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Freedom Unlimited and a Chase Sapphire card, you can use the Chase Trifecta's bonus categories to maximize rewards.

In the news: Capital One to acquire Discover

Capital One and Discover agreed to an acquisition in which Capital One will buy Discover. This $35.5 billion acquisition would include Discover’s line of credit cards and debit cards, as well as its payment network, according to Capital One’s announcement.  

This proposed acquisition has already garnered challenges from Washington, with legislators urging regulators to reject the deal. But what could a merger mean for consumers? Possibilities include an expanded, more flexible rewards system for both issuers’ existing cardholders, along with new credit and debit products.

It's also worth noting that the Discover payment network is exempt from the fee limitations the Credit Card Competition Act proposes. Should the act pass, Capital One could be shielded from the effects of the legislation and any collateral damage to rewards programs under the Visa and Mastercard networks.

How we assess the best cash back credit cards

Document
150+
cards rated
Congrats
50+
rewards programs valued
Search
1800
data points analyzed
Moneybag
25
spending categories analyzed

When evaluating the best cash back cards, we consider a mix of factors, including how cards score in our proprietary card rating system and whether cards offer features that fit the priorities of a diverse group of cardholders, from earning rewards in popular categories to scoring a large sign-up bonus or high-value perks. Whenever possible, we also feature cards that are available at various credit levels and price points. 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular cards and scored each based on its rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more to determine whether it belonged in this month’s roundup of the best cash back cards.

Here are some of the key factors that we considered:

Have more questions for our credit cards editors? Feel free to send us an email, find us on Facebook, or Tweet us @Bankrate.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

*The information about the Chase Freedom Flex and the Aspire Mastercard has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

Frequently asked questions about cash back credit cards

Ask the experts: How do you maximize flat-rate and rotating category cash back cards?


Contributor, Credit Cards

Flat-rate cards do not require any pre-planning, which is great. You buy what you buy and earn cash back at the same rate for everything. To make the most of cash back cards that have rotating categories, however, you have to pay a bit more attention. Quite a few cards offer 5 percent back when you make purchases at places like grocery stores, gas stations, big box retailers, and more, but you’ll need to plan out where and when to shop to take full advantage. For example, if a card offers 5 percent cash back at Amazon in Q4, you may consider doing most of your holiday shopping through that site.

Contributor, Personal Finance

I like to have both a flat-rate and rotating cash back card in my wallet — particularly a flat-rate card that earns at a higher rate (usually 1.5X-2X) than the base rate of the rotating category card. I maximize this duo by making purchases in the card’s rotating categories as much as possible, and when my purchase isn’t in one of these 3X-5X rotating categories, I use my flat rate card to capture the higher rate.

Financial Educator, Debt and Credit

I have found the most difficult part of maximizing rotating category cash-back cards is keeping track of which categories are currently earning bonus cash back. Setting reminders and keeping a rewards calendar helps, especially if you have multiple cards of each type. Of course, you also want to make sure you are putting the right expense on the right card to maximize the rewards.