Find a more rewarding credit card
Is your old rewards credit card not so rewarding any more? If so, you might want to shop for a new one.
“Many changes over the last few years have brought more value to regular, everyday spending,” says Cyndie Martini, CEO and founder of card-processing platform Member Access Processing.
Here are some of the top cash-back rewards offerings today.
Flat-rate cash back
Get a total 2% cash back on everything you buy: 1% when you make a purchase and an additional
Citi Double Cash Mastercard.
1% when you pay the bill. Rewards are tracked as Citi Thank-You points, which you can exchange at a rate of 1 cent apiece for a statement credit, direct deposit into your bank account or check.
Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union Crystal Visa.
Annual fee: $99, waived the first year; sign-up bonus: $100 back if you spend $5,000 in the first three months.
Earn a whopping 3% cash back on all spending the first year you have this card.
After that, you get 2.5% back — a strong rate that makes the annual fee worthwhile for those who spend enough to justify it.
The amount of spending that exceeds $10,000 each month does not earn rewards, which are given as points that you can trade at a rate of a penny each for
cash back.
Sign-up bonus: $200 back if you spend $1,000 in the first three months.
Cardholders get 2% cash back on everything they buy. Redemption options include statement credits on purchases, a credit to other qualifying Wells Fargo accounts (including a checking account or mortgage) and gift cards.
Wells Fargo Active Cash Visa. Cash back in rotating categories
Sign-up bonus: $200 back if you spend $500 in the first three months; 5% back on grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
Cardholders get 5% back on up to $1,500
Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard.
spent each quarter in rotating categories. You also get year-round rewards of 5% back on travel purchased through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program, 3% on restaurant and drugstore purchases, and 1% on all other spending. You can trade the Ultimate Rewards points that you earn at a rate of a penny each for cash back, gift cards or travel bookings.
Sign-up bonus: $200 back if you spend $1,000 in the first 120 days.
Each quarter, you choose two categories that earn 5% back on up to $2,000 in combined spending. You also select one category that earns 2% back. Prepaid travel bookings through U.S. Bank earn 5% back, and all other spending earns 1% back. Redeem cash back as a statement credit, a deposit into a U.S. Bank account or a prepaid debit card.