Money Blue Book

Updated List Of The Best Cash Back Credit Card Offers Below!

As I indicated in the past, I’m a big fan of integrated credit card reward programs like Citi Card’s Thank You Rewards Network. I like how all of their reward credit cards generate Thank You rewards that can be pooled into one source and later redeemed for rewards like cash back, statement credit, airline tickets, and popular merchandise. Years ago, you could get a higher cash back percentage with your credit cards, but times have changed as companies have cut and reduced their cash back benefits in favor of encouraging reward point usage. But many people still prefer to stick with cash back cards. Cash back rebates are easier than reward points to understand and despite the slightly lower percentage back offered by the former, many people still favor the convenience and simplicity that cash back reward credit cards provide.

People Like Cash Back Cards Because They Are Much Easier To Use and Redeem Than Reward Cards

I personally don’t mind using credit cards that offer reward points, but I’ll admit that it does involve more micromanaging. I’ve been accumulating Citi Thank You rewards for more than a year now and have accumulated a substantial stockpile of points, enough for an international airplane ticket to Asia and more. But the process requires me to monitor my point progression to ensure my points are not near expiration since accrued reward points do expire after some time if not timely redeemed.

Upon close inspection of all credit card reward and cash back programs, it’s apparent that a prudent user who doesn’t mind some extra work will find that reward point cards tend to yield a slightly higher percentage back. Unlike cash back credit cards, reward point cards do usually require you to keep track of you points and submit a request when you qualify for point redemption. But despite the higher returns, some people still find the redemption procedure of reward cards to be too much trouble - instead, preferring the simplicity of automatic cash back credit. With cash back credit cards there is no hassle. When you charge something, you automatically get a portion back as statement credit or a cash back check after a certain period of time. You don’t have to do anything extra because the whole cash cash reward process is usually automated. After much research, here’s what I’ve come up with. The best cash back credit card is definitively either the Chase Freedom or Blue Cash From American Express, but there are several good choices as well.

My List of The Top Credit Cards That Provide The Best Cash Back Reward Percentages:

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1. Citi Cash Returns Card - Earn the equivalent of 1.2% cash back on all eligible purchases for the first 12 months. This is based on the credit card’s standard 1% cash back for all purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers. For the first year, this also card offers an additional 20% cash back bonus based on the total cash back rewards earned with no limit as to how much cash rebate you can accrue. Not bad because this card covers all types of purchases and not just those from certain special categories like supermarkets, gas stations, or restaurants.
2. Discover More Card and Discover More Clear Card - Earn up to 5% cash back for Get More purchases made in categories that change throughout the year, like groceries, travel, home, apparel, gas, restaurants, and movies. Earn up to 1% cash back for the first $3000 worth of purchases.
3. Blue Cash From American Express - Earn up to 5% cash back for everyday purchases, and up to 1.5% for everything else when you exceed $6,500 worth of usage. Before that you’ll earn 1% cash back. Everyday purchases include supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations.
4. Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card - Earn 5% cash back on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, convenience stores, and utilities including cable for 6 months, and 2% cash back thereafter.
5. Citi Professional Card - Earn 3% cash back on purchases at restaurants, gas stations, on auto rentals and at certain office supply merchants.
6. Chase Freedom Visa Card - 3% cash Back in your top 3 everyday spending categories (15 Categories earn triple rewards at the types of places you spend the most).
7. Capital One® No Hassle Cash(SM) Rewards Card - 2% cash back on purchases at gas stations and major grocery and drug stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. There is no limit to how much cash back rewards you can earn, nor is there an expiration date.
8. Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature Card - Earn 1.5% back on all purchases. With this card you earn a point for every dollar spent. When you’ve accumulated 5000 points, the total points can be instantly converted into $75 cash and deposited into your Fidelity Investment brokerage account for an effective 1.5% redemption rate. The Fidelity credit card offers the same competitive purchase rebate percentage for all purchases.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Credit Cards, Deals and Offers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.