What Credit Card Has the Highest Cashback Rate? (We’ve Got the Answer)

If you aren’t using a cashback rewards card for all of your purchases, you’re basically leaving free money on the table. There are literally hundreds of cashback cards on the market that allow you to earn money back on every transaction you make. Many of these cards don’t even have an annual fee, so they’re free to use and have little downside.

But with so many credit cards out there, it can be hard to choose the right one for you. Below, you’ll learn which credit cards have the highest cashback rates and how to find the best card for your spending habits.

What is considered a high cashback rate?

When you’re looking for a cashback rewards card, the rewards you can earn will be dependent on the card’s structure.

For example, flat-rate rewards cards offer one cashback rate on all purchases. With these cards, there are no spending categories to remember, and they often have no limit on how much you can earn in rewards. An average flat-rate rewards credit card typically offers around 1.5% cash back on every purchase, so anything higher than that would be considered a high cashback rate.

Your other option is a card with spending categories. These cards offer higher levels of cash back — such as 3% to 5% — on certain purchases, like groceries or gas. They also usually have spending limits, so you’ll only earn the higher rate on some of your spending. For example, you may be able to earn 3% back on groceries but only on up to $2,500 in purchases per quarter. So these cards in general take a bit more attention.

To help you find the right cashback card for your needs, we waded through a wide range of cashback credit cards to select the ones offering the highest levels of cash back: 2% cash back for flat-rate cards and 5% (or higher) for cards with spending categories. As you read on and compare the rewards offered by the best cashback credit cards, keep your own spending habits and organizational skills in mind.

The credit cards with the highest cashback offers

• Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express: Excellent for groceries
• Citi Custom Cash^® Card: Excellent for flexible spending categories
• Chase Freedom Flex℠: Excellent for rotating bonus categories
• Chase Freedom Unlimited^®: Excellent for travel
• Prime Visa: Excellent for shopping at Amazon and Whole Foods Market
• Citi Double Cash^® Card: Excellent for flat-rate cashback
• Alliant Cashback Visa^® Signature Credit Card: Excellent for high spenders
• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card: Excellent for dining and entertainment

Excellent for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express

If you spend a lot of money on groceries, the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express can help you earn significant rewards. It has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, $95 per year thereafter, but you’ll earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (for first $6,000 per year, after that 1%) and on select U.S. streaming services, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on eligible transit, and 1% cash back on other eligible purchases.

To put that in perspective, let’s say you spend $6,000 per year at U.S. supermarkets. In one year, you’d earn $360 in cashback rewards in Reward Dollars (which you can redeem for statement credits). 

Read our full Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express review.

Excellent for flexible spending categories: Citi Custom Cash^® Card

The Citi Custom Cash^® Card allows cardmembers to earn 5% cash back in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle (up to the first $500 spent, then 1% cash back), plus unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases; plus, as a special travel offer, earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025. 

Eligible spending categories include groceries, restaurants, gas stations, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment. Given the range of bonus cashback categories, there's a good chance they'll align with your everyday purchases. 

If you spent the maximum $1,500 each quarter and qualified for the 5% cash back rate, you’d earn $300 in cash back rewards in a year.

Read our full Citi Custom Cash review.

Excellent for rotating bonus categories: Chase Freedom Flex℠

Rotating bonus category cards generally allow you to activate categories — typically every quarter — and earn bonus rewards in those categories. If you appreciate the flexibility of earning bonus rewards in a category of your choice, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ might be a good option for you.

With the $0-annual-fee Freedom Flex, you'll earn 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories you activate (on up to $1,500 spent) and travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service); and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Read our Chase Freedom Flex review.

Excellent for travel: Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

If you want to earn bonus rewards on travel purchases, the Chase Freedom Unlimited^® could be a good addition to your wallet. This card offers a generous sign-up bonus: Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). Plus, it has a $0 annual fee, and you'll earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.  

While the Chase Freedom Unlimited is marketed as a cashback credit card, it technically earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Cardholders enjoy flexible redemption options, including the opportunity to redeem rewards for statement credits, gift cards, travel, or online shopping on Amazon. 

Read our full Chase Freedom Unlimited review. 

Excellent for shopping at Amazon and Whole Foods Market: Prime Visa

The Prime Visa is an excellent option if you shop online at Amazon.com or like to do your grocery shopping at Whole Foods Market. It has no annual fee, and you’ll earn 5% cash back at Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market, and Chase Travel and 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, local transit and commuting. You’ll also earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Read our full Prime Visa review.

Excellent for shopping at Walmart and Target: U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature^® Card

The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature^® Card allows you to earn 6% cash back on first $1,500 in combined eligible purchases each quarter with your choice of two retailers; 5.5% cash back on prepaid hotel and car reservations booked directly in the Rewards Travel Center; 3% cash back on the first $1,500 in eligible purchases in one everyday category; and 1.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases. 

You can choose Walmart and Target as your retailers for the 6% cash back rate. 

This card also allow you to earn $250 after spending $2,000 on eligible purchases in the first 120 days. 

Read our full U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards review. 

Best flat-rate cashback card: Citi Double Cash^® Card

If you don’t want to worry about spending categories, the Citi Double Cash Card can be a solid choice. It has a $0 annual fee and you can earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.

That’s an above-average offer for a flat-rate card with no annual fee, and it also offers another perk: an introductory APR. Cardmembers get 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months (then 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)). This could be useful if you want to transfer debt from a card with a higher interest rate and pay it off over time. 

Read our full Citi Double Cash Card review. 

Excellent for high spenders: Alliant Cashback Visa^® Signature Credit Card

If you have good-to-excellent credit and spend a lot of money with your credit cards, the Alliant Cashback Visa^® Signature Credit Card may be a great choice for you. 

This card comes with an annual fee of $0. It's unusual in that it offers a tiered rewards system. If you meet certain requirements, including opening an Alliant High-Rate Checking account and maintaining a minimum daily balance of $1,000 for the previous quarter, you earn 2.5% cash back on all purchases, on up to $10,000 in spending per billing cycle; unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other qualifying eligible purchases. If you don't meet these requirements, you'll earn 1.5% cash back on your purchases.

If you spent $40,000 in your first year as a cardmember and qualified for the higher rewards tier, you’d earn $1,200 in cashback rewards.

Excellent for dining and entertainment: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

With the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Card, you’ll earn 10% cash back on purchases made through Uber & Uber Eats (through 11/14/2024); 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment; 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, and select streaming services; 3% at grocery stores (excluding superstores such as Walmart® and Target®), and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

What makes this card really stand out is that there’s no spending cap on how much cash back you can earn in each category. With other cards, you’d only earn the higher rate of return on the first $1,500 or $2,500 spent per quarter. The Savor card doesn’t have a limit, so if you spend a significant amount of money dining out or on entertainment, this credit card offers a large amount of rewards.

Read our full Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Card review. 

Special mention: 

Lowe’s Advantage Card

Store cards rarely offer outstanding rewards, but the Lowe’s credit card is an exception. You’ll get 5% off every eligible purchase you make with your card, making it a great option if you’re renovating your home or enjoy do-it-yourself projects.

How to pick the best cashback credit card for you

To choose the best cashback credit card for you, review your bank and current credit card statements to get an idea of your spending habits. Identify the categories where you spend the most money. That will help you find the credit card that will allow you to earn the most rewards in those areas. 

For instance, if you spend a lot at the supermarket, you might benefit from one of the best credit cards for groceries. Or if you have a long commute, you might get the most value from one of the best credit cards for gas. 

Other factors to consider include:

• Types of cashback credit cards: Are you interested in rotating categories, certain bonus categories, or flat-rate cash back?
• Credit history: Do you know your credit score? Many of the top cashback cards require a good to excellent credit score.
• Redemption options: Are you simply interested in redeeming your rewards for cash back? Or do you want more flexible redemptions?
• Bonus offer: Is a bonus offer important to you? Choosing a card with a generous bonus offer could help you maximize your cashback earnings.
• Annual fee: Do you want a no-annual-fee card? Or are you OK with paying an annual fee?

The bottom line

With one of the best cashback credit cards, you can earn valuable rewards just with your normal spending. If you pay off your balance in full each month, you’ll avoid costly interest fees, so it’s basically like getting free money back.

If you do plan on juggling multiple credit cards, make sure you’re organized. Track bonus categories and use the right cards to earn the highest rate of cash back.

Lastly, have a plan for your cashback rewards! You can use them to pay off your balance, or save the money that accrued to pay for a trip or even your holiday shopping. Using a cashback rewards card can help you earn hundreds of dollars each year and work toward your personal finance goals.

Unlimited Cash Back

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

4.7

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Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

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Current Offer

Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year)
• Bonus rewards on eligible travel, dining, and drugstores
• No annual fee
• Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers

Drawbacks

• Has foreign transaction fee

Card Details

• INTRO OFFER: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
• Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
• After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
• No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
• Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.
• No annual fee – You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card
• Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, alerts, and more.
• Member FDIC