I’ve been reading a bit about cashback credit cards lately, and it’s kind of confusing. Every site claims theirs is the best, and I’m curious about which ones actually feel valuable in real life.

It’s interesting to see how some cards give rewards automatically, while others have all these categories and rules to track. Some seem really simple and straightforward, and others feel like they take a lot of attention to actually get anything back.

I’m just fascinated by how these programs work in practice — like which setups make it easy to earn rewards, and which ones feel complicated but maybe give more if you actually use them carefully.

Would love to hear general experiences or just stories about how people interact with these cards. Even little observations about what makes a card feel “worth it” are interesting.

For 2025 I gave a summary of what I thought the best credit cards were, but with people posting I've learned some new things, as well as some of the offers have changed. I'm going to give an update of what I found here. I also originally had this as "my list", but now want to make it a more general list. This is specifically not calling out any bonuses that they might have, so if you're a churner this list won't be too helpful.

Some important caveats - some of these offers are no longer available, however, for overall tracking purpose I'm going to include them here. Also, some of these bonuses are only available with other qualifying actions, such as keeping 100K in account value. I know that's not achievable for everyone, but doesn't change the fact that they might be the best option.

If I've missed any please feel free to let me know - however, this list is not really for the "also rans", i.e. BoA Customized Cash offer includes 2% on groceries and wholesale clubs (3.5 if you're platinum Honors), but that is below other higher offers. Similar with Capital One Quicksilver, 1.5% as a general card falls below the 2% available at many other vendors. Aside from general cashback, anything below 5% just doesn't really cut it.

Selectable Categories - 8.25% - 2500 Per Quarter

• BoA Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card - No Annual Fee - Chose one from(Can change a month): gas and EV charging stations; online shopping, including cable, internet, phone plans and streaming; dining; travel; drug stores and pharmacies; or home improvement and furnishings. *8.25 is for the first year with 100k+ held in BoA accounts or linked Merrill accounts and only applies for the first year, after that, you lose the promotional "+3%" and drop down to 5.25%. You can hold multiple cards

Selectable Categories - 6% - 1500 Per Quarter

• US Bank Shopper Card (V) - $99 Annual Fee, waived for the first year - chose two from (changing on the quarter reset): AceHardware^® Apple^®Amazon.com^®Anthropologie^®Bed, Bath, & Beyond^®Best Buy^®Chewy.com^®CrateandBarrel^™Disney^®HomeDepot^®Ikea^®Kohl's^®Lowe's^®Lululemon^®Macy's^™Menards^®Nordstrom^™Pottery Barn^®QVC^®Restoration Hardware^™Target^®Walmart^®Wayfair.comWilliams Sonoma^®

Groceries - 6%

• Aven Rewards (V) - 6% cash back on groceries up to $10K a year 0- No Annual fee

• Blue Cash Preferred (AE) - 6% cash back on groceries up to $6K - 95 annual fee waived for the first year

Selectable Categories - 5%

• US Bank Cash+ (V) - No Annual Fee - 2000 Per Quarter -Chose 2 from (changeable at the start of the quarter *MUST RESELECT TO GET BONUS): Fast food, Home utilities, TV, internet and streaming, Department stores, Cell phone, Electronic stores

• Citi Custom Cash (MC) - No Annual Fee - 500 Per Month on largest category spend; can have multiple cards.

• Max Cash Preferred (V) - No Annual Fee -2000 Per Quarter - Chose two TV and Internet & Streaming Services,Fast Food,Cell Phone Providers,Department Stores,Home Utilities,Furniture Stores,Electronic Stores,Recreation,Entertainment

Rotating Categories (Check here to see categories)- 5% - 1500 Per Quarter

• Chase Freedom (V) - No annual fee (no longer available)

• Chase Freedom (MC) Flex (same categories as regular Freedom) - No annual fee

• Citi Dividend (MC) - No annual fee (no longer available)

• Discover IT (D) - No annual fee

Set Categories - 5%

• US Bank Ralphs (MC) - No Annual Fee - 5% digital Wallet 3000 per calendar year, 5% Kroger 3000 per calendar year -

• PenFed (V) - 5% Gas - No annual fee (no longer available)

• Ink Business Cash Credit Card 5% (V) - No Annual Fee - Internet Cable Phone and Office Supply Stores 25000 Per Calendar Year

• Autograph Journeys Card (V)- 5% Hotels 4% Airlines [95$ Yearly Fee but 50$ travel credit, so ~45$]

• AAA Daily Advantage 5% Groceries - Rewards capped at 500 per year

• AAA Travel Advantage - 5% Gas and EV Charging - Rewards capped at 350 per year

General Cashback

• USBank Smartly Credit Card (V) - 4% - Up to 10,000 per billing cycle *Need to either be grandfathered in to have 100k in investment, or have 100k in checking to get bonus.

• BoA Unlimited Cash Rewards - 3.125% *For the first year, then falls to 2.625%, but both of these numbers reflect the "Platinum Bonus" of having 100k in BoA or linked Merrill Accounts, otherwise 2% first year falling to 1.5%)

• Robinhood Gold Card - 3% - I believe 5$ a month, so 60$ a year

• 2% - Too many to List Fidelity / Citi Double Cash® Card (MC) / Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (V) / The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (50k limit) (AE) / Synchrony Premier World (MC) / Apple Card (Must use apple Pay) / PNC / NFCU

Honorable Mentions (Debit Cards)

• Paypal Debit Card (MC) - 5% Up to 1000 per month (changeable at the start of the month *MUST RESELECT TO GET BONUS) Chose one from: Restaurants, Groceries, Fuel, Apparel, or Rideshare/Transit.

• Schwab Debit (V) - All ATM Transaction Fees Refunded

I currently use BOA travel rewards which only gets back like 1.65% in travel rewards. I am going to phase that card out and I want a credit card that gives just cash back rewards instead of one specific to travel.

I’d like to balance a higher rewards percentage with a great experience using that card (great customer service, no fees, etc).

What card do you use and love?