Cash back credit cards are a dime a dozen. With so many out there, which one is best? In response to a friend asking about the best cash back credit card for a small business, today I did some research and came up with what I think are the best cash back credit cards worth signing up for right now.
Referral Links
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is the only card in this post for which I have a referral link. If you decide to apply for this card, please use my link, as I'll earn 20,000 Chase points when you are approved! The signup bonus via referral is 80,000 points - same as the public offer on the Chase website.
General Comments
- Personal credit cards can be used for business expenses, and vice versa
- Business cards usually have larger signup bonuses than personal cards
- Signup bonuses on cash back credit cards are generally smaller than the signup bonuses on travel points credit cards
- Some cards allow their 'travel points' to be redeemed for cash back (usually at 1 cent per point)...these can be very flexible cards, but not ideal if you plan / want cash back as your rewards currency. Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Ink Business Preferred are two great examples of this rare type of card that's flexible enough to provide the best of both worlds.
- Category bonuses can make a significant difference in the amount of rewards earned via card spend. Many cards offer 5% cash back in certain categories. If you have expenses that may fall in dining, travel, gasoline, office supply, utilities, grocery...these categories often have category bonuses from various cards. Some category bonuses are capped on a fairly low amount of quarterly or annual spend.
- How much annual spend do you anticipate? Some cards have huge signup bonuses based on high initial spend requirements - e.g. Capital One Spark Cash.
- 2% cash back is the best flat rate out there for all spend (regardless of category). 1.5% cash back cards are much more common.
- More than 2% cash back overall is possible, by leveraging category bonuses (which rotate quarterly for some cards, vs. cardholder can choose desired categories for other cards) -- but the spend you'll have may not fit any of these categories.
- Will you need numerous authorized user cards for employees, or just one main card or maybe a second one? Many business cards offer free employee cards, but some charge for that.
Bottom-Line Advice
- My personal strategy for anyone is to get a new card every year or two.
- The signup bonus from a new cash back card can be as much or nearly as much as the cash back earnings from a year's worth of spend on a card. E.g. spend $30k a year, earn $450-600 at 1.5%-2% cash back. A few cash back cards have $400-600 signup bonuses.
- Why not sign up for a new card every year or two, if this strategy could mean earning twice as much cash back as using the same card for several years?
Resources
- CardRatings.com best cash back cards - very good roundup of cash back cards, focused mostly on the good ones
- CompareCards.com Cash Back Cards List - good roundup of cash back cards, though many listed are not great choices
- Doctor of Credit best credit cards for various situations - great page with lists of good cards for people with spending focused in certain categories and other situations
- Frequent Miler best credit card signup offers - one of my favorite travel and credit card blogs. This page requires some drill-down to find the cash back cards, though.
- CardMatch tool - see if you are targeted for potentially better offers than publicly available offers. No credit pull.
Recommendations
These are in order, from best to least-best
- Capital One Spark Cash - 2% cash back on everything. Huge signup bonus if you can do huge spend. $500 cash back bonus after $5k in first 3 months. Additional $1,500 bonus after additional $45k ($50k total) in first 6 months. Total cash back will be $3k ($2k bonus plus 2% from normal cash back earnings on the $50k spend). Note, the similar Capital One Spark Miles has similar signup bonus. $59 annual fee, waived first year. Capital One Spark Cash - Doctor of Credit Capital One Spark Cash - Frequent Miler
- Chase Ink Business Preferred - huge $800 (80,000 Chase UR points, worth 1 cent each if cashed out) cash back sign-up bonus. Flexibility to use rewards as Chase UR points. $95 annual fee. Chase Ink Business Preferred - CardRatings.com
- Discover it cash back - 1% cash back plus 5% rotating quarterly cash back categories. Cash back in first year is doubled, so 2+% depending whether one earns any cash back from 5% categories. Only 1% cash back after first year, though. No annual fee. Discover it cash back - Frequent Miler (Possible to get $50 signup bonus via referral - check this Doctor of Credit page here.)
- Citi Double Cash. 2% cash back on everything, no annual fee. No signup bonus. Good long term card due to flat 2% cash back and no annual fee, but compared with a card that has a $500+ signup bonus, it will take a while to 'break even' with this card instead. Citi Double Cash - Doctor of Credit
- Capital One Savor Cash Rewards - $500 signup bonus. Only 1% cash back on most stuff, but 4% on dining and entertainment, 2% grocery. $95 annual fee waived first year. Decent card for the signup bonus, but not a great long term card unless spending quite a bit on dining & entertainment. Savor Cash Rewards - Frequent Miler
- Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5% cash back. No annual fee. $200 signup bonus after $500 spend. Best thing about this card is, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus, or Reserve, you can use the earnings from Freedom Unlimited to convert into 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spend. Chase UR points are great, flexible travel points generally considered to be worth about 2 cents each. Chase Freedom Unlimited - Frequent Miler
- Capital One Spark Cash Select - no annual fee. 1.5% cash back on everything. $200 cash back bonus after $3k spend in first 3 months. Capital One Spark Cash Select - Frequent Miler
- U.S. Bank Cash+ card - interesting twist - cardholder can select the desired bonus categories. No annual fee. $150 signup bonus. 5% back on $2,000 worth of combined purchases in two categories that you select quarterly; 2% back in one "everyday" category you select quarterly, such as gas or groceries; 1% back on everything else. U.S. Bank Cash+ card - Value Penguin
- U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express card - $150 cash back after $500 spend in first 90 days. 1.5% unlimited cash back on everything. No annual fee. Good first-year card, especially for lower spenders. E.g. spend $10k in first year. Total cash back $300, i.e. 3%. U.S. Bank Cash 365 Amex card
