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Best Flat-Rate Cashback and Rewards Cards for 2022
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through a credit card issuer partnership.
If you don’t want to deal with a cashback card that has rotating cashback categories, or have to keep track of which specific categories earn higher rewards such as supermarket or gas station spending, a flat-rate cashback credit card can make your life easier.
Based on our research of cards available through LendingTree, as well as top cards offered by major issuers, we’ve selected some of the best flat-rate credit cards that offer from 1.5% cash back per $1 spent (or 1.5 points or miles per $1 spent) to 2.5% cash back. Of the credit cards on this list, the majority are consumer cards, while some are small business cards.
Click below to learn more:
Best 2.5% cashback credit card
Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card
Rewards: Earn up to 2.5% cash back on your first $10,000 of qualifying eligible purchases (1.5% for purchases over $10,000). This is the highest cashback rate we could find on any flat-rate credit card. Note that to earn 2.5% back, you’ll need to meet the requirements for an Alliant High-Rate Checking account for each month of the preceding calendar quarter, and will need to maintain an average daily balance of $1,000 in that account for each month of the preceding calendar quarter as well, according to Alliant’s website. Otherwise, you’ll earn just 1.5% back on all purchases.
Sign-up bonus: No bonus.
Annual fee: $0.
Other benefits: This card comes with a bunch of benefits that can come in handy when you travel, including roadside assistance, auto rental collision damage waiver and travel accident coverage. There are also select Visa Signature® benefits such as travel accident insurance and concierge services. Note that this is a credit union card, so you’ll have to join Alliant Credit Union. If you don’t meet the standard membership requirements, there is an option to join Alliant’s partner charity (Alliant will contribute the required $5 on your behalf) to become eligible.
Best 2% cashback credit cards
Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
Rewards: Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. There’s no limit on how much cash back you can earn and you can redeem your cash back as a statement credit, by direct deposit or check or convert it to Citi ThankYou® points.
Sign-up bonus: No bonus.
Annual fee: $0
Other card details: This card is a good choice for people looking to get out of debt. There’s an intro APR of 0% for 18 months on balance transfers. After, a 16.24% - 26.24% (variable) APR applies. That is a great length of time for you to pay off transferred debt. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening.
Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Rewards: Unlimited 2% cash back on everyday purchases.
Sign-up bonus: Receive 10,000 bonus points — which equals $100 cash back, when deposited into an eligible Fidelity account — after making at least $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days of account opening.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: This card offers Visa Signature® benefits that include a dedicated concierge available to assist with a variety of requests, from booking travel to buying concert tickets. There are also special shopping and travel benefits that may include discounts at select merchants and best available rate guarantee at hotels.
PayPal Cashback Mastercard®
Rewards: 3% cash back on PayPal purchases and 2% on all other purchases
Sign-up bonus: No bonus.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: The PayPal Cashback Mastercard® comes with Mastercard benefits such as ID Theft Protection, which offers an online monitoring dashboard you can activate and a team of identity theft resolution specialists you can call 24/7.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Rewards: Earn 2% cash back on every purchase; 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through capital one travel.
Sign-up bonus: Earn up to a $1,000 cash bonus; $500 once you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, and $500 once you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months of account opening.
Annual fee: $150.
Other benefits: This card offers year-end spending summaries, purchase records that can be downloaded in multiple formats (including Quicken, QuickBooks and Excel), roadside assistance, and a foreign transaction fee of none.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Rewards: Earn 2 miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $0 intro for first year; $95 after that.
Other benefits: Earn 5X miles per $1 spent when booking hotels and car rentals through Capital One Travel. Plus, receive one statement credit for either the $85 TSA Pre✓® application fee or the $100 Global Entry application fee when you use your Capital One Spark Miles for Business.
Best 1.5% cashback and rewards cards
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
Rewards: Earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply).
Sign-up bonus: Get a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: Benefits include extended warranty protection, travel accident insurance and a foreign transaction fee of None.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Sign-up bonus: 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 Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
Rewards: Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases. And if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can transfer rewards earned on the Chase Freedom Unlimited® to your Sapphire card, then redeem for extra value for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: Auto rental collision damage waiver, fraud monitoring, trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, travel and emergency assistance services and extended warranty protection.
Discover it® Miles
Rewards: Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase - with no annual fee.
Sign-up bonus: Only Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. For example, if you earn 35,000 Miles, you get 70,000 Miles. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: The Discover it® Miles offers benefits including alerts if your Social Security number is found on the Dark Web (you must sign up), free access to your FICO® Score and the ability to freeze and unfreeze your card in case you misplace it.
American Express Cash Magnet® Card
Rewards: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on your purchases. Cash back earned will be applied as a statement credit.
Welcome offer: Get a $200 back after spending $2,000 or more in purchases with your card within the first 6 months of card membership..
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: Benefits include car rental loss and damage insurance, free two-day shipping when you shop online with ShopRunner and special access to events such as concerts, Broadway shows and sporting events.
USAA® Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Rewards: Earn 1.5% cash back on all qualifying purchases.
Sign-up bonus: None
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: When you enter active military duty, get a special 4% APR on any existing balances. That’s better than the 6% APR required by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Note that you must be a USAA member in order to apply for this card.
PenFed Power Cash Rewards
Rewards: Get 2% cash back on all purchases for PenFed Honors Advantage Members, or 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Sign-up bonus: Receive a $100 bonus when you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days.
Annual fee: $0
Other card details: The PenFed Power Cash Rewards’s regular purchase APR is 15.99% to 17.99% variable. If you qualify for the lower end of that range, that’s a low interest rate compared with many competing cashback cards, and has the potential to save you money if you need to roll over a balance once in awhile. While you can apply without being a Pentagon Federal Credit Union member, you’ll need to join, open a Savings/Share Account and deposit at least $5 before you can get the credit card.
Capital One Spark Cash Select - $500 Cash Bonus
Rewards: Earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a $500 cash back once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: Get employee cards at no cost, year-end summaries, and purchase records that can be downloaded in multiple formats (such as Quicken, QuickBooks and Excel).
Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business
Rewards: Earn 1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase.
Sign-up bonus: Get a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
Annual fee: $0
Other benefits: Earn 5X miles per $1 spent when booking hotels and car rentals through Capital One Travel with the card. Get purchase records you can download in multiple formats, including Quicken, QuickBooks and Excel.
Is an annual fee worth it for your cashback card?
In some cases, you might wonder if an annual fee is worth higher rewards, such as when comparing the Capital One Spark Miles for Business vs. the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business or the Capital One Spark Cash Select - $500 Cash Bonus. To help you decide, we put together a table showing the tipping point where the annual fee becomes worth it.
2% cash back vs. 1.5% cash back (business cards)
| Annual spending | Net cash back earned when using a 2% cashback card with a $95 annual fee | Net cash back earned when using a 1.5% cashback card with a $0 annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | -$75 | $15 |
| $5,000 | $5 | $75 |
| $10,000 | $105 | $150 |
| $15,000 | $205 | $225 |
| $20,000 | $305 | $300 |
| $25,000 | $405 | $375 |
The information related to the Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card, Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card, PayPal Cashback Mastercard®, American Express Cash Magnet® Card, USAA® Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card, PenFed Power Cash Rewards and Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business have been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply to American Express credit card offers. See americanexpress.com for more information.