They're cards that have higher cash back
rates on the bonus categories, or just attractive and above - average flat rates on all net spending (more in our comparisons below).
They're cards that have higher cash back
rates on the bonus categories, or just attractive and above - average flat rates on all net spending (more in our comparisons below).
Not exact matches
Instead of offering a fixed
rate on all purchases, the Chase Freedom ® card gives 5 % cash back
on up to $ 1,500 in combined purchases in
bonus categories each quarter.
The one caveat is that maximizing your rewards
rate with the Chase Freedom ® requires you to stay
on top of which
categories are currently eligible for the
bonus and using the card accordingly.
Additionally, Credible has selected (and reviewed) the best credit cards in each
category based
on a number of relevant factors, including clarity in Terms and Conditions, fees, promotions and offers such as sign - up
bonuses, rewards
rates, and ease of redeeming rewards as well as APR..
A flat 2 % rewards
rate on all
categories and a spending
bonus worth up to $ 500.
Beyond these special
categories, the default case is that you will earn cash back at a
rate of.25 %
on your first $ 3,000 in purchases, and up to 1 % in cashback
bonuses after you spend above that amount.
Instead of offering a fixed cash back
rate, the Chase Freedom ® credit card earns 5 % cash back
on up to $ 1,500 in combined purchases in
bonus categories each quarter.
The Business Edge Travel Rewards Card offers a modest signup
bonus and okay reward
rates on two everyday purchase
categories: phone services and either gas, travel and office supplies.
While the highest rewards
category has a 3 % rewards
rate, cardholders receive a 25 %
bonus on their points when the points are used to book travel through the ThankYou Travel Center — boosting the value to 3.75 %.
You get that
bonus rate on the first $ 1,500 you make in purchases, within the
bonus category.
Keep in mind that you will need to make sure to activate your
bonus categories each quarter, or else you'll only get the 1 %
rate on everything.
You can find other cards that offer higher rewards
rates but you'll usually have to watch for rotating
categories (that usually have caps
on the
bonus reward) or you'll have to pay an annual fee to offset higher rewards
rates.
While credit cards will pay
bonus rates on most purchases within the designated spending
categories, they will not pay the
bonus for all purchases.
Tiered and
bonus -
category cash - back credit cards offer higher
rates on certain purchases and 1 %
on everything else.
Instead of offering a fixed
rate on all purchases, the Chase Freedom ® card gives 5 % cash back
on up to $ 1,500 in combined purchases in
bonus categories each quarter.
The one caveat is that maximizing your rewards
rate with the Chase Freedom ® requires you to stay
on top of which
categories are currently eligible for the
bonus and using the card accordingly.
The rewards
rate you earn
on an ongoing basis (not factoring in the annual fee) ranges from 1 % (no
bonus category spending and no travel redemption) to 6.25 % (all
bonus category spending and only travel redemption).
Besides its $ 150 sign - up
bonus (same requirements as the Chase Freedom Unlimited), its biggest selling point is its cash back
rate of 5 %
on select
categories of purchases which rotate quarterly, and 1 % back
on everything outside of those
categories.
The table below shows approximate rewards
rates depending
on estimated spending in the
bonus categories.
First, there is a special
bonus cash back
rate on category purchases.
Similar to other credit card rewards, most travel rewards credit cards allow you to earn unlimited, flat -
rate points or miles
on every purchase, and a variety of cards also offer
bonus points or miles for purchases in specified
categories.
As with cash back rewards, most rewards points credit cards will provide an unlimited flat
rate on all purchases, typically 1X point per $ 1, as well as offering
bonus points
on purchases made in specific
categories.
While the card's 1 % cash back awards
on most spending is definitely less than you would earn with flat
rate cash back cards like the Capital One ® Quicksilver ® Cash Rewards Credit Card or Fidelity Investment Rewards, it really doesn't take much spending in the
bonus categories to come out ahead overall.
Tracking
bonus categories takes some extra work but lets you earn cash back incredibly fast, depending
on the card issuer, it could be at a
rate of 5 % or more.
The Discover it cash rewards card is a good no - fee cash back card with a generous 5 percent
bonus rate for quarterly rotating
categories — as long as you log in to your account to activate your
category each quarter, you can earn 5 percent cash back
on up to $ 1,500 in purchases per quarter for the following
categories:
You can get bigger rewards when you spend
on items in specific rotating
categories which yield a higher
bonus percentage
rate but come with a limit every quarter.
Tracking
bonus categories — While
bonus category cards offer a generous rewards
rate, keep in mind that there is a cap
on the amount of
bonus rewards you can earn, and cardholders are required to activate the
bonus category each quarter.
A number of cash back cards will offer flat -
rate rewards
on every purchase (including gas) equal to those offered
on gas by the Shell card, and
bonus category cards can offer up to 5 % cash back
on gas.
The second type of program provides a higher earnings
rate for purchases in specific
bonus categories, typically with a limit
on how much you can earn per quarter.
By applying just 25 % of their spending
on bonus categories, Discover it ® — Cashback Match ™ cardholders can effectively match the maximum possible rewards
rate of the Discover it ® chrome.
Please note that Kiva, in its sole discretion, may place limits or restrictions
on the
categories and types of Loans that may be made when using Free Trial and
Bonus Credit (e.g., type of Loan, risk
rating of Field Partner, term of Loan, or restricting use for auto - lending).
Bonus categories rotate multiple times a year, usually every quarter, earning high -
rate rewards
on things like gas, groceries, and restaurants.
The Discover it ® Cashback Match ™ has a much higher rewards
rate (5 %
on up to $ 1,500 in purchases per quarter each time you activate), though you'll have to focus your spending
on rotating
bonus categories, like restaurants and gas stations.
While this is pretty average for an airline card, many general travel rewards cards offer higher overall rewards
rates, as well as greater opportunities for earning extra points by providing more comprehensive
bonus categories, such as double points
on entertainment, dining and gas purchases.
This is not the best earning scheme out there — there are many cards
on the market that enable you to build up
bonus points
on special
categories of spending, and even a few cards that offer a higher general rewards
rate.
Our research shows that most consumers don't allocate a large percentage of their budgets to Amazon purchases and — while the card does offer a 2 percent
bonus on lucrative
categories such as restaurant, gas station and drugstore purchases — this isn't enough to recommend the Prime card above cash back cards that offer general rewards
rates of 1.5 percent or more.
Since you earn the same
rate on every purchase, you don't have to keep track of
bonus categories, nor do you have to worry about enrolling in
categories each quarter.
Our calculations show that the average cardholder is likely to earn more rewards with the flat 1.5 percent cash back
rate on the Chase Freedom Unlimited card than with the 5 percent
bonus categories on the Chase Freedom card:
Some offer a flat
rate for all expenditures, while others have a staggered
rate — often with big
bonuses on spending
categories in areas favored by businesses.
Since the changes earlier this year to these cards»
bonus categories, removing drug stores and cell phone expenses, and reducing the
bonused earning
rate from 6 HHonors points to 5 points
on the no - annual - fee card, manufacturing spend
on these cards has become a much more questionable value proposition.
Once you reach $ 8,000 in combined purchases in the
bonus categories, the cash back
rate drops to 1 percent
on all your spending for the remainder of the year.
American Express Membership Rewards transfer to Delta at the
rate of 1000 MR = 750 Delta so your return
on general purchases will be lower, and you would need to make up for it with the
category bonuses.
For this particular cardholder, the Capital One Spark Cash card — though it doesn't offer any
bonus categories — comes out ahead, thanks to its high
rate of 2 percent cash back
on every purchase:
The Discover it cash rewards card is a good no - fee cash back card with a generous 5 percent
bonus rate for quarterly rotating
categories — as long as you log in to your account to activate your
category each quarter, you can earn 5 percent cash back
on up to $ 1,500 in purchases per quarter for the following
categories:
There are several cards
on the market that can give you a better cash back
rate than 1.5 percent through the
bonuses they offer in
categories such as grocery and gas station purchases.
However, if you combine the Chase Freedom card with other cards that offer
bonuses on additional spending
categories and use the Chase Freedom card exclusively for purchases that earn 5 percent cash back, you can far exceed the 1.5 percent
rate on the Chase Freedom Unlimited card.
You want to pair this flat -
rate card with other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards to earn extra points
on purchases not covered by the
bonus categories on the other cards.
The two most common types of cash back programs are a flat -
rate percentage
on all purchases, or a
bonus rate for purchases that fit specified
categories.
Rewards for gas purchases
on credit cards usually fall into one of the following
categories: quarterly
bonuses, a flat -
rate with caps or a flat -
rate without caps.