There are a lot of different perks that make people want to use credit cards over other options. Different cards can come with unique perks like travel miles, reward points, and more. But many people would rather have a credit card that gives them cash back. With a 2% cash-back card, anyone can earn money while they spend, making their money last longer.
Here are some of the best 2% cash-back credit cards you can get right now, along with the information you need to choose the right one for you.
Here is the Best 2% Cash Back Credit Cards: Which Is Best for You?
1. Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card from Alliant
The Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature credit card is a good choice because it offers cash back with no limit and no annual fee. This card doesn’t give exactly 2% cash back, but it does give 2.5% cash back on the first $10,000 in eligible purchases. After that, you get 1.5% cash back on everything you buy.
Rates on the card are good, starting at 13.74% APR. Support for Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Apple Pay will make it easy for cardholders to use their other payment methods and digital wallets.
One of the best things about this card is that you can get cash back on all kinds of purchases. The Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature credit card doesn’t have any restrictions like other cards that only give cash back at certain stores or for certain purchases like groceries or gas.
But you have to join Alliant credit union to get the card. To get this card, cardholders must first open an Alliant Checking account and then qualify for Alliant High-Rate Checking to get the most rewards. To get the maximum 2.5% rewards in the next quarter, you must keep an average daily balance of at least $1,000 in this account for each month of the last calendar quarter. This might seem like a lot of rules, but it is the best way for anyone to connect their services.
Pros
- 2.5% cash back on the first $10,000 spent, which is great.
- No fees every year
- APRs that are good
Cons
- needs an Alliant checking account
- Needs a daily average balance of at least $1,000 each month
- There is no welcome offer.
2. The Citi® Double Cash Card
The Citi® Double Cash card gives you 2% cash back in a special way. Citi says that the bonus isn’t just 2% cash back, but rather it’s like getting 1% cash back twice. When a cardholder makes a purchase or pays off their balance, they get 1% cash back.
In practise, this gives cardholders the same benefits as any other 2% cash-back credit card, but it also gives them a little extra motivation to pay off the balance sooner. And for a limited time, cardholders can get a $200 cash back bonus after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months.
The card is very flexible. You don’t have to buy something in a certain category to get cash back. There is also no limit on how much cash back you can earn, so you can use the card for almost any kind of spending.
The Citi® Double Cash card can also be used in many different ways. You can get cash back points as a credit on your statement, a direct deposit, or a check in the mail. You can also exchange them for gift cards, travel, or shopping at Amazon.com and other online stores.
The card’s variable APR is between 16.24% and 26.24%, which is nothing out of the ordinary. There is no annual fee for the card, but there is a 3% fee for transactions made outside of the country. An introductory APR offer is available to people who just got a card. The Citi® Double Cash card has a 0% APR on balance transfers for the first 18 months if they are made within four months of opening the account. After that, the regular APR is between 16.24% and 26.24%.
Pros
- Bonus for coming
- If you don’t carry a balance, you get 2% cash back.
- No fee per year
- APR for balance transfers at the start
Cons
- The APR offer only applies to balance transfers, not to purchases.
- fees for transactions in other countries
3. Cash back on bread A Credit Card from American Express
If you’ve been looking at more traditional credit card companies, you might not have heard of Bread Financial. The financial technology company is one of a kind because it focuses on co-branding and makes credit cards with specific benefits for customers.
The Cashback on Bread The American Express® credit card is a bit different from the company’s other cards, which are usually made for a certain brand or type of business. It gives you 2% cash back on all purchases, no matter where you buy from, what brand you buy, or what category you shop in.
The variable APR is between 16.99% and 28.49%, which is just a little bit worse than some of the other options on this list.
But it’s also the only way to pay with American Express, Member FDIC. The company doesn’t usually offer these kinds of deals, so the Bread Cashback American Express® credit card is a rare chance to get the security and other benefits that American Express has to offer in a cash-back card with no annual fee.
One more benefit is that you can decide what to do with cash back earnings. You can choose to have your rewards put on your statement or sent straight to your bank account.
Pros
- 2% cash back on everything, no limits on categories
- Safety and benefits of American Express
- No fee per year
Cons
- No offer of welcome
- Less competitive APR
4. Capital One’s Spark Cash Plus
Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a business card, which is different from many of the other cards on this list. The flexible card has a lot of features that make it good for business use, like no limits on how much you can spend or how much cash back you can get.
Spark One Cash Plus is a charge card, so you can’t keep a balance or pay for purchases over time. That means there is no APR because the full balance must be paid off every month. For some, this might be a deal-breaker, but for this kind of business card, it’s a perfectly reasonable agreement.
The $150 annual fee is made up for by a welcome offer, which is another reason to choose this card. You can get a cash bonus of up to $1,000 if you meet certain spending goals in the first six months. For example, you get $500 if you spend $5,000 in the first three months and another $500 if you spend $50,000 in the first six months.
Since this is a business card, it also gives free cards to employees so that 2% cash back can be earned on all company spending. The purpose of these employee cards isn’t just to make transactions easier. They also give managers a way to keep track of and keep an eye on expenses.
Even though the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is only for businesses, it works well for that purpose.
Pros
- 2% cash back on everything
- Cards for workers
- Bonus for coming
Cons
- Only for companies
- $150 per year
So You Know
One of the most important things to remember about 2% cash-back credit cards is that you must pay off your balance every month to get the most benefit. Especially with cards with higher interest rates, one month’s interest can wipe out your cash-back reward.
5. The Synchrony Premier World Mastercard
Synchrony Bank works with companies like Lowe’s, Ashley Furniture, Living Spaces, and Pep Boys to offer a wide range of credit cards. The Synchrony Premier World Mastercard, which gives 2% cash back, is one of the things it has to offer. It might have the benefits you’re looking for.
The card has no annual fees and a reasonable range of variable APRs from 14.74% to 27.74%. As a World Mastercard, the card gives you protection against fraud and identity theft, among other things. This comes with Mastercard’s regular monitoring of your identity, which makes it a great choice for travellers.
There aren’t many restrictions on this card. For example, there’s no limit on how much cash back you can get, and there aren’t any based on how much you spend. This means you never have to opt in to get rewards or extra benefits.
There are also discounts on services like DoorDash, Lyft, and Hello Fresh that come with the card.
Pros
- 2% cash back is simple.
- No fee per year
- There are many different offers and bonuses.
Cons
- Foreign exchange fee
6. Credit Card from SoFi
SoFi is a fairly new company when it comes to credit cards. The online company for personal finance offers a wide range of credit products, from credit cards to refinancing student loans. It also now offers banking services.
The SoFi credit card gives you 2% cash back and many of the perks that consumers have come to expect from online finance, like extra benefits from companies like Lyft and DoorDash. There are no limits on what you can buy with the card, and there are no annual fees.
You must sign up for other SoFi financial products in order to get the 2% cash back offer. SoFi gives you two reward points for every dollar you spend, but you can only get their full value if you put them into a checking, savings, cryptocurrency, investment, or loan account.
For a limited time, if you set up and keep a qualifying direct deposit each month, you can earn an extra 1% cash back, up to a maximum of 36,000 points.
The SoFi credit card has a variable APR of between 14.49% and 26.49%, which might not be too bad for people with good enough credit to get the lower end. The APR can go down by 1% if a cardholder makes 12 monthly payments on time and meets other requirements.
Pros
- 2% cash back on everything
- For a limited time, you can get 3% cash back with direct deposit.
- No fee per year
Cons
- More SoFi accounts are needed to get the full 2% bonus.
7. The PayPal Cashback Mastercard®
With the PayPal Cashback Mastercard®, online shoppers might have just found the best cash back offer. This unique offer comes with a bonus that boosts cash back on PayPal purchases to 3%. This offer has a lot to offer people who already use PayPal.
In addition to the special benefits that come with paying with PayPal, the card offers 2% cash back on all purchases that aren’t made through PayPal checkout. There are no other limits on categories, and you can get as much cash back as you want.
From now until the end of August, PayPal is giving an extra $100 cash back on the first $500 spent in the first 90 days after opening an account. This card is worth keeping an eye on because of this bonus and the great new features. The APR for this card is between 16.49% and 28.49%, which is a bit higher than some of the other cards out there.
Pros
- everywhere 2% cash back
- 3% cash back on purchases made with PayPal
- No fee per year
Cons
- Less competitive APR
8. The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card is a cash-back card that works with Fidelity’s different savings and investment products. To get the 2% bonus, you must put your cash back into a qualifying Fidelity account, either your own or that of a friend or family member. You can put all of your cash back into one account or split it up between up to five accounts.
You can also use your points to get things like travel and merchandise, but at a lower price. The best way to use this card is to add to long-term savings and investments, since you can put the full 2% into IRAs, 529 college savings plans, and other investment accounts.
The card has a variable APR of 16.24%. There is no annual fee, and the fee for transactions in other countries is only 1%. This is a Visa Signature card, so cardholders receive a number of additional benefits. These include auto rental collision damage waivers, lost luggage reimbursement, travel accident insurance and roadside dispatch.
Pros
- 2% cash back on everything
- Visa Signature benefits
- No fee per year
Cons
- 2% only when put into accounts with Fidelity.
How to Pick the Right Cash-Back Card
These cards are all great options for specific individuals. To figure out which is the perfect fit, consider your own unique needs. Think about how you usually spend money, if you can meet the requirements for any bonus offers, and if you’ll be able to make payments on time so you don’t have to pay interest.
Almost all of these cards provide additional benefits in some areas, so it makes sense to take a closer look at what these bonuses mean to you.
Final Take
Take the time to study these great 2% cash-back credit cards carefully to make sure you’re getting the most out of your everyday spending. Different types of spenders will get the most out of different cards, so it’s important to look into your options before making a choice.
