With 50% more cash back each year, the Capital One Cash is a step ahead of your run-of-the-mill 1% cash back credit card. Although the official rewards rate on the CapOne Cash is 1%, you earn an additional 50% back at the end of the year on the rewards you’ve racked up. In effect, this means that you’re earning a rewards rate 1.5% cash back.
Compared to a lot of the rewards cards out there, the Capital One Cash isn’t very impressive, but it does have a few other redeeming features. Aside from cash rewards, the card offers an introductory 0% APR on transfers and purchases for 12 months. This combination of rewards and 0% transfer APR is unusual and makes the Cash a good option for people looking to pay down debt while earning decent rewards at the same time.
In addition, the Cash gives a $100 signing bonus upfront. There are no special rewards categories to keep track of, and no limits on the rewards you can earn. Likewise, your rewards won’t expire as long as you keep the card. Overall, the Capital One Cash Rewards Card is a no-frills card that bypasses the hassles often associated with cards that offer flashier rewards rates. Most importantly, it has no annual fee, so you won’t be stuck with a card you can’t afford to keep, but you still get a pretty darn high rewards rate.
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Rewards meet balance transfers
The Chase Freedom is one of the better cash back cards, much for the same reason as the Cash: it has no annual fee, it has a high rewards rate, and it has a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months and purchases for 6. It gives 5% rewards on bonus categories that change quarterly, up to $1,500 in purchases a quarter, and an unlimited 1% elsewhere. By using the Freedom on bonus purchases and the Cash elsewhere, you can add 0.5% to your rewards earnings in non-bonus categories. Plus, you can double up on signup bonuses: the Freedom offers $100 cash back, or $200 cash back if you eschew the balance transfer offer.
The Citi Dividend World MasterCard is one of the few other credit cards to offer both rewards and a good balance transfer option. The Dividend actually beats the Cash in terms of balance transfer deals, with an introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for the first 15 months. It offers 5% cash back in rotating bonus categories and 1% back on all other purchases. Before you get too excited, we should tell you that the Dividend caps annual rewards at $300. To evaluate which rewards credit card better suits your spending habits, consider that $20,000 of spending with the Cash translates into $300 in rewards. If you spend more than $20k a year with your card, you may want to go with the Cash’s unlimited rewards. Otherwise, take advantage of the Dividend’s longer 0% APR and higher bonus category rewards.