Best Credit Cards for Everyday Spending

【Updated 2024.10】Added Robinhood 3%, Synchrony Premier 2%, and US Bank Smartly 4%. It’s clear that more and more cards now offer elevated rewards on everyday spending, and banks are getting increasingly creative with new products.

In general, many credit cards offer bonus rewards in specific spending categories, but for some people, keeping track of all that is just too much work. Today, we’ll share some credit cards that offer relatively high rewards on all purchases, so you can just use one card for everything without having to think about it.

US Bank Smartly (4%)

The biggest feature of this card is that it already offers 2% cash back on all purchases. If you also have a US Bank bank account (Saving, Checking, Investment Account), you can earn up to an additional 2% cash back, for a total of 4%. The exact bonus is based on your average monthly balance across those bank accounts. This really could be one of the best one-card setups available!

• $5,000-$49,999: extra 0.5% cash back, for a total of 2.5% cash back.
• $50,000-$99,999: extra 1% cash back, for a total of 3% cash back.
• $100,000 or more: extra 2% cash back, for a total of 4% cash back.

Robinhood Gold (3%)

This card earns 3% cash back on all purchases, and travel booked through the Robinhood Travel platform earns 5% cash back. However, you need Robinhood gold ($5 per month) in order to apply, and currently you can only join the waitlist and wait for an invitation.

Citi Double Cash (2.6%)

Citi Double Cash is a no-annual-fee credit card that offers 2% cash back on all purchases, with no cap. Specifically, you earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off, for a total of 2%. This card is very straightforward and doesn’t really come with many other benefits. One useful trick is that you may be able to do a product change from another Citi card to this one and get the benefit of 2% back on everyday spending.

In addition, while this card is marketed as 2% cash back, what you actually earn is 2x ThankYou Points. If you later become interested in transferring points to airline miles or hotel points, you can consider applying for a Citi Premier to increase the overall value of your TYP points. Based on our valuation, TYP are worth 1.3c/p, so 2x points is equivalent to 2.6% back on all purchases.

AMEX Everyday Preferred (2.4%)

AMEX EveryDay Preferred is a credit card with a $95 annual fee, and it can earn up to 1.5x Membership Rewards (MR) on all purchases. Normally, all purchases earn 1x MR, and if you make more than 30 purchases in a month, you get a 50% points bonus, bringing your everyday earning rate to 1.5x MR. MR cannot be directly redeemed for cash, but you can get 1:1 value by using them through AMEX Travel for flights or hotels. The best use of MR is usually transferring to airline miles for domestic US flights or international US-China flights, especially business class, where the value can be very high. We generally value MR at about 100 points = $1.6. That means 1.5x earning on all purchases is equivalent to 1.5 * 1.6 = 2.4% back. In addition, this card earns 3x MR at supermarkets and 2x at gas stations; after the 50% bonus, those become 4.5x MR at supermarkets and 3x MR at gas stations. Using our 1.6c valuation for MR, that works out to 7.2% back at supermarkets and 4.8% back at gas stations.

Chase Freedom Unlimited (2.4%)

Chase Freedom Unlimited is a no-annual-fee credit card that earns 1.5x Ultimate Rewards (UR) on all purchases. We value UR at 1.6c/p, so that works out to 2.4% back on all purchases. The reason is that if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card or a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, you can transfer UR to United (UA), British Airways (BA), and Korean Air (KE) for award flights, or to Hyatt points. Award flights and hotel stays booked with points can sometimes be far cheaper than paying cash directly, especially for business class flights or luxury hotels. In addition, if you hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, you can book flights, hotels, and activities directly through Chase Travel at a value of 1.5c/p. Taking all of these uses into account, UR are worth around 1.6c/p.

Capital One Venture Rewards (2.2%)

Capital One Venture Rewards is a credit card with a $95 annual fee that earns 2x points on all purchases. After its revamp, the points can be transferred to airline partners. Some especially useful partners include Aeroplan (Air Canada), Avianca, Cathay Pacific, and Flying Blue, with a transfer ratio of 2:1.5. So in practice, 2x points is equivalent to 1.5x airline miles, which based on partner mile valuations works out to about 2.2% back. At the same time, the points can also be used to erase travel purchases. After using the card to pay for eligible travel expenses, you can redeem points against those charges at a rate of $1 = 100 points. In addition, this card offers hotels.com 10% back, as well as a $100 reimbursement for Global Entry and TSA Pre.

Capital One Venture X (2.2%)

Capital One Venture X is a credit card with a $395 annual fee that earns 2x on all purchases. Its points can be transferred to airline miles. Some especially useful partners include Aeroplan (Air Canada), Avianca, Cathay Pacific, and Flying Blue, with a transfer ratio of 2:1.5. So 2x earnings is effectively equal to 1.5x airline miles, which based on partner mile valuations works out to about 2.2% back. While this card’s annual fee looks high, it also offers a $300 travel credit and 10,000 points every year, which basically offsets the annual fee.

Wells Fargo Active Cash (2%)

Wells Fargo Active Cash is a no-annual-fee credit card that earns 2% cash back on all purchases. In addition, it also offers $600 in cell phone protection and a free monthly credit score, which are both nice benefits.

Synchrony Premier (2%)

Synchrony Premier is a no-annual-fee credit card that offers 2% cash back on all purchases. However, smaller banks can sometimes be less stable, and customer service quality may also be inconsistent.

Other Credit Cards

There are actually quite a few credit cards that offer 1.5%-2% back, and some can earn even more under special conditions. Here are a few more worth mentioning:

• Discover it Miles: 3% back on all purchases in the first year, then 1.5%; $75 sign-up bonus; no annual fee.
• BofA Premium Rewards credit card: 1.5% on all purchases, with BofA Preferred Rewards bonuses up to 2.65%; $95 annual fee and $100 annual airline credit. The downside is that you need a large amount on deposit at BofA to qualify for Preferred Rewards.
• BofA Travel Rewards credit card: 1.5% on all purchases, with BofA Preferred Rewards bonuses up to 2.65%; 25,000-point sign-up bonus ($250); no annual fee. The downside is that you need a large amount on deposit at BofA to qualify for Preferred Rewards.
• AMEX Everyday Card: 1x on all purchases, and after 20 purchases, effectively 1.2x, equivalent to 1.92% back; up to 2.4x at supermarkets; no annual fee; transferable to airline miles.
• AMEX Blue Business Plus credit card: 2x Membership Rewards on all purchases, equivalent to 3.2% back; no annual fee; transferable to airline miles.

Summary

More and more credit cards now offer 2%+ back, but relatively few of them are truly no-annual-fee cards. When choosing, make sure to factor in the annual fee. For example, a card with a $100 annual fee that offers 2% back would require at least $10,000 in annual spending just to break even versus a no-annual-fee card earning 1% back, and at least $20,000 in annual spending to break even versus a no-annual-fee card earning 1.5% back. Of course, this only considers non-bonus everyday spending; annual-fee cards may also offer other bonus categories and benefits that are not included in this calculation.

Personally, I think that unless you truly don’t want to think about categories at all and just want a simple card for relatively high spending, then Double Cash is the straightforward choice. If you want to take a more comprehensive approach and are willing to learn more about credit cards, then Everyday Preferred is a more well-rounded option.

Credit Cards for Everyday Spending

Credit Card	Cash Back	Annual Fee	Notes	Apply
Citi Double Cash	2.6% (2x TYP)	$0	You need a premium card to increase the value of the points.	Link
AMEX EveryDay Preferred	2.4% (1.5x MR)	$95	You need to make more than 30 purchases per month to earn 1.5x.	Link
Chase Freedom Unlimited	2.4% (1.5x UR)	$0	You need a premium card to increase the value of the points.	Link
Capital One Venture	2.2% (1.5x C1)	$95	None	Link
Capital One Venture X	2.2% (1.5x C1)	$395	$300 annual travel credit + 10k bonus points, which can offset the annual fee.	Link
Wells Fargo Active Cash	2%	$0	None	Link
Detailed analysis: Comparison of High Cash Back Cards for Everyday Spending