22 Best Cashback Credit Cards in 2023 (6% Back on Groceries)

“I can conveniently buy things with a credit card, pay no interest—and earn money for doing it?”

Sounded like a win to me.  And just like that—at 22 years old—I got myself a cash back credit card.

• My first-month rewards: $0.56.
• Second-month rewards: $0.41.

Um, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. It turns out I got the wrong cash back card—it paid great on restaurants and entertainment, which were things I never did, of course.  That card weighed down my wallet for years. I didn’t want to get rid of it because it was helping the length of my credit history—but it earned next to nothing in rewards. Don’t make this same mistake.  Get yourself a cash back credit card—but make it the right one based on how you spend.

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Life And My Finances has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Life And My Finances and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Best Cash Back Credit Cards in 2023

We reviewed 70+ credit cards to find the absolute best cash back credit cards for you.  What are the best cashback credit cards today? See our top winners below:

Top 10 Cash Back Credit Cards for 2023

• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express—Highest cash back credit card
• Synchrony Premier World Mastercard—Best cash back card with no annual fee
• American Express Blue Business Cash Card—Best cash back business credit card
• Citi® Double Cash Card—Best credit card with unlimited cash back
• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card—Best flat rate cash back credit card
• Capital One® Venture X® Rewards Credit Card—Best cash back travel credit card
• Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card—Best cash back credit card for gas
• Capital One® SavorOne Rewards Card—Best cash back credit card for restaurants
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express—Best cash back credit cards for groceries
• Capital One® SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card—best student cash back credit card

If you’re interested in reviewing all the top credit cards, check out our recent post: 10+ Best Credit Cards for 2023.

The Highest Cash Back Credit Card—Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Why we like it

The price of groceries skyrocketed when Covid hit—and we’re all still waiting for them to return to earth.

With my family’s $250+ grocery bill each week, we are seriously considering the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. It has a $95 annual fee—but also an unbelievable 6% cashback reward rate for groceries. 

They cap this reward at $6,000 in supermarket spending, but it’s still worth $360—which is more than enough to cover the annual fee. (Terms apply. See rates & fees.)

Other rewards include:

• 6% cash back on select streaming subscriptions.
• 3% cash back at US gas stations and on transit.
• 1% cash back on other purchases.

What credit card gives the most cash back?  For my family and me—this is the one.

Pros

• $0 first-year annual fee ($95 after that).
• $250 intro offer when you spend $3,000 within the first six months.

Cons

• You can’t redeem cash back through direct deposit or check.
• The 6% cashback reward doesn't include purchases at wholesale stores, superstores, or specialty stores.

Best Cash Back Card With No Annual Fee—Synchrony Premier World Credit Card

Why we like it

This cash back card is like your favorite car in your forties—reliable, costs you nothing each year, and is entirely logical. The Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® doesn’t have the frills of an introductory offer—or categories of colossal cash back rewards.  But it still makes complete sense with a flat 2% cash back reward on everything. (And it’s a no-annual-fee cash back credit card to boot!)

Pros

• 2% cash back on every purchase (no categories, tiers, or limits—no kidding).
• Cash back is automatically applied to your credit balance each month.
• No annual fee.

Cons

• No intro APR or welcome bonus.
• Charges a foreign transaction fee.

Best Cash Back Business Credit Card—American Express Blue Business Cash Card

Why we like it

Have a business? Want 2% back on your purchases?  Here you go!

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card has no annual fee—and you get a flat 2% cash back on all purchases up to $50,000 in yearly spending (1% afterward). And if you spend $3,000 in the first three months, you’ll earn an additional $250. (Terms apply. Also, see table of rates and fees.) 

Unsure of how to get a business credit card?

Check out our recent post: “How to Get a Business Credit Card: 4 Steps for Small Businesses to Take in 2023”.

Pros

• 0% intro APR for 12 months.
• High rewards rate compared to other business credit cards.
• You can spend beyond your credit limit with Expanded Buying Power.

Cons

• Spending cap on 2% cash back bonus.
• You need good or excellent credit.

Read more:

• How to Get a Business Credit Card: 4 Steps for Small Businesses To Take in 2023
• How to Establish Business Credit—and Then Build It Fast

The Credit Card With Unlimited Cash Back—Citi Double Cash Card

Why we like it

The Citi® Double Cash Card was one of the first to offer a 2% cash back reward—1% when you charge a purchase, and the other 1% when you pay the bill.  This card is still among the leaders in the cash back space. Rewards accumulate as ThankYou® Points, which you can redeem for:

• Statement credits
• Direct deposit
• Check
• Gift cards
• Shop with Points at Amazon
• Travel
• and more

Pros

• No annual fee.
• 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers.

Cons

• 3% foreign transaction fee.
• Intro transfer fee of 3%, but increases to 5% after just four months.

The Best Flat Rate Cash Back Credit Card—Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Why we like it

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® card is one of the market’s top flat-rate cash back cards.  Not only do they offer 2% back on all purchases—it’s unlimited, there’s no annual fee, and there’s a $200 introductory offer if you spend just $1,000 in the first three months. Redeem your rewards:

• To offset purchases.
• As a credit to Wells Fargo loans. 
• At a local ATM.
• Or for gift cards.

Pros

• 0% annual fee.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months.
• Cell phone protection of up to $600 when you use your Wells Fargo card to pay your monthly cell phone bill.

Cons

• High APR of 19.24%–29.24%.
• 3% foreign transaction fee.

The Best Cash Back Travel Credit Card—Capital One® Venture X® Rewards Card

Why we like it

What’s the best travel credit card with a high rate of cash back travel points?  We believe it’s the Capital One® Venture X® Rewards credit card. Sure, it has an annual fee of $395—but when you look through the benefits, you’ll quickly see why it’s well worth the yearly cost (if you travel, that is).

• 75,000 bonus miles if you spend $4,000 in the first three months.
• 10,000 bonus miles every year, starting on your first anniversary.
• $300 annual travel credits for bookings through Capital One Travel.

The initial bonus offer is worth a minimum of $750—but even without it, the 10,000 annual bonus points (and the $300 travel credit) will more than pay the annual fee.  All you need to do is travel a couple of times a year. This card also has impressive rewards on your purchases:

• 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel.
• 2x miles on all other purchases.

Pros

• Unlimited access to Capital One airport lounges for you and two guests per visit.
• Get Hertz President’s Circle® status—skip the counter and head straight to your car at select locations. (You may also be eligible for free upgrades.)
• Flexible rewards redemption.

Cons

• High APR of 21.24%–28.24%.
• You must spend $4,000 on the card in three months to earn the bonus offer.
• This card has great value when booking travel through Capital One Travel. (If you don’t use their portal, it’s likely not worth using this card.)

The Best Cash Back Credit Card for Gas—Wells Fargo AutographSM Card

Why we like it

If you’re sick of high gas prices, you can ease that pain by at least 3% with the Wells Fargo AutographSM card.  Earn 3x points on restaurants, airfare, hotels, car rentals, gas, EV charge stations, subways, parking, tolls, streaming services, and your cell phone plan (1x points on all other purchases). And, for a limited time, earn 30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,500 in purchases in the first three months—that’s a $300 cash redemption value.

Pros

• 0% intro APR for 12 months.
• No limit to points earned on purchases—regardless of category.

Cons

• Higher variable APR at 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24%.
• Points do not transfer to airlines or hotels.

The Best Cash Back Credit Card for Restaurants—Capital One® SavorOne Rewards Card

Why we like it

If you’re looking for a quick $200 cash bonus, and an ongoing reward of 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and grocery stores—then the Capital One® SavorOne Rewards card is for you. Spend just $500 in the first three months and earn that $200 introductory cash bonus. (That’s one of the lowest spending requirements of all the best money-back credit cards.)  If you’re not earning 3% on the specific categories noted above, you’ll still make a minimum of 1% cash back.

Pros

• No annual fee.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Cons

• High APR of 19.24%–29.24%.

The Best Cash Back Credit Card for Groceries—Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Why we like it

The best cash back card is the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express—the main reason is the 6% cash back reward rate for groceries. 

No other competing credit card has gotten close to this reward.  Sure, it’s capped at $6,000 in spend—but that’s still worth $360. (For a card that costs just $95 a year, earning $360 in just one category sounds pretty good!)

Other rewards include:

• 6% cash back on select US streaming subscriptions.
• 3% cash back at US gas stations and on transit.
• 1% cash back on other purchases.

(Terms apply.)

Pros

• $0 intro annual fee for the first year ($95 after that).
• $250 intro offer when you spend $3,000 within the first six months.

Cons

• You can’t redeem cash back through direct deposit or check.
• The 6% cashback reward doesn't include purchases at wholesale stores, superstores, and specialty stores.

The Best Student Cash Back Credit Card—Capital One® SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

Why we like it

My first cash back credit card sucked (I won’t tell you which one it was, but let me assure you it’s nowhere on this top list of cash back credit cards).  It only offered points on categories where I never spent money.  The Capital One® SavorOne Student Cash Rewards credit card took the opposite approach. 

• Earn 10% cash back made through Uber and Uber Eats.
• Earn 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and at grocery stores.
• And 1% cash back on everything else.

Want an early spend bonus too?  This card offers $50 when you spend $100 in the first three months.

Pros

• $0 annual fee.
• No cap on rewards.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Cons

• High APR of 19.24%–29.24%.

Read more:

• What’s the minimum age for a credit card? (Is It 18?)
• 22 of the Best Credit Cards for 18 Year Olds in 2023

Other Notable Cash Back Credit Cards

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card—Best cash back credit card for excellent credit
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card—Best cash back small business credit card
• Citi Premier® Credit Card—Best cash bonus credit card
• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card—Best 0% APR cash back credit card
• Capital One® Venture Rewards Credit Card—Best cash back credit cards with no foreign transaction fee
• Capital One® SavorOne Rewards—Best 10% cash back credit card (on Uber and Uber Eats)
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express—Best 6% cash back credit card (on groceries and streaming)
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®—Best 5% cash back credit card (on travel)
• Savor Rewards from Capital One®—Best 4% cash back credit car (on dining and entertainment)
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express—Best 3% cash back credit card (on gas)
• Wells Fargo Active Cash®—Best 2% cash back credit card (on everything)
• Wells Fargo Active Cash®—Best $200 cash back credit card (intro bonus offer)

What Is a Cash Back Credit Card?

Discover was the first to introduce the cash back program in 1986.  They provided cash to the credit card holder at the end of every year based on the total amount of charges. Not much has changed. If you have a cash back credit card, you spend money—and the credit card company pays you back a percentage of your spending.  It’s a simple concept that has taken off like wildfire.

Types of Cash Back Credit Cards

When people hunt for cash back cards, they often search for “free credit card with money.”  In other words, they want credit cards with no annual fee but pay back money—either as an introductory offer or as ongoing rewards. But there’s more to it than this.  What type of cash rewards credit card is best for you?  Flat rate? Tiered?  Or maybe rotating categories? Let’s take a look at each type—

Flat rate

Some of the best cash back cards are flat-rate cards, which offer one simple flat cash back percentage.  Currently, the top flat-rate credit cards offer a 2% rebate.  They include:

• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
• American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
• Synchrony Premier World Mastercard®

Tiered

Tiered cash back credit cards offer different rewards based on the spending category.  They might offer a high percentage cash back on travel, a medium cashback rate on dining—and then a flat low reward on everything else. The Capital One® Venture X® Rewards credit card is a good example of a tiered cash back card.  It offers:

• 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel.
• 2x miles on all other purchases.

Rotating categories

Other cards have rotating categories for their rewards.  One quarter, the card may offer 3% on restaurants. That 3% reward may move to gas purchases in the next quarter.  In other words, the high-earning reward category changes from quarter to quarter or month to month. This is my least favorite type of credit card. 

Perhaps you can benefit for a couple of quarters because you spend heavily on specific categories—but rarely are these cards beneficial all year round. It’s challenging to track when one spending category is more advantageous than another. (And you’ll find yourself holding off on purchases just because it’s not the right quarter.)  I’d rather you choose a credit card that’s best for you all the time—not just some of the time.

Common Cashback Bonus Categories

The common categories that will earn you cash back are:

• Travel
  • Airline tickets
  • Hotels
  • Rental cars
  • Other transit
  • Parking
• Groceries
• Gas
• Dining
• Entertainment
• Popular streaming subscriptions
• Cell phone plan 

How to Compare Cash Back Credit Cards

There are seven main differences that you should watch out for when comparing cash back credit cards:

• Annual fee
• Intro APR
• Regular APR
• Rewards rate
  • How much is it?
  • What spend earns the largest reward?
• Intro offer
• Transfer rate
• Foreign transaction fee

First, understand which criteria are the most important to you.  Then line up the cards and their features—and choose the one that benefits you most.

Comparing cash back credit cards: an example

Let’s say you rarely travel out of state—and you don’t like to go out and spend money on entertainment.  But you do often visit your sister that lives 150 miles away. The primary spend that you could earn cash back on is gas—find out which cards offer a gas reward.  Here are some of the top ones:

• Capital One® SavorOne Rewards—no annual fee, 3% back on gas purchases.
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express—$95 annual fee, 3% back on gas purchases.
• Wells Fargo AutographSM card—$0 annual fee, 3x points on gas (the same as 3% cash back).

You can immediately rule out the Blue Cash Preferred® card, since all the cash back rates are 3%—and this is the only one with an annual fee. That leaves the Capital One® card and the Wells Fargo card.  Which is best?

• The Capital One® SavorOne card offers a one-time $200 if you spend $500 in the first three months.
• The Wells Fargo AutographSM card has an introductory bonus of 20,000 points (worth $200) if you spend $1,000 in the first three months.

The offers are basically the same—but the Capital One® SavorOne card one-time bonus is easier to get—so this would be the winner (and soon to be your best credit card for cash back).

What’s the Difference Between Cash Back and Travel Cards?

A cash back credit card offers points, miles, or credits for your purchases.  These can be redeemed for gift cards, statement credits, a check, or products through the credit card’s website. A travel card is a type of cash back credit card—but you’ll earn greater rewards when you use it on travel-related purchases (like airline tickets, car rentals, hotels, other forms of transit, and even parking).

Pros and Cons of Using a Cash Back Card

As with anything, there are good and bad things about cash back credit cards.

Pros

• They often have low or no annual fees.
• They’re easy to use and often simple to understand.
• You’ll earn money back on purchases you make every day (on groceries, gas, restaurants, and travel).

Cons

• They often have a higher APR.
• The introductory bonus is usually smaller vs. other types of cards.
• You may be prone to spend more when you’re earning rewards.

How to Make the Most of Your Cash Back Card

First, find the card that will earn you the most points on your day-to-day spending. 

• If you love to travel—find the best travel rewards card you can find.
• If you have a big family and spend a ton of money on gas and groceries—find the card that rewards you most for that.

Second, never carry a balance on your credit card.  Getting cash back is great—but if you spend more on fees and interest than the reward you’re getting from your card—you’re better off just using cash or a debit card. Third, use your card to get the most out of it.  Case in point: I’ve had a Capital One Venture card for years—and I never knew I could earn 5x miles on travel if I booked my hotel stays through their portal. (The prices are usually lower too. Oops).

Best Banks to Get a Credit Card

The top banks for getting credit cards are:

• Wells Fargo
• Capital One
• Citi

They have a variety of excellent cash back rewards cards where they offer introductory bonuses and fantastic ongoing rewards.

How to Get a Cash Back Credit Card

How do you get a cash back credit card? Since the supply of cash back credit cards is so vast, issuers have made it really easy to apply and get the one you want. So how do you get your hands on one?

1. Be sure your credit score is within the recommended range for the card. 
2. Get pre-approved. 
3. Continue with the application process.

Most card companies can get you approved instantly—and send you a card in just a couple of weeks.  Your application may take a little longer to process if your score isn’t within the desired range (or if any other red flags pop up).

What Is The Best Credit Card With Cash Back?

You’re looking for the best credit cards with cash back.  You might be wondering, “Is there a holy grail of credit cards?” or, “Is there this one perfect card everyone wants?” Nope. We all spend our money differently—which means the desired rewards for Billy, the family man, are totally different than for Bob, the traveling businessman.  (One wants some cash back on his astronomical grocery bill. The other wants to travel-hack his way to Jamaica.)  The best cash back credit card is the one that earns you the most money back.  Take your time to discover which card this is—then jump on it and start earning more money today!

Methodology

How did we find the best cash back rewards credit cards? What methods did we use?  We started by scouring the top cards all over the internet.  We read what people were saying, looked up all the stats on each card—and then graded them by the following categories:

• Annual fee
• Regular APR
• Introductory bonus
• Low-end of the cash back rewards
• High-side of the cash back rewards

We graded over 70 credit cards.  No credit card received a perfect score of five with our methodology. A select few earned a score of 4.5 or better.

Note:

Life And My Finances has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Life And My Finances and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

For rates and fees of the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please see the table of rates & fees.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please see the table of rates & fees.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Frequently Asked Questions