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Cash Back Credit Cards with no Annual Fee
When choosing a cash back credit card you should be aware of additional costs of an opportunity to earn additional 2-5% on your spending:
- Typically APR that applies to such cards is higher than you can get with your excellent credit.
- Some cash back cards charge an annual fee, so you should make enough in purchases to offset an annual fee with a cash back.
Luckily, most of the best cash back cards are now free. Here’s our list of the best no annual fee cash back cards:
| regular APR | |
- earn 5% back on two categories that you can choose by yourself
- earn 2% on restaurants
- 1% on all other purchases
- plus you get $25 bonus each time you redeem $100 and more cashback in a single transaction
excellent required
no annual fee
5% on 2 categories you choose quarterly
2% on 1 category you choose quarterly
| regular APR | |
- earn 3% back at US supermarkets (limited by $6000 spending annually, then 1%)
- 2% on gas and in selected department stores
- 1% back on all other purchases
- $100 sign up bonus after spending $1000 in purchases in the first 3 months
good credit required
no annual fee
up to 2-3% cash back
Amazon Prime membership free
| regular APR | |
- earn 2% cashback on gas and restaurants with $1,000 quarterly limit in combined purchases
- 1% on all other purchases
good credit / fair credit required
no annual fee
2% on gas and dining out
| regular APR | |
- 2% cash back on restaurants and gas up to $1000 in combined purchases per quarter
- 1% regular cash back
fair credit / no credit required
no annual fee
student card - no credit needed
2% cash back on gas and dining
| regular APR | |
- earn $200 bonus for spending $5,000 on a card in first 6 months
- earn additional $200 bonus for spending additional $10,000 during the first year
good credit required
no annual fee
5% cash back on office supplies and wireless phone service
3% cash back on a category of your choice (out of 8)
1% unlimited cash back on everything else
$200 statement credit after spending $5,000 in the first 6 months
$200 credit after spending additional $10,000 on a card withing the first year
| regular APR | |
- get $100 for spending $500 on the card in the first 3 months
- 3% cash back on dining
- 2% on groceries
- 1% unlimited on everything else
excellent required
unlimited rewards 3% on dining, 2% on groceries, 1% on other purchases
$100 bonus for spending $500 on the card in the first 3 months
no annual fee
no balance transfer fee
| regular APR | |
- 3% back on Walmart purchases
- 2% on Murphy USA and Walmart gas
- 1% on all other purchases
bad credit required
no annual fee
$25 bonus
| regular APR | |
earn tax deductible 1% cash back and automatically send it to the charity of your choice
good credit / fair credit required
- No Annual Fee
- Low APR starting at 10.74%
- World MasterCard benefits
- Earns 1% Cash Back to ANY nonprofit of your choice including K-12 schools, colleges, & religious organizations
- Comes with all of the great benefits of a World MasterCard
- Support up to three nonprofits at once
| regular APR | |
- earn 2% on grocery store and wholesale club purchases
- earn 3% on gas
- quarterly limit of $2,500 apply to gas and groceries combined purchases
- get $100 after spending $500 on the card in the first 3 months
no credit required
no annual fee
2-3% cash back on gas, groceries, and wholesale club purchases
| regular APR | |
- get 1% cash back on al purchases
fair credit / no credit required
no annual fee
student card
up to 1.25% cash back
Our long-time favorite is a Fidelity AmEx card that gives you back 2% on all purchases with no limit. The only inconvenience is the need to open Fidelity account, which is free and doesn’t charge you a maintenance fee.
Another card is Citi Double cash – you get 1% cash back on all purchases when and then 1% back after paying off your balance. That means a total 2% cash back on all purchases if you pay your balance in full.
One of the most rewarding options with high cash back categories is a US Bank Cash+ card that offers a top level 5% cash back on 2 categories of your choice and 2% on another category you choose.
With a credit card, it is necessary to know the amount of interest you pay to the bank if you keep a balance on a card. That interest in most cases will offset any benefits of having a cash back or rewards.
The basic rule is if you keep a balance, just go with a low APR credit card – it will save you more in the long run.
See also:
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