Looking for a credit card that offers cash back rewards without any annual fees? You're in luck! There are plenty of great options available to help you maximize your rewards and save money in the long run.
Review our top picks for the cash back credit cards with no annual fee or use our credit card cash back calculator to determine which cards will earn you the most cash back based on the spend amounts you enter.
Best for supermarket, gas, and online retail.
Best for earning 1.5% cash back worldwide.
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
Best For Supermarket, Gas, and Online Retail
- Earning Rate: Earns 3% cash back on up to $6,000 in U.S. supermarket purchases per year (then 1%), 3% back on up to $6,000 in U.S. online retail purchases per year (then 1%), and 3% back on up to $6,000 in U.S. gas station purchases per year (then 1%). All other purchases on the card earn 1% back.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
- Annual Fee: $0. (See Rates and Fees)
- Summary: One of the hands-down best no-annual fee credit cards available. Earn up to $180 bonus cash back in each category when you hit the 3% cap for a total of $540 per year.
- Maximize Your Rewards: Avoid the 1% back this card offers by pairing it with the American Express Cash Magnet® Card to earn 1.5% back on all purchases.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express.
- Learn More about the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
Best For Earning 1.5% Cash Back Worldwide
- Earning Rate: Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- Main Highlights: No foreign transaction fee.
- Intro Bonus: One-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: It's a flat-rate 1.5% cash back credit card that has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and is on the Mastercard network (which means it's pretty much accepted worldwide). It's a simple, standard credit card, but it is super reliable. I personally take this card with me anytime I travel out of the country.
- Maximize Your Rewards: If you want additional cash back on a few select categories at no annual fee, pair it with the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card for up to 3% back.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
- Learn More about the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
Best For Dining & Entertainment
- Earning Rate: Earns an unlimited 3% back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and at grocery stores and 1% back on everything else.
- Main Highlights: Uncapped bonus categories and no foreign transaction fee.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
- Annual Fee: $0. Plus no foreign transaction fees.
- Summary: With no cap on the 3% categories, this is the best option for heavy spenders. If you spend $1,000 or more per month across these categories combined, no card can compete outside of the annual fee version.
- Maximize Your Rewards: Pair this card with the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card to earn 1.5% back on all other purchases instead of the 1% back this card offers. Makes for an excellent two card combo.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
- Learn More about the SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Best For Flat-Rate Cash Back & Bonus Cash Back
- Earning Rate: Earn 5% back on Chase Travel, 3% back on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.
- Rewards Structure: Cash back earned with this card is displayed as Ultimate Rewards points which can be redeemed for cash back.
- Main Highlights: Points can be transferred to Chase's travel credit cards for increased value towards travel.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: It's one of the few cards that offer 1.5% cash back on all general purchases along with the ability to earn bonus cash back on several other categories.
- Maximize Your Rewards: Pairing this card with Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card will allow you to redeem points earned with this card for significantly higher value towards travel.
- Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
- This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.
Citi® Double Cash Card
Best 2% Back Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 2% cash back on all purchases — that's 1% cash back on your purchases and 1% cash back when you pay off those purchases.
- Rewards Structure: Cash back earned with this card is displayed as ThankYou Rewards points which can be redeemed for cash back.
- Main Highlights: Points earned with the card can be redeemed for higher value towards travel if you have the Citi Premier® Card.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: Earning an uncapped 2% back at no-annual fee makes this one of the best cash back credit cards in the market. Fantastic choice if you want a "one-and-done" card that you can use all purchases throughout the year.
- Maximize Your Rewards: Pair it with the Citi Custom Cash Card for 5% back on one eligible category. If you're big on travel, pairing it with the Citi Premier® Card will allow you to transfer rewards to all of Citi's airline and hotel partners which will significantly bump up the value of points earned with this card.
- Calculate Card Value & ThankYou Points per dollar spent for the Citi Double Cash Card.
- This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
Best For Automatically Maximizing Cash Back
- Earning Rate: Earn 5% cash back on the eligible you spend the most in during each billing cycle on up to $500 (then 1%) and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- Rewards Structure: Cash back earned with this card is displayed as ThankYou Rewards points which can be redeemed for cash back.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: Pick up this card for the one eligible category you spend close to $500 per month in for an easy $300 in cash back annually.
- Maximize Your Rewards: Pair it with the Citi® Double Cash Card to earn up to 2% back on all other purchases. Fantastic 2-card combo for always earning 2% or 5% back on purchases.
- Calculate Card Value & ThankYou Points per dollar spent for the Citi Custom Cash Card.
- This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.
Chase Freedom Flex℠
Best For High Earnings On Rotating Categories
- Earning Rate: Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined spend between the categories featured during the quarter (then 1%). Also earns 5% back on Chase Travel, 3% back at restaurants and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else.
- Rewards Structure: Cash back earned with this card is displayed as Ultimate Rewards points which can be redeemed for cash back.
- Main Highlights: Points can be transferred to Chase's travel credit cards for increased value towards travel.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: At no annual fee, there's really no downside to picking this card up. Chase typically provides great 5% categories every quarter.
- Maximize Your Rewards: If you want more value towards travel, pair this card with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Freedom Flex.
- This card is unavailable through The Point Calculator.
Upgrade Triple Cash Visa Card
Home Projects & Large Purchases
- Earning Rate: Earn 3% cash back on home, auto, and health purchases and 1% back on everything else.
- Main Highlights: Large credit line, opened to FICO score of 600 or higher, and also doubles as a personal loan.
- How Does This Card Work: Any balances not paid by the due date will be converted to an installment loan at a fixed interest rate with equal monthly installments over a set period. You can also treat it like a loan and request funds from your card's credit limit.
- Intro Bonus: Earn a $200 bonus after you open & fund a Rewards Checking Plus account & make 3 debit card transactions within 60 days. If you previously opened a checking account through Upgrade or do not do so as part of this process, you are not eligible. Payout made within 60 days of meeting the conditions.
- Annual Fee: $0.
- Summary: Great option to keep in your wallet for home projects and large purchases. Even if you don't use the card on a consistent basis, it makes for an excellent backup credit card for unexpected expenses such as an emergency repairs to home and car or surprise medical expenses.
- Calculate Card Value & Cash Back per dollar spent for the Upgrade Triple Cash Visa Card.
- Get Pre-approved for the Upgrade Triple Cash Visa Card.
Upgrade Visa® Card with Cash Rewards
Best For High Credit Limits & Flexibility
- Earning Rate: Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no cap on how much you can earn.
- Main Highlights: Large credit line, opened to FICO score of 600 or higher, and also doubles as a personal loan.
- How Does This Card Work: Any balances not paid by the due date will be converted to an installment loan at a fixed interest rate with equal monthly installments over a set period. You can also treat it like a loan and request funds from your card's credit limit.
- Intro Bonus: Get a $200 bonus when you open and fund a new Upgrade Rewards Checking account and make 3 debit card transactions within 60 days of your Upgrade Card account opening. If you previously opened a checking account through Upgrade or do not do so as part of this process, you are not eligible. Payout made within 60 days of meeting the conditions.
- Annual Fee: $0
- Summary: Great hybrid option if you plan on paying off your credit card purchases every statement period, but would like the ability to also have easy access to a personal loan if needed. Makes for a fantastic backup/emergency credit card to have on hand.
- Calculate Card Value & Rewards per dollar spent for the Upgrade Visa® Card with Cash Rewards.
- Learn More about the Upgrade Visa® Card with Cash Rewards.
Credit Card Cash Back Calculator
Use the Credit Card Cash Back Calculator to determine which no-annual fee cards will earn you the most cash back based on the spend amounts you enter.
Results will be sorted by net return. This is calculated by taking the average value of the rewards earned adding the average value of card benefits and subtracting any annual fees the card has.
Results will consist of cash back credit cards from our partners.
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These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card. They should be used for illustrative purposes only.
You can click on the estimated earnings to see the calculations or click on the card to learn more and apply for the card through our partners.
Do note that all spend amounts entered into the tool above will carry over to every credit card rewards calculator on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend if you choose to dive deeper into calculating rewards for credit cards on the site.
FAQ
What are no annual fee credit cards?
Credit cards that have no annual fee means that you do not have to pay an annual fee to hold the card. These type of cards usually offer less rewards and benefits than their annual fee counterparts.
Are annual fees worth it?
Annual fees can be worth paying if the card offers more value than the fee. To find out if an annual fee is worth it, you will need to run the calculations to see if the rewards you earn and the benefits the card offers outweighs the fees.
How can I find out if an annual fee is worth it?
You can use the Credit Card Comparison Tool to calculate the cash value of any credit card featured on the site. This will give you an idea on whether or not a card is worth the annual fee.
What is the best no annual fee credit card?
There is no 'best' card as everyones needs and spend habits are different, but there are cards that stand out above others. I recommend checking out the Top No Annual Fee Credit Cards.
