1.5% Cash Back Calculator
Calculate cash back using the 1.5% cash back calculator, get the results, and compare side by side airline, hotel, and cash back rewards cards.
What Is 1.5% Cash Back?
When a rewards program or credit card is offering 1.5% cash back, it means that for every $1 you spend you will earn 1.5 cents ($0.015) in the form of cash back. You can calculate 1.5% cash back multiplying 0.015 by the amount you plan on spending. So if you want to know how much cash back you'll earn spending $1,000, it would be $1,000 x 0.015 which equals $15. But no need to pull out your trusty TI-calculator, because you can scroll to the bottom of this page to input your spend into the calculator which will take care of the number crunching for you!
What's The Best 1.5% Cash Back Card?
With so many 1.5% cash back credit cards on the market, there isn't really one that is considered the 'best'. Of course there are some that are better than others due to the extra benefits the card may offer such as travel insurance, purchase protection, cell phone protection, and more. I recommend using the Search For Cards By Spend calculator to find the best credit cards based on your own spend habits. You can also browse through the Best Cards For... list for the best cards for different categories, airlines, hotels, and more.
Should I Get A 1.5% Cash Back Card
1.5% cash back credit cards are great if you want to earn simple rewards at a good rate across all purchases. The best use of 1.5% cash back credit cards is when they're paired with other credit cards that fall under the same cash back program (or sometimes bank). For example, the Capital One Quicksilver Card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases. You can pair the Quicksilver with another Capital One cash back credit card such as the Capital One SavorOne Card which earns 3% on entertainment, 3% on dining and 2% on grocery purchases. Now you have a way to earn 1.5% to 3% across all of your credit card spend:
- Use the SavorOne on Entertainment and Dining for 3% cash back
- Use the SavorOne on Grocery for 2% cash back
- Use the Quicksilver for all other purchases for 1.5% cash back
If you were to just have the Capital One SavorOne, it would earn 1% cash back on all purchases outside of entertainment, dining, and grocery meaning you're losing out on the extra 0.5% you could be earning on those purchases with the Capital One Quicksilver. If you were to have just the Quicksilver, you would be missing out on the extra 1%-2% cash back you could be earning on entertainment, dining, and grocery purchases. Combinations like this is what makes 1.5% cash back credit cards great for miscellaneous purchases.
Are There Cards That Are Better Than 1.5% Cash Back?
There are credit cards that earn 2% cash back on all purchases. While there's a handful that have no annual fee, most of them do. If you plan on running a lot of spend through a 2% cash back (or higher) credit card with an annual fee, it will typically earn you more cash back than a 1.5% cash back card even with the fee.
For example, the Alliant CashBack Visa earns 2.5% cash back and has an annual fee of $99 and the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa earns 1.5% cash back and has no annual fee. If you were to run $3,000 per month across these cards, you would end up with $900 in cash back with the Alliant CashBack Visa and $540 with the Cash Wise Visa. Even if you subtract the $99 annual fee you would have to pay to have the Alliant CashBack Visa, you would still end up with $801 in cash back which is significantly more than what you earned with the Wells Fargo Card. This is one of the reasons why you can't automatically rule out credit cards with annual fees. You just have to run the numbers and make sure it's worth it.
and Card Value Calculator
You can use this rewards calculator to calculate how many points, miles, or cash back you can earn based on your spend per category. This calculator will also give you the dollar value of the card based on rewards earned and how much each benefit is worth to you minus the fees. You can click the Compare A Card button to compare this card against another card in the same calculator.
All category spend entered in the primary card's column will carry over to all credit card pages on the site so you don't have to re-enter the same information over again.
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If you want to find the best credit card based on your spend, I highly recommend you use the Search For Cards By Spend Calculator. You'll be able to enter your monthly and yearly spend across different categories and get a list of the best credit cards based on that spend. You'll also be able to toggle annual fees, banks, card types, networks, and much more.
There's also a bunch of other helpful credit card calculators on the site that can use such as credit card comparison calculators, hotel elite status calculators, rewards points and miles cash value calculators and much more. You can get the full list of calculators off the home page.
1.5% Cash Back FAQ
What is 1.5% cash back?
1.5% cash back means you will earn 1.5 cents ($0.015) for every $1 spent.
Are 1.5% cash back credit cards good?
Yes. 1.5% cash back credit cards typically have no annual fee and offer a great return on your spend. They're best used when paired with other credit cards.
Aren't 2% cash back cards better?
Yes, 2% cash back (and higher) credit cards will earn you more cash back, but most tend to have an annual fee and will require you to focus all of your spend across the card to make it worth the fee. There are some cards that earn 2% and higher that have no fee which will do you better than a 1.5% cash back card.
How much cash back will I earn with a 1.5% cash back card?
It depends on how much spend you run through the card and whether or not the card has an annual fee. You can use the 1.5% Cash Back Credit Card Calculators on this page to calculate total cash back based on your spend.
What's the best 1.5% cash back card?
While there are 1.5% cash back credit cards that are better than others, there's no card that is merely "The Best". You'll want to take into account card benefits, other credit cards in the program, fees, and much more when looking for a great 1.5% cash back credit card.
Are there 1.5% points and miles cards?
There are lots of 1.5% cash back credit cards that are disguised as points and miles cards. For example, the Discover IT Miles card earns 1.5 Discover Miles per $1 spent. The miles are worth 1 cents each so you're just looking at a 1.5% return.
How do I know what's the best credit card for my spend?
You can use the Search For Credit Cards By Spend calculator to get a list of the best credit cards based on your spend across categories.
