Calculate 1.5% Cash Back - Interactive Calculators

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.

How do you calculate 1.5% cash back?

You can calculate 1.5% cash back multiplying 0.015 by the amount you plan on spending. So if you spend $1,000, 1.5% back would be $1,000 x 0.015 which is $15. You can use the cash back calculator below to calculate total cash back based on spend.

1.5% cash back calculator

Use the 1.5% Cash Back Calculator to calculate 1.5% cash back based on the value entered.

What's the best 1.5% cash back card?

There are many 1.5% cash back credit cards in the market and while the overall return might be the same, there are cards that offer additional benefits that makes them better than others. This includes things like:

• Travel insurance
• Purchase insurance
• Cell phone protection
• The ability to convert cash to other rewards
• Ways to earn bonus cash back
• Synergy with other cards in the program

These are all important and should be considered when choosing any kind of credit card, especially if you plan on maximizing your spend by having more than one rewards card.

Here are a few of the best 1.5% back credit cards in the market right now:

• Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card - Earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases worldwide at no annual fee.
• American Express Cash Magnet® Card - Earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases. No annual fee.
• Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa® Card - Doubles as a credit card and personal loan. Earn 1.5% cash back on purchases or borrow from your credit line at a fixed rate. No annual fee.

Should you get a 1.5% cash back card?

I recommend having at least one flat rate earning card. The best use of 1.5% cash back credit cards will usually come from pairing them with other credit cards that fall under the same rewards program or bank (aka: credit card synergy).

For example, take a look at the cash back earning rates for the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card:

If you were to have both cards, you would use the SavorOne Card for dining, entertainment, and grocery purchases and use the Quicksilver Card for everything else.

This is because the SavorOne will only earn you 1% back on all purchases whereas the Quicksilver would earn you 1.5%. You may think that a 0.5% difference is not that big, but it adds up over the course of the calendar year.

For example, $2,000 in miscellaneous purchases per month would be $24,000 per year. At 1% that is a total of $240 in cash back, but at 1.5% that is a total of $360 in cash back. I don't know about you, but the $360 sounds significantly better.

There are many credit cards that work well together. Here are a few of our top picks:

• Capital One SavorOne Card + Capital One Quicksilver
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express + American Express Cash Magnet® Card
• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express + American Express Cash Magnet® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card + Chase Freedom Flex℠ Card
• Citi Custom Cash℠ Card + Citi Double Cash Card

Are there cards that are better than 1.5% cash back?

There's a good handful of credit cards that earn more than 1.5% cash back, so why would you get a 1.5% cash back card when you know you can earn a higher rate with another card? The answer to that depends on many factors:

• How much do you plan on spending on the card?
• Do you like the issuer/bank and network the card is assigned to?
• Do you plan on using the card internationally?
• Does the card have useful benefits that you'll use?

You have to take all of this into consideration when selecting a credit card.

For example, I own the Citi® Double Cash Card which earns 2% cash back (1% on purchase and 1% when you pay off the purchase) and the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card which earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases. The reason I own both is based on my international travel.

The Citi Double Cash Card has a 3% foreign transaction fee which means that if I use the card outside of the States, I'll be charged a fee of 3 cents on the dollar. Since the card earns 2% back (which is 2 cents on the dollar), I would be technically losing rewards which is not good.

On the other hand, the Quicksilver Card has a 0% foreign transaction fee which means I can use the card internationally and not have to worry about a fee.

So basically, I use the Citi Double Cash for purchases in the U.S. to get up to 2% back on my purchases and I take the Capital One Quicksilver with me when I travel internationally to earn an easy 1.5% back on purchases.