Because I love to travel, most of the credit cards I own earn points and miles rather than cash back. Those points and miles can be used to book award flights, free hotel nights and more. However, with travel being non-existent for most of last year and into the near future, earning cash back makes a lot of sense right now. But which cash back cards are the best? I’ve compiled a list of the top cash back credit cards for 2021 and best of all, you won’t find any with an annual fee!

Credit Card	Best For	Welcome Offer
Chase Freedom Flex℠	Best Overall Cash Back Card	$200 bonus (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Non-Bonus Spending	$200 bonus (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Citi® Double Cash	Simplicity	None
Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Card	Foodies and Entertainment-lovers	$200 bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express	Groceries	$200 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
Discover it® Cash Back	Rotating Cash Back Categories	Cashback Match™ (Discover will match all the cashback earned during the first year)

Chase Freedom Flex℠

Why I Love this Card

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ card packs a ton of amazing benefits into a card with no annual fee. It has fantastic earnings rates in popular categories like dining and drug stores, as well as a 5% earnings rate on quarterly rotating categories.

Pros

• $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
• Earns 5% in rotating quarterly bonus categories throughout the year
• Earns 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
• Earns 3% back on dining and drugstores
• No annual fee
• Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards flexible points program

Cons

• The 5% rotating quarterly bonus is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter
• Bonus categories must be activated each quarter to earn the 5%
• The card earns only 1% on non-bonus spending (purchases in popular categories like groceries or gasoline should be done on a different card)
• Travel must be booked through Chase to earn the 5% cash back

Final Word

This is a must-own card in my opinion. Maximizing the rotating categories equates to $300 in cash back each year. Add that to the cash back earned on dining, at drugstores and on travel and you’re looking at a sizeable return. The cash back is actually credited to your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. Or you can transfer those points to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, and really supercharge the card’s value. For more information on how to get even more value from this card, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Why I Love this Card

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card is great to use as your “everyday” or “catch-all” card. This is the card you should take out of your wallet when there’s no bonus points or cash back to be had. Like it’s Chase Freedom Flex teammate, it has the same terrific earnings rates in popular categories like dining and drug stores. The difference between the two is that the Freedom Flex has the 5% rotating categories while the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% on all non-bonus spending. You can’t go wrong with either card and you could even own both!

Pros

• $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
• Earns 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
• Earns 3% back on dining and drugstores
• Earns 1.5% back on all other purchases
• No annual fee
• Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards flexible points program

Cons

• Travel must be booked through Chase to earn 5% cash back

Final Word

This is the card I use as my personal “everyday spending” card. Any purchase that doesn’t hit a bonus category on my other cards is charged to my Freedom Unlimited card. The cash back is actually credited to your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. Or you can transfer those points to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, and really supercharge the card’s value. For more information on how to get even more value from this card, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Citi® Double Cash

Why I Love this Card

The Citi® Double Cash card is all about simplicity. It has the easiest and most straightforward earnings structure of any card on the list. Essentially this card earns 2% cash back on all spending. You earn 1% on the purchase and 1% when you pay your bill.

Pros

• Easy to understand earnings structure (no need to remember bonus categories)
• Earns 2% cash back (1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay your bill)
• No annual fee
• Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Citi’s ThankYou® Rewards flexible points program

Cons

• No welcome bonus
• To transfer points, you must own another Citi ThankYou Rewards card that charges an annual fee

Final Word

This is another wonderful “everyday spending” option. And if you pair this card with either the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier cards, you can really increase the card’s value. Once your points are in the ThankYou Rewards ecosystem, you open up more valuable redemptions in Citi’s travel center or by transferring to any of their 16 airline travel partners. For more information on Citi’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Citi ThankYou® Rewards.

Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Card

Why I Love this Card

This is the perfect card for those who like to go out. It’s centered around dining and entertainment, earning 3% cash back on both categories. Earning 3% on dining is a great rate for a card with no annual fee. Plus for those eating at home more during the pandemic, it applies to carryout, delivery and food delivery apps. The entertainment category, although probably not in high demand right now, is nice because it includes so much. Sporting events, movies and theatre, amusement parks, museums, and zoos are just some examples of what counts as entertainment.

Pros

• $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
• Earns 3% back on dining and entertainment
• Earns 2% at grocery stores
• No annual fee

Cons

• There’s no flexible rewards points program associated with this card, so cash back is the only option

Final Word

While this is a solid card, you might want to consider applying for the Capital One Savor Rewards Card instead. The Savor Rewards card has a $95 annual fee, but you earn a higher welcome bonus and higher earnings rate. That card comes with a $300 welcome bonus and earns 4% on dining and entertainment. After spending $4,500 on dining and entertainment, the card has paid for itself, at least in the first year. If after one year, you’re not getting the value you want, you can always downgrade to the no annual fee version instead.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Why I Love this Card

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express earns a solid 3% on grocery purchases, which is a category everyone is spending a ton on this year.

Pros

• $200 welcome bonus, after spending $1,000 in the first three months
• Earns 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets
• Earns 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and select department stores
• No annual fee

Cons

• The 3% cash back is only earned on grocery purchases up to $6,000, then it’s 1%
• There’s no flexible rewards points program associated with this card, so cash back is the only option

Final Word

Just like with the Capital One cards, there’s a $95 annual fee version of this card that could give you way more value, at least during year one. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has much higher earnings rates and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. That gives you a year to try it out, risk free, to see if the added value is worth keeping the card beyond the first year.

The Blue Cash Preferred card comes with a $300 welcome bonus and earns 6% at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases. It also earns 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions and 3% at gas stations and on transit. You can always downgrade to the no annual fee card, but those increased earnings rates may more than make up for the $95 annual fee. Just spending more than $3,167 on groceries per year would make keeping the Blue Cash Preferred a good deal.

Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card

Why I Love this Card

The Discover it® Cash Back Card is is the original rotating quarterly bonus categories card! Plus during your first year of card ownership, Discover will match all of your cash back earned dollar for dollar!

Pros

• Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year
• Earns 5% in rotating quarterly bonus categories throughout the year
• No minimum cash back redemption
• No annual fee

Cons

• The 5% bonus earnings rate is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter
• Bonus categories must be activated each quarter to earn the 5%
• The card earns only 1% on non-bonus spending, so it shouldn’t be used on anything that’s not part of the rotating quarterly bonus categories

Final Word

Depending on how much you spend during the first year, this card could end up with the highest welcome bonus of any. If you maximize the rotating categories, you’ll net $300 in cash back each year. Plus in the first year, Discover will match your total cash back earned. You can redeem your rewards for cash at any time, with no minimum value for redemption. And for flexibility, you can use your rewards to pay for purchases at Amazon.com. The biggest downside to the Discover It card is that you have to remember to activate the bonus categories each quarter, or you won’t earn 5% cash back.  

Bottom Line

While there’s uncertainly over travel, now is a good time for many to focus on earning cash back. Any of the credit cards listed above would be terrific choices for those looking for simplicity and cash back. For people who still plan to travel or have an appetite for a little more complexity with their credit card rewards, there are also plenty of amazing travel rewards cards out there. For a list of five great options, see the article on the Best Travel Credit Cards of 2021, written by my friends at Money.com