Tired of Confusion! Top 3 SIMPLE and BEST Cash Back Credit Cards Everyone Should Consider
Today we are reviewing the top credit cards that offer cash back! These cards are for people who like their rewards to be easy. It’s no secret that many rewards programs can be complicated. Tracking which card to use at which store can be confusing, and maybe a little frustrating. We track almost 200 different credit cards. Yeah, there are a lot of cards out there. We dug into our database to find the best all around credit cards that offer a simple cash back reward. For these cards, you don’t need to track the phases of the moon to determine whether you will get the benefits for a transaction.
We found 3 cards from 3 different banks that offer 2% cash back on everything you buy!
That’s great! Simple. Clear. And a pretty generous reward. Now all you need to do is decide which one is best for your situation! In the rest of this video we will walk through the key points of the cards and compare the other aspects of their value.
Link To Our Top Cash Back Credit Card Choices
First, let’s talk about the cards:
- The Synchrony Premier World Mastercard – This card offers you a simple 2% cash back on every purchase
- The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card – This card also offers you a simple 2% cash back on every purchase.
- The Citi Double Cash Card – This card offers you 1% cash back on every purchase and another 1% cash back when you make your payment!
There it is! 3 cards, 2% cash back – no categories, no restrictions, no miles or rewards details. Just simple cash back! Now, let’s look at the detail.
Let’s start our comparison with the rewards of these 2% cash back cards.
First as I mentioned, you get 2% cash back on all of these cards. The Synchrony card is good but doesn’t have any of the additional rewards and benefits that many credit cards do.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card does provide a few nice extra benefits like Auto Rental Collision Coverage, Cell phone protection coverage, and Access to the Visa Signature Hotels and Concierge Services. These are all subject to some restrictions so if you’re interested in these, make sure to review them closely and see how to use them.
The Citi Double Cash Card is a 2% card as well, but it’s a bit different. You get 1% at purchase and 1% at payment. This really shouldn’t matter a lot, as long as you pay the card in full every month like we recommend. Paying your balance in full every month, and not just the minimum required payment will make sure you are getting the most out of your credit card and not building up debt! You want to earn rewards, not accrue interest! The Citi Double Cash card doesn’t have many additional benefits, but I do want to call out the ability to book some travel and other items through Citi Rewards. When you do book these with your card, you get an extra 3% cash back for hotels, car rentals, and attractions. That’s 5% cash back in total on these purchases!
Now let’s look at the basic costs.
None of these cards have an annual fee. That’s great! Both the Synchrony Premier World Mastercard and the Citi Double Cash Card have a minimum APR of 19.24%. The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card has a slightly higher minimum APR, coming in at 20.24%. Citi has the lowest top APR at 29.24%. Barely higher is the Wells Fargo card at 29.99%. The Synchrony card’s top APR is 34.99%. These are all pretty similar, so it will really depend on what they will offer you in your circumstances.
Both Synchrony and Citi will charge you a 3% fee for any foreign transactions. But Wells Fargo doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. If you plan to travel outside of the United States, this might be an important consideration for you.
Credit cards often encourage you to transfer any balance you have with other credit cards. If you are paying interest, they would rather you pay them interest. If you transfer a balance to the Synchrony Premier World Mastercard, they will charge you $10 or 4% of the transferred amount, whichever is higher. Both the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card and the Citi Double Cash Card will charge you $5 or 5% of the transferred amount, again, whichever is greater.
If you are late on a payment, Synchrony and Citi will charge up to $41. Wells Fargo will charge up to $40. All three of these companies will charge you a lesser late fee the first time you are late with a payment, like $29 or $31. If you are late again within a six month period, they will charge you their maximum amount. Something else you should be aware of though: most credit card companies will waive the first late fee if you call them. These fees can really add up if you are chronically late. This is why we encourage people to sign up for autopay.
Now let’s talk about credit lines and getting approved!
Note, none of these credit cards explicitly give a credit score or other requirement to be approved. We are basing our conclusions on our experience and research. But, credit card companies create their own algorithm for deciding who to approve and for what line amount. So, the only way to know for sure whether you would be approved in your particular situation is to apply.
With that being said, the Sychrony Premier World Master Card has a few clues that applicants will need Good-to-Excellent credit to be approved. Likely a credit score of 680 or maybe even 700 could be needed. This might also be the reason that they only offer a minimum credit limit of $2,000.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card looks to be a little more lenient. I think they will approve applicants with Fair-to-Good credit, leaning more on the “good” side—people with credit scores of 660 or better. They offer a minimum credit limit of $1,000 and other details.
The Citi Double Cash Card is the most lenient of the three cards. It also targets people with Fair-to-Good credit, credit scores of 640 or better will probably be needed to be approved. They also offer the lowest minimum credit lines, which go down to $500. This tells us that they are willing to offer credit to people who have less-than-perfect credit.
Now let’s look at the introductory offers.
Credit cards offer introductory offers to entice you to take their cards. These can be a great way to save some immediate money, but remember that introductory offers are temporary. They are designed to get you in the habit of using their cards. So, while a lucrative introductory offer can be great, you should really focus on the long-term policies to make sure that a card will be a good fit for your financial lifestyle.
First, Synchrony Premier World Master Card. They currently don’t have an introductory offer for this card. That doesn’t make this a bad card. This is still a good stable card with a great cash back program.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card offers a $200 bonus which you earn if you use your card to spend $500 in the first 3 months. They also offer 0% interest on purchases for the first 12 months. Hopefully, this is a benefit that you will never use because you will not carry a balance from one month to another. If you transfer the balance from another card, that balance will also incur no interest for the first 12 months. But that doesn’t mean it’s completely free. You do have that 5% balance transfer fee.
The Citi Double Cash Card offers a $200 bonus cash back and 20,000 thank you points, which you earn by spending $1,500 in the first 6 months of having the card. They clearly want to get you in the habit of using their card for your transactions. They do not have a introductory APR for purchases, but they do offer 0% on balance transfers for 18 months. Again, remember that you will still need to pay the 5% fee when you transfer the debt. You just won’t be charge interest on it for 18 months.
I think the important thing is to not let these introductory offers get you in the habit of carrying a balance on your credit cards. Pay your balance in full every month.
The introductory rate on balance transfer can be a powerful tool for paying down your credit card debt, but only if you use that introductory period to aggressively pay down those balances. Because you aren’t being charged interest, you should use the money you are saving to make extra principal payments.
Okay, let’s summarize what we’ve learned about these three 2% cash back credit cards.
All three of these credit cards give a great 2% cash back on every purchase. This simplicity makes any one of these a great card to have in your wallet. There are a few differences between these cards, but nothing that makes one stand out above the rest. So, take your pick and enjoy 2% cash back without the need for big rewards programs or spending strategies to figure out where to use each card. We like these cards because you get a nice cash back bonus on EVERYTHING!
If you are interested in one of these cards, or maybe something else entirely. You can find a card that fits your lifestyle at The Yukon Project. If you go to our credit card marketplace page, you can find the latest information on nearly 200 cards. You can filter the results to find exactly what you want. It’s a great one-stop-shop for researching the world of credit cards, so you can find the right one for you.
If you have one of these cards already, please leave a comment below to tell us about your experience. If you found this video helpful, please like it and subscribe to our channel.
Here are a few links to help you on your journey to picking the right credit card for you:
There are over 200 cards to choose from. Not sure what benefits, or how you plan on spending? See Yukon’s top picks to take some guessing work out.
When choosing the best credit card for which you are likely to get approved, it’s crucial to assess your financial standing and creditworthiness. Begin by identifying credit cards that align with your credit range, as applying for cards beyond your eligibility might result in rejections that could further impact your credit score. Consider your spending habits and financial goals to find a card with suitable rewards, perks, and APR’s.
