Best 5% Cash Back Credit Cards of 2024 (2024)

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The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Chase Freedom Flex®, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card, Save Wealth Premium, U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa® Secured Card, Citi®Double Cash Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.

5% cash back has become the gold standard for credit card rewards, and using a card that earns 5 points per dollar is a great way to maximize your spending. However, the best credit cards that earn 5% cash back or more also offer a variety of bonus categories, spending caps, and other benefits, so you should look beyond the earning rate before you add one of these cards to your wallet.

A 5% cash back credit card can be a good complement to other rewards credit cards in your wallet when you choose a card with a high rate of return in categories where you spend the most. Read on to see our picks for the best 5% credit cards, and learn which ones best suit your needs.

Best 5% Cash Back Credit Cards of 2024

• Chase Freedom Flex® : Best 5% cash back card overall
• Discover it® Cash Back: Best rate of return in the first year
• Citi Custom Cash℠ Card : Best for simplicity
• U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card : Best for flexible bonus categories
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: Best for small business purchases
• Prime Store card: Best for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases (with Amazon Prime membership)
• Save Wealth Premium : Best for 5% potential returns (via stock market investment dividends)

Compare the Best 5% Cash Back Credit Cards

Best 5% Cash Back Credit Card Reviews

Best 5% Cash Back Card Overall: Chase Freedom Flex®

The Chase Freedom Flex® offers tremendous value for any credit card, let alone a card with no annual fee. You can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases (then 1%) in rotating quarterly categories when you activate, and on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠. You also earn 3% back on drugstore and dining purchases, including eligible delivery services, and 1% on other purchases.

This card comes with a strong introductory offer of $150 bonus (received as 15,000 bonus points) after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Additionally, new cardholders receive a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, followed by a 20.49% - 29.24% Variable APR.

One of the best features of the Chase Freedom Flex is that its rewards have potential beyond the standard redemption value of 1 cent per point. When paired with annual-fee Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer your rewards to Chase's airline and hotel partners that offer a much greater average return. Beyond the rewards, the card offers benefits like purchase protection and extended warranty, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and more.

The Chase Freedom Flex has several less desirable features, including the $1,500 cap on 5% bonus spending each quarter, unpredictable bonus categories that may not align with your spending needs, and weak earnings of only 1% on purchases outside of bonus categories. You also have to activate the 5% bonus manually each quarter; if you forget, you'll only earn at the lower base rate.

Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card Review

Best Rate of Return in the First Year: Discover it® Cash Back

The Discover it® Cash Back is similar in many ways to Chase Freedom Flex. It offers 5% cash back in popular rotating quarterly bonus categories when you activate, on up to $1,500 in combined spending (then 1%). You'll also earn 1% back everywhere else (from July 1 to September 30, 2024, earn 5% cash back atWalmart and grocery stores on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%). It has no annual fee, and offers a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, followed by a 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR.

What sets this card apart is Discover's unlimited cash back match, which matches all the rewards you earn during your first year as a cardholder. That means you can effectively earn 10% cash back on spending in bonus categories and 2% cash back on all other purchases for the first year.

Discover's quarterly 5% bonus has a $1,500 spending cap, and bonus categories for each quarter are announced only a month ahead of time. This card has no foreign transaction fees, offers free FICO scores, and waives fees for the first late payment. However, the card lacks other ancillary benefits like purchase protection, travel insurance, and cell phone protection.

The main argument against the Discover it Cash Back is that rewards have a (mostly) flat redemption value of 1 cent per point. You can sometimes redeem rewards for retail gift cards at a modestly better rate, but you don't get the upside of transferring to airline and hotel transfer partners. Discover offers the cash back match in lieu of a sign-up bonus, but you may be able to earn an extra $50 or $100 in cash back if you're referred by an existing cardholder.

Discover it Cash Back Card Review

Best for Simplicity: Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

Instead of offering rotating bonus categories, the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card rewards you for purchases in whichever eligible category you spend the most each month, including restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment. You'll automatically earn 5% cash back on up to $500 in spending each billing cycle with no need to activate the bonus. Purchases beyond the $500 limit and in other categories earn a flat 1% cash back.

The card comes with an introductory offer of $200 cash back, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. Plus, new cardholders receive a 0% intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months (then a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR). Points are worth 1 cent apiece when you redeem for cash, but you can boost the redemption value if you also have a Citi credit card that enables transfers to airline and hotel partners.

The Citi Custom Cash Card has no annual fee, but the 3% foreign transaction fee means it's not a good option for purchases outside the US. However, as a World Elite Mastercard, it offers some basic perks that make it viable for booking travel. With no annual fee, this card is ideal for spending in a single category year-round.

Citi Custom Cash Card Review

Best for Flexible Bonus Categories: U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card

Unlike the cards above, the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card lets you choose your bonus categories. Each quarter, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $2,000 of combined spending in two categories you select from a list: fast food, home utilities, TV, internet, and streaming services, department stores, electronic stores, cell phone providers, sporting goods stores, furniture stores, movie theaters, gyms and fitness centers, ground transportation, and select clothing stores.

You'll also earn uncapped 5% cash back on prepaid travel booked through the US Bank travel portal, 2% on your choice of groceries, restaurants, or gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations, and 1% on other purchases.

The card comes with a $200 bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening, and offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles (then a 19.74% - 29.74% Variable APR). You'll also get standard Visa Signature benefits like travel and emergency assistance services and perks from hotels booked through the Luxury Hotels Collection, all without paying an annual fee.

The relatively high cap on bonus spending and the flexibility to choose your own bonus categories help the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card stand out. The list of eligible bonus categories features home utilities, cell phone providers, and TV, internet and streaming services, but also includes several uninspiring options like sporting goods stores and movie theaters that are less likely to offer consistent value. The card also adds foreign transaction fees, and there's a $25 minimum redemption threshold to redeem rewards. Finally, rewards expire 36 months after the billing cycle in which they were earned, so you can't hold onto them indefinitely.

U.S. Bank Cash Plus Card Review

Best for Small Business Purchases: Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

In some respects, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card crushes others on this list. This small-business credit card offers 5% cash back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services, and that high earning rate applies to up to $25,000 of combined spending each year (then 1%). It also comes with an introductory offer of $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening; that's an impressive bonus for a no-annual-fee business credit card.

This card also earns 2% cash back on up to $25,000 spent annually at gas stations and restaurants (then 1%), and 1% cash back elsewhere. It comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months (then a 18.49% - 24.49% Variable APR), and offers an array of additional benefits like primary rental car insurance (when renting for business purposes) and purchase protection. Like the Chase Freedom Flex, the Ink Business Cash earns points you can transfer to airline and hotel partners when you pair it with an eligible Ultimate Rewards card.

The main drawback of the Ink Business Cash is its limited selection of 5% cash back categories. If you're willing to put in a little legwork, however, then you can extend those savings to a broader range of purchases by buying third-party gift cards at office supply stores.

Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card review

Best for Amazon and Whole Foods: Prime Store card

Our credit card experts generally recommend that people avoid store-branded credit cards. There are a few exceptions, however, and Amazon is one of them.

Amazon Prime members who hold the no-annual-fee Prime Store card earn 5% back on Amazon, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods purchases (3% per dollar without an Amazon Prime membership).

Cardholders can further boost their rewards with a little patience and luck: Amazon often offers Prime members the option to choose slightly slower delivery in exchange for an additional 1% cash back, for a total of 6%.Alternatively, cardholders can opt to forego cash-back rewards altogether in exchange for a zero-interest repayment period on purchases of $50 or more. You can select this payment option at checkout.

The Prime Store card also earns 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, local transit and commuting.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card Review

Best for Potential Returns Based on Stock Market Investments: Save Wealth Premium

The Save Wealth Premium is an interesting credit card that's new on the financial scene. The brainchild of fintech company Save, the Save Wealth Premium earns rewards based on stock market investments that Save purchases on your behalf each time you use the credit card.

Save estimates that cardholders can earn a 5.7% average rate of return, minus a 0.79% management fee from the company. But you'll need to wait a year before you begin earning any rewards, since Save holds investments long enough to avoid short-term capital gains taxes. Your potential gains will fluctuate throughout the year, since your rewards are entirely dependent on how well the stock performs on the market. Finally, the Save Wealth Premium comes with a sky-high annual fee of $750.

This card is far riskier than any of the other recommendations on our list, but it can be a great fit for someone who prefers playing the market with low personal risk over earning predictable flat-rate returns. Learn more in our Save Wealth Premium credit card review.

5% Cash Back Credit Card Frequently Asked Questions

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Chose the Best 5% Cash Back Credit Cards

We evaluated the cash-back credit cards currently available to new applicants that earn 5% cash back in various categories and compared them based on several factors:

• Ease of use — Are the 5% cash back categories on the card automatic, or are there actions you need to take like activating them quarterly or monthly?
• Earning potential — Are the bonus categories capped at a certain amount of spending? Are there other categories with high earning rates?
• Fees — Most cash back cards have no annual fee, but are there other fees to be wary of, like foreign transaction fees?
• Types of cards for different consumers — Our highest-rated 5% cash back cards include options for various types of users, from folks who want to maximize rewards to those who prefer fewer hoops to jump through and a hands-off approach.

For a full explanation of our methodology, see our guide to how we rate credit cards at Business Insider.