Credit: Shutterstock photoLisa Gerstner, Contributing Editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Favorite cash back card: The Citi Double Cash card
"In the past year or so, Citi Double Cash has faced new competition among cash back cards that offer customers a strong, flat rebate on everything they buy. But so far, the rivals don't quite match Citi Double Cash's level of simplicity."
Laura Adams, personal finance expert and host of the Money Girl podcast
Favorite cash back card : The Blue Cash Preferred card from American Express
"The Blue Cash Preferred Card is my favorite cash back card because you earn the most on purchases that you're sure to make. Getting 6 percent back on the first $6,000 you spend at supermarkets is excellent. You also receive 3 percent back at gas stations and department stores-plus, 1 percent on all your other purchases."
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, personal finance expert and author of the blog, Making Sense of Cents
Favorite cash back card : The Citi Double Cash card
" There aren't many credit cards that allow you to receive 2 percent cash back, but the Citi Double Cash credit card is one of them. Plus, this credit card makes it quite easy to get that 2 percent cash back too."
Matt Schulz, Senior Industry Analyst at CreditCards.com
Favorite cash back card: The Citi Double Cash card
"Points and miles cards with their big signup bonuses grab all the headlines, but most Americans just want a cash back card. They want a simple, set-it-and-forget-it cash back card that gives them a good return with minimal effort. For those folks, the Citi Double Cash card is the best choice."
Daniel P. Ray, Editor-in-Chief at CreditCards.com
Favorite cash back card: The Blue Cash Preferred card from American Express
"The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express gets my vote as the best card because it is the most family friendly choice. Buying groceries and gas - two of families' biggest spending categories - are what the Blue Cash Preferred gives back the most on."
How we choose the top three cards:
This is the second year that CreditCards.com has held a contest for best cards in their class. To help choose the best cards for each category, the CreditCards.com staff consulted credit card and personal finance experts and nominated the top three cards as finalists. CreditCards.com staff also rated cards through its credit card reviews program.
For each review, CreditCards.com ranks the cards using a weighted scoring system that assesses the cards' most relevant attributes. Each card attribute is ranked on a scale of 1 to 5. For cash back cards, CreditCards.com evaluated a number of common cash back features, including:
- Estimated rewards value (47 percent): Because card applicants typically place a high value on rewards earnings, we assign the greatest weight to the amount of earnings cardholders take home. We use a formula to calculate the estimated yearly value, assuming cardholders spend $1,325 per month, averaged over three years. The formula includes an average rewards rate, sign-up bonus and annual fee. We assign a score based on how the estimated rewards value compares to other cards.
- Ease of use (40 percent): The user-friendliness of a cash back program is another major factor in our ranking, because: What good is a cash back card if the card issuer makes it impossible to earn and redeem your rewards? Using a scale of 1 to 5, we rate factors such as expiration dates on rewards, how easy it is to earn and redeem rewards, whether there are limits on how much cardholders can earn, minimum redemption thresholds and whether cardholders can transfer rewards to other cards.
- Features (10 percent): We also rate features on a scale of 1 to 5, based on their quantity, uniqueness and value.
- Annual percentage rate (APR) (3 percent): Cash back cardholders are typically advised not to carry a balance because cash back rates are notoriously high. Because cardholders generally don't want to carry a balance, the CreditCards.com staff assigned less weight to the card's APR. The staff assigns a score depending on how the average APR and the introductory APR compares to other rewards cards.
After three cards were chosen as finalists for the best cash back card contest, a panel of five judges - including credit card and personal finance experts and two members of the CreditCards.com staff - were asked to independently judge the finalists and rank them in order of preference. The card with the best average rank was chosen as the winner.
See related : Scare up rewards miles, cash back on Halloween expenses , Keeping tabs on your rewards cards , 7 ways to get the most from rewards cards , Which cards maximize rewards at grocery stores? , Cash back cards survey: Complex is out, simple is in
All best credit card stories are prepared by CreditCards.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, presented in the story is accurate as of the date of the story. Check the credit card terms and conditions link on the issuing bank's website for the most current information.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
