What is the best 2% cash back credit card which is NOT the Citi Double Cash?

[anoop]

Reviving an old thread.

Paypal just introduced a new card - 3% on PayPal purchases and 2% on everything else.
https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2022-0 ... -Rewarding

[Parkinglotracer]

A smart person on BH told me about the mid Florida credit union visa paying 2.5% with no gotcha’s

I have moved all auto charges and payments possible there - they have a good website, good service

Recently bought groceries at Publix - by accident they charged the next persons groceries to our bill adding $200 to our charge … I get my text from mid Florida saying $225 was charged to our card - my wife walks in the house with $25 of groceries and no receipt … we go back to Publix and they pulled the register records and video … cashier had failed to hit the right button to close our order / purchase. Should have dawned on my DW why she did not get a receipt but mid Florida text updates saved us - we never would have noticed when the charge bill came because we spend so much on groceries these days. Publix manager had a strange look on his face when I initially told him of the mis charge - he was really apologetic when he pulled the tape and saw the major mess up on their cashier’s part.

I used to use Citicard 2% cash back and hadn’t had any service problems there

[young danny]

Ditto on Citi Double Cash Back as my main CC, and when at Costco we use the Costco Card. To help me wife build up her credit and such we use her BoA preferred rewards as it’s 3% on restaurants. No issues with the Citi card with 3-4 years of use.

[chipperd]

We use Amex Blue ($95/year).

6% back on groceries (up to $360 back /year which we manage every year)
6% back unlimited on subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, etc...
3% unlimited back on gas

Last year we got $576 back on a $95 investment just on the above categories (it's a measly 1% back on all other purchases).

Can't find that return anywhere.

[bsteiner]

But for a simple no annual (or foreign transaction) fee, no limit 2% card I have a PenFed Visa (I opened it for a bonus, I use the BOA combo for normal CC spending). I don't recall particular problems with Citi Double with website or fraud protection but it's in a drawer now, whereas it was once our main card, because the BOA combo nets $100's more per year for us.

This PenFed Visa would check a lot of boxes for me (0 annual fee, 0 foreign transaction fees, and 2% cash back). It appears it’s only available for current or retired military members or their family. I’m assuming you fall in that category? If not, please share how you were eligible.

They're pretty clear about how you can qualify for the 2% card:

https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards/honors-advantage

If you meant membership in general, they seem to take anybody:

https://home.penfed.org/s/membership

Their membership criteria expanded as a result of a merger.

TD Bank also has a 2% card.

[Stinky]

A smart person on BH told me about the mid Florida credit union visa paying 2.5% with no gotcha’s

I have moved all auto charges and payments possible there - they have a good website, good service

Recently bought groceries at Publix - by accident they charged the next persons groceries to our bill adding $200 to our charge … I get my text from mid Florida saying $225 was charged to our card - my wife walks in the house with $25 of groceries and no receipt … we go back to Publix and they pulled the register records and video … cashier had failed to hit the right button to close our order / purchase. Should have dawned on my DW why she did not get a receipt but mid Florida text updates saved us - we never would have noticed when the charge bill came because we spend so much on groceries these days. Publix manager had a strange look on his face when I initially told him of the mis charge - he was really apologetic when he pulled the tape and saw the major mess up on their cashier’s part.

I used to use Citicard 2% cash back and hadn’t had any service problems there

Are you talking about the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union? (All caps is the way that they spell it).

If so, it looks like you need to be a resident of Florida to be a member. And it excludes South Florida and the Panhandle from membership.

[Parkinglotracer]

A smart person on BH told me about the mid Florida credit union visa paying 2.5% with no gotcha’s

I have moved all auto charges and payments possible there - they have a good website, good service

Recently bought groceries at Publix - by accident they charged the next persons groceries to our bill adding $200 to our charge … I get my text from mid Florida saying $225 was charged to our card - my wife walks in the house with $25 of groceries and no receipt … we go back to Publix and they pulled the register records and video … cashier had failed to hit the right button to close our order / purchase. Should have dawned on my DW why she did not get a receipt but mid Florida text updates saved us - we never would have noticed when the charge bill came because we spend so much on groceries these days. Publix manager had a strange look on his face when I initially told him of the mis charge - he was really apologetic when he pulled the tape and saw the major mess up on their cashier’s part.

I used to use Citicard 2% cash back and hadn’t had any service problems there

Are you talking about the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union? (All caps is the way that they spell it).

If so, it looks like you need to be a resident of Florida to be a member. And it excludes South Florida and the Panhandle from membership.

Yes. I should have included that major restriction Stinky. As it was explained to us when we got the card, we needed to show up at a branch, have an address / property in Florida.

[guitarguy]

Didn’t read the whole thread.

Wells Fargo has a 2% cash back card. $200 signup bonus. No annual fee. $25k limit right off the bat. Nice for every day spending and/or large purchases.

I know many here use them, but I found BoA to be abysmal when it came to anything and everything. Banking, mortgage, credit cards…nothing but horrible customer service, an awful app, and negative experiences. Absolutely never again. Maybe things are different if you stick $2m with them.

Citi also generally sucks for everything. Low credit limit on the double cash, plus the 1% + 1% nonsense.

Wonderful experience with Chase top to bottom. First rate app and excellent customer service for credit, checking, business banking. Amex has also been solid for us. Although neither of these offer a flat 2% cash card.

[JoMoney]

Alliant Credit Union has a 2.5% cash back up (on everything up to $10k per billing period)
It also has Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver benefit, which is getting harder to find , no foreign transaction fee, and some other features.
https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank ... ature-card

You do have to open a High-Rate checking account with them, which looks like a pretty decent interest paying checking account.

[financeperchance]

Agreed! I have the new Wells Fargo 2% card and love it so far. It’s 2% cash back for real, no gimmicks other than needing to take it in $25 increments. I love the Wells Fargo site, as it’s intuitive and fast-loading.

Didn’t read the whole thread.

Wells Fargo has a 2% cash back card. $200 signup bonus. No annual fee. $25k limit right off the bat. Nice for every day spending and/or large purchases.

[1030danielle]

Citi is my main one, and I've had no problems using the app.

Apple Card also offers 2% cash back on stores that take Apple Pay (Target, CVS, Kohls, Office Depot), plus 3% cash back at the Apple store.

I also just got an Amazon card, which gives 5% CB if you are a Prime member on all purchases at amazon.

[Fired@43withKids]

Reviving an old thread.

Paypal just introduced a new card - 3% on PayPal purchases and 2% on everything else.
https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2022-0 ... -Rewarding

I recently moved to Alliant Credit Union for checking/savings yield and closed my Bank of America after 25 years. In addition to the yield (my primary motive of the move) I'm surprised by how much I prefer their digital experience (website and Android App). Customer service on the phone has been a hit or miss - sometimes I get a grumpy CSR, other times I get someone exceptionally polite and helpful.

All this to say that they have one of the higher paying Credit Cards Cash back rewards at 2.5% without much fine print. The potential downside is that you'll to open a checking/savings with them.

Am planning on using this when I'm between churning travel rewards as it's simple and I've enjoyed the cleanliness of Alliant so far.

[dougp29]

I have the Wells Fargo Active Cash VISA which pays 2% cashback on all purchases. It's a No Fee card.

[young danny]

Removed post

[young danny]

Do tell the details about Alliant! I’ve been BoA for 20 years due to their locations being everywhere for ATM access. I use a Sallie Mae money market account to earn interest for my emergency fund.

[sunny_socal]

Do tell the details about Alliant! I’ve been BoA for 20 years due to their locations being everywhere for ATM access. I use a Sallie Mae money market account to earn interest for my emergency fund.

I've had it for years. These days it's even free with a minimum checking account balance
https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank ... ature-card

[Jack FFR1846]

Wells Fargo Active Cash (2% and they'll give you a sign on bonus)
Fidelity 2% if you have a Fidelity account to put the money in. Open a cash management account and you can put the money in and immediately transfer it to your own bank.

I initially had fraud declines a lot with Citi double cash. For me, I found that if the number was round.....say $20.00, it would decline. But if not, say $989.63, it went fine. With the exact same place (it was Target during the Red Bird times). It took probably 6 months and 20 declines before they finally left me alone.

[vanpan]

I would strongly suggest looking at venture X https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture-x/ . It has 2X on all categories. It has 5X/10X. It has a $400 fee, but pretty much get that back every year in travel credit. Also priority pass for everyone including dependent cards for free.

[trueson1]

If you qualify for USAA ( military or dependent of military) they have an unlimited 2% cashback limitless VISA rewards.

[tj]

If you qualify for USAA ( military or dependent of military) they have an unlimited 2% cashback limitless VISA rewards.

They stopped offering that card at least 5 years ago.

[midlemom]

Fidelity
Penfed

[anoop]

So in summary so far for no fee cards only:

No fee, no obligations

PayPal (bonus 3% on PayPal)
Citi
Wells
Synchrony

No fee, but requires bank account

TD Bank
Fidelity
Alliant CU
Penfed

No fee, but requires bank account with high balance

Bank of America

[Jags4186]

So in summary so far for no fee cards only:

No fee, no obligations

PayPal (bonus 3% on PayPal)
Citi
Wells
Synchrony

No fee, but requires bank account

TD Bank
Fidelity
Alliant CU
Penfed

No fee, but requires bank account with high balance

Bank of America

There’s also

SoFi - 2%
AOD FCU - 3% cashback
Discover It/It Miles - 2%/10% yr 1 or 3% yr 1
Evergreen by FNBO 2% + $200 SUB

[anoop]

So in summary so far for no fee cards only:

No fee, no obligations

PayPal (bonus 3% on PayPal)
Citi
Wells
Synchrony

No fee, but requires bank account

TD Bank
Fidelity
Alliant CU
Penfed

No fee, but requires bank account with high balance

Bank of America

There’s also

SoFi - 2%
AOD FCU - 3% cashback
Discover It/It Miles - 2%/10% yr 1 or 3% yr 1
Evergreen by FNBO 2% + $200 SUB

What happens with Discover after year 1? Do any of these require bank accounts?

[hairybeast]

If you qualify for USAA ( military or dependent of military) they have an unlimited 2% cashback limitless VISA rewards.

They stopped offering that card at least 5 years ago.

I was lucky enough to get one and it was actually 2.5%. I have been waiting for them to kill it and they finally have. I have about another week to blow my money before it goes to a 1 or 1.5% card. Hence why I am here to find a good replacement.

[chazas]

Alliant Credit Union has a 2.5% cash back up (on everything up to $10k per billing period)
It also has Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver benefit, which is getting harder to find , no foreign transaction fee, and some other features.
https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank ... ature-card

You do have to open a High-Rate checking account with them, which looks like a pretty decent interest paying checking account.

I used to use the Citi card but long ago switched to the Alliant card. 2.5% is better than 2%. It used to have a fee, but honestly keeping $1000 in the checking account and scheduling a monthly $10 transfer in to keep the highest rewards rate is super easy.

I also use the Costco card (not for Costco, use the Alliant card for that) but for 4% on gas and 3% on restaurants and travel, and the Amex Blue Cash card mentioned above for 6% on groceries and streaming and 3% on parking and transit. Plus Marrriott and AA cards just for those travel purchases.

[bob60014]

We use Amex Blue ($95/year).

6% back on groceries (up to $360 back /year which we manage every year)
6% back unlimited on subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, etc...
3% unlimited back on gas

Last year we got $576 back on a $95 investment just on the above categories (it's a measly 1% back on all other purchases).

Can't find that return anywhere.

+1. With Amex Blue we easily got $600 back last year. We also have Cap One Savor, $95/yr and another easy $500 last year. Savor gives 4% cash back on dining, entertainment, streaming services and 3% at grocery stores which is helpful when the Amex limit is reached. These two also have special bonuses (statement credits) that can be lucrative. We probably had another $300 or so in credits using these. Very happy, easy to use.

[Wannaretireearly]

Didn’t read the whole thread.

Wells Fargo has a 2% cash back card. $200 signup bonus. No annual fee. $25k limit right off the bat. Nice for every day spending and/or large purchases.

I know many here use them, but I found BoA to be abysmal when it came to anything and everything. Banking, mortgage, credit cards…nothing but horrible customer service, an awful app, and negative experiences. Absolutely never again. Maybe things are different if you stick $2m with them.

Citi also generally sucks for everything. Low credit limit on the double cash, plus the 1% + 1% nonsense.

Wonderful experience with Chase top to bottom. First rate app and excellent customer service for credit, checking, business banking. Amex has also been solid for us. Although neither of these offer a flat 2% cash card.

Yep! Plus, 0% interest for 15 months!

[rage_phish]

Had bad experiences with our citi double points so stopped using it. We switched to the wells 2% card

Our Citi Costco card has never been an issue though

[smectym]

I like the BofA Premium Rewards card as well, but for OP specifically I might steer away. The number of transactions that get declined as fraudulent is much higher than any other card I've used in my experience. If you have a few charges close together, or if my wife and I the card around the same time, it often gets flagged.

On the overinclusive "fraud" declines issue: many have already flagged the Fidelity 2% cashback as solid, I'll add that we've never had a declined transaction with Fidelity Visa Signature, and we use it a lot. I guess if one wanted to pour cold water one might speculate that maybe Fidelity fraud protection (or the outfit Fidelity outsources the card servicing to) is asleep at the switch--but I have no reason to believe that.

[Nyc10036]

I like the BofA Premium Rewards card as well, but for OP specifically I might steer away. The number of transactions that get declined as fraudulent is much higher than any other card I've used in my experience. If you have a few charges close together, or if my wife and I the card around the same time, it often gets flagged.

On the overinclusive "fraud" declines issue: many have already flagged the Fidelity 2% cashback as solid, I'll add that we've never had a declined transaction with Fidelity Visa Signature, and we use it a lot. I guess if one wanted to pour cold water one might speculate that maybe Fidelity fraud protection (or the outfit Fidelity outsources the card servicing to) is asleep at the switch--but I have no reason to believe that.

I know from experience that they are not asleep at the wheel.
A few years ago I called a vet office to help pay $25 on my friend's vet bill.
The office worker who took the call used my Fidelity 2% VISA Rewards credit card to make two $100+ purchases.
Fidelity called me about it and issued me a new credit card number.

.

[dougp29]

I love my Wells Fargo Active Cash VISA Card. 2% on all purchases, no annual fee.

[Parkinglotracer]

Mid Fla credit union 2% cash back visa

Have to have a Fla address to get card

[Pu239]

For those who like credit unions, the following list is a good resource:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit ... -p/6580825

[Lastrun]

I love my Wells Fargo Active Cash VISA Card. 2% on all purchases, no annual fee.

My daughter has this card and the Wells Fargo Autograph (3% in a lot of categories). She probably averages about 2.5% on her spend, with no annual fees and no FTF on the Autograph with a 2 card set up.