Just give me my 1% please

January 7, 2007 7:53 PM

Which major credit card(s) will give you at least 1% cashback on everything, credited on your statement, with no annual fees?

I want a good cash back card I can use for the rest of my life, with no hassles. The abundance of choices and clutterness of credit card websites makes them hard to find.

I'm tired of exchanging my points for rewards, logging into member sites, getting gift cards as rewards, having to cash in $20 checks, or all the other hassles cash back cards seem to have. And I don't want air miles or to buy magazine subscriptions, gift cards, or vacations with my points.

A friend I knew once had a card that would just give a 1% credit of the current statement on the next statement (I saw the statement). This seems like the simplest and straightforward way to do this.

Does anyone know what card this is, or has a similar or better card that is hassle-free?

There are a few cards that say they give you "rebates" but I can't tell if it's checks in the mail of the (way way better method) automatic credit on your next statement.

The closest I could find is a 2% cash back card with a small annual fee that credits to your statement. I wouldn't mind just getting 1% if I didn't have to worry about the fee.

posted by tasty to work & money (34 comments total)

Chase Freedom?
posted by yeoz at 8:13 PM on January 7, 2007

American Express Blue Cash does this.

Mine doesn't have a fee, so I know it's possible.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:14 PM on January 7, 2007

My National Bank of New Zealand credit card gives me 1% cash back each year (2% if I spend over a certain amount) credited to my account with no fuss or work on my part. It's a tertiary account too so no annual fees and a (slightly) lower interest rate.

This may or may not be of any use to you as you haven't specified a location in your question or profile.
posted by shelleycat at 8:15 PM on January 7, 2007

citi's dividend card?
posted by twistofrhyme at 8:16 PM on January 7, 2007

Blue Cash is 1.5% after spending 6500 anually though, before that, it's 0.5%. That said, I do all my spending on my Blue Cash card, and it's well over 6500 now... Also, Blue Cash only credits the cash back on the second statement after your anniversary date or something like that.

There's also a Mastercard from Emigrant Direct (although, the card itself is handled by Juniper Bank) that has 1.4% cash back if you have $10k in an emigrant direct savings account.
posted by yeoz at 8:19 PM on January 7, 2007

CreditCards.com
posted by blue_beetle at 8:20 PM on January 7, 2007

AFAIK, Citi Dividend mails you a check rather than giving you a statement credit.
posted by roomwithaview at 8:22 PM on January 7, 2007

Oh. Looks like Chase Freedom also sends a check too :( Guess I won't be applying for that one :(
posted by yeoz at 8:28 PM on January 7, 2007

Amex Blue Cash. Citi mails you a check indeed.
posted by kcm at 8:30 PM on January 7, 2007

Hi, thanks for the suggestions so far.

As yeoz mentioned, Blue Cash is 0.5% for the first $6500. Is there better?

blue_beetle: I've looked at CreditCards.com and they don't specific which ones give you credit vs send checks vs gift cards and other stuff.

Cash Freedom and Citi Dividend says they offer rebates.. which I think means checks in the mail.

Keep em coming!
posted by tasty at 8:38 PM on January 7, 2007

BofA's cash back cards can direct deposit to an existing BofA savings/checking account. (But, I don't have any other accounts with them besides my credit card, so I've never tested it. I even have enough points to get cash back, but, I haven't bothered because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting a check in the mail either...)
posted by yeoz at 8:42 PM on January 7, 2007

I actually had this holy grail. It was a Citi Citgo-branded card with exactly these terms. They killed it just in the last 6 months, and replaced it with one that uses checks.
posted by smackfu at 8:43 PM on January 7, 2007

HSBC Platinum MasterCard with Cash back. No fees. No gimmicks. Just 1% back on all your purchases. Why is this better than Blue from AMEX? Mastercard is accepted in more places than AMEX.

Despite what my comment sounds like, I do not work for HSBC. And personally, I think that the 1% you earn back using a credit card isn't worth the fact that you're using a credit card to begin with. I'm a devoted check card user who has seen the error of his ways.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 8:51 PM on January 7, 2007

SeizeTheDay: there is a "Redeem in low $25 increments" line. I guess that means you have to do something special to get that cash, and it's not automatically credited, unfortunately. Feel free to prove me wrong.
posted by lpctstr; at 8:55 PM on January 7, 2007

I'm fairly certain the HSBC card sends a check too. :(
AmEx Blue Cash really is the way to go, especially if you're planning on doing all your spending on it. You can carry a visa card (like my bofa) as a back-up if needed though...
posted by yeoz at 8:57 PM on January 7, 2007

DiscoverCard has the same caveat. It basically means that you redeem your cash in $25 increments. The "something special" you need to do is spend $2500.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 8:58 PM on January 7, 2007

I have a citi dividend platinum card. I have a check for 121.xx on the counter waiting to be deposited. Off their website, as long as you have $75 or more, they'll spin off a check for the exact amount with only a click of a button.
posted by cschneid at 9:02 PM on January 7, 2007

I use both AmEx's One card and CapitalOne's cashback.
AmEx's automatically deposits 1% of all purchases into a high-yield savings account (5%ish) in your name which you can withdraw from at any time. First year's free, and requires, IIRC, $35 yearly fee thereafter.
I also use CapitalOne's which has no annual fee. You redeem your "cachback" with them in $25.00 increments which is then applied to your credit or a check which will be sent to you. The points you've earned also never expire (or so they say).
If the AmEx card were accepted everywhere I would use it for everything since it requires no effort on my part as they automically deposit the money - hence why I also have the CapitalOne.
posted by jmd82 at 9:14 PM on January 7, 2007

I have the Chase Amazon Visa and it gives 1% on everything, except for purchases at Amazon, which get 3%. No annual fees.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:02 PM on January 7, 2007

IndigoRain: I have the amazon card too. It's a good card but it doesn't credit the statement, which is the key factor for me.

It looks like the American Express Blue Cash card is the best bet so far, but it has 0.5% until $6500.

I found an Orchard Bank 2% Back Prime Platinum MasterCard which credits your statement, but when I filled out the form, it only offered me the Orchard Bank 2% Back Platinum MasterCard, which has a $39 annual fee. How anyone been able to get the Prime Platinum, with its no annual fee AND 2% cash back credited to your balance?
posted by tasty at 11:15 PM on January 7, 2007

Citgo Visa
posted by realpseudonym at 11:22 PM on January 7, 2007

If the Amex Blue Cash is closest to what the OP is looking for so far, I would vouch for Amex as far as customer service is concerned. I have a student Blue Rewards card with them and their warranty extension and charge dispute systems have certainly exceeded my expectations. Telephone support has been courteous and efficient, and they in my opinion they do live up to their mantra of working for the consumer. At least that's been my experience so far.
posted by roomwithaview at 11:33 PM on January 7, 2007

realpseudonym: I looked at the Citgo Preferred Visa Card, which is what I assume you meant. This website and smackfu's comment seem to indicate that it has been cancelled, but you can apparently still apply online. Anyone know what the story behind this is?
posted by lpctstr; at 11:45 PM on January 7, 2007

fwiw, I find the Citi dividend card to be minimally hassling, with its online check request. Given its 1-5% cashback nature, I just wait for the balance to get over $100 and [click, click, click] have them send me a check, like every six months or so.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 11:53 PM on January 7, 2007

What Heywood Mogroot said. Though I hate going the credit union and standing in line, once per quarter with my Citi rebate check is not a huge hassle.
posted by fixedgear at 2:46 AM on January 8, 2007

Since nobody's mentioned USAA yet, I thought I'd be the one. Their Cash Rewards Mastercard offers about 1% back on all purchases. However, the balance is accumulated over the course of a calendar year, and the total for one year appears as a credit on the following January statement. That's the down side. On the plus side, there's no minimum amount, and no mailed check.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 7:11 AM on January 8, 2007

I have an American Express One card that contributes 1% of all of my purchases into a high-yield savings account (currently at 5.00% APR). There's no annual fee and no minimum spending required. I think it's fantastic. You can transfer the money from the savings account to your checking account whenever you like.
posted by flyingcowofdoom at 7:27 AM on January 8, 2007

Someone's already said it, but Discover seems to be the card you're looking for - 1% cash back on everything, and for the last couple of years they've had special groups of stuff that get 5% back for three months. It then changes to another group - I've noticed it tends to be seasonal - school supplies/tuition in the fall, gas/auto in the summer, etc. (It's currently travel-related expenses.) There's no annual fee, either, which is nice.

While you're required to redeem in $20 increments (the lowest I've seen amongst those suggested, save the Amex One card), it can be applied to your bill online with no muss, no fuss. I pulled $80 last year back (I'm in college and use it for major purchases), all of which went onto my balance due.

The only drawback to Discover is that it is not accepted as widely as Visa/MC - personally, I *maybe* run into this problem once every couple of months, and usually in rural areas. If you live in any urban area and usually use non-mom & pop type businesses, this shouldn't ever be a serious problem. If you have a debit Visa/MC, you should always be covered.

However, if you are a serious international traveler, you couldn't pick a worse card, as it's hard to find a person who's even heard of it in Canada or the UK, must less a place that accepts it.
posted by plaidrabbit at 7:30 AM on January 8, 2007

The Chase PerfectCard seems to do what you want, almost. They play some games with the annual fee (you must make 9 purchases/year to stay fee-free apparently). But they credit your rewards to your account directly. No requesting checks. And they give a 3% rebate on all gas purchases, 1% on everything else. Be sure to read to the full T&C to make sure it's right for you.
posted by drew3d at 7:58 AM on January 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

REI Visa. Pay $15 once - otherwise, no fees. Get your 1% back from entire 2006 in July of 2007. Cards are pretty too.
posted by umlaut at 9:49 AM on January 8, 2007

Discover isn't actually 1% back on everything. It's "up to 1%", meaning it's a tiered plan. It's .25% up to $1500, .5% for $1500-$3000, and 1% above that. That works out to $18.75 less on $3000 than a real 1% card.
posted by smackfu at 12:07 PM on January 8, 2007

I use the NationalCity Visa Reward (Everyday) card. It's got a shitty APR, but gives at least 1% back on everything, 2% on groceries and dining out, and 4% back on fuel purchases. I don't worry about the APR since I never leave a balance. If you don't want to do that, this might not be a good deal.
posted by deadcowdan at 12:51 PM on January 8, 2007

The website says that the NationalCity Visa sends checks, and only when you reach $100.

The "best answers" ones still seem to be the best bets. The perfectcard being slightly better since you don't have to wait until January to get the credit. I didn't see anything about the "use at least 9 times" on their website.

Thanks all, and I'll keep checking this thread to see if anyone has a lesser known card that does cash back crediting.
posted by tasty at 1:53 PM on January 8, 2007

Only thing with the USAA card is that it's 0.35% for the first $2,000, 0.75% for the next $2,000, 1.0% for the next $11,000, and 1.25% for everything over $15,000.
posted by mattbucher at 3:28 PM on January 8, 2007