Top 3 Cash Back Credit Cards|Rules And Reviews

In today's economy we all need any extra money we can get. Earning Cash Back on your Credit Cards is a feature that many people look for when choosing which credit cards to apply for.

Most everyone knows that cash back credit cards reward you by paying back a percentage of the money you spend on the credit card. But as with any type of rewards program there are rules that go along with the program.

There are several cash back credit cards offering as high as 5% cash back on purchases made at grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations, and then down to 1% on all others. There are even credit cards that offer 5% cash back rebates when used to pay for auto repairs, clothing, home improvement or hardware stores, and so on.

To put it in simple terms, when you get 5% cash back, you essentially are getting a 5% discount on your purchases. By using cash back credit cards for a major portion of your purchases and routine expenses, you will see substantial savings add up by the end of the year. To increase earnings, getting additional cards for other members of the family only increases the chance to receive cash back on all of the household expenses.

Sometimes you have to reach a certain amount on spending before you will receive the full benefit of your cash back credit cards rewards. On the other hand, some cards only allow you to receive a certain amount of rewards per year. Either way these credit card programs almost always put an expiration on when you have to use your rewards. If you quit using this credit card, the rewards may also expire after a certain amount of time. Each card program also has rules about how you can redeem your cash back credit card rewards.

Here is a brief review of our top 3 picks for Cash Back Credit Cards and some of the features of each of their rewards programs:

Discover® More Card - $100 Cash-back Bonus

• 0% intro APR on balance transfers for a full 12 months, then the Regular APR
• 0% intro APR on purchases for a full 6 months, then the Regular APR
• Get $100 Cash-back Bonus when you make $500 in purchases within 3 months
• 5% Cash-back Bonus in categories that change like travel, gas, groceries, restaurants, home improvement stores and more
• Up to 1% unlimited Cash-back Bonus on all other purchases
• No annual fee

Chase Freedom® Visa - $100 Bonus Cash Back

• Earn $100 Bonus Cash Back after you make $799 in purchases in your first three months
  
• 5% cash back in quarterly bonus categories like gas, home improvement and department stores, subject to quarterly maximum. Signing up is free and easy!
  
• Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases with no spending tiers
  
• Up to an additional 20% cash back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase

Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® MasterCard®

• 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-20.99% based on your creditworthiness.
  
• 2% cash back on purchases for the first 6 months, 1% after that
• 5% cash back at department, clothing and electronic stores from 10/1/10 to 12/31/10. Earn bonus cash back on rotating categories each quarter. Enrollment required.
  
• Full 1% cash back on eligible purchases and cash advances.
  
• No annual fee

If you are really considering Cash back credit cards, just remember, they do come with rules. Read the terms of service before accepting and offers.

Also unless you are planning on paying your credit card balance in full each month, this may not be the best type of rewards program for you. You might want to consider applying for credit cards that offer the lowest interest rates.

If you are considering applying for a credit card you may want to read Understanding The New Rules and Regulations Of Credit Cards enacted by the Credit Card ACT in February 2010.