Earn as much as 5% back with a cashback credit or debit card from American Express, Chase and Barclaycard
You can earn cashback or rewards via both debit and credit cards. In most instances, the best option is the one that pays the best rate, although sometimes it can be beneficial to sign up for the welcome offers available.
If you’re worried about managing a credit card it makes sense to use a debit card more. However, credit cards do have extra perks like added consumer protection or for deposits when hiring a car.
Cashback can either come as cash, which can be spent as you wish, or as points, which will only be usable at specific retailers.
We’ve outlined the best options so you can earn as you spend. Below, we compare cashback and reward debit cards and credit cards separately, for you to decide which you’d prefer.
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Best cashback and rewards debit cards
We have a full guide on reward current accounts, where some additional accounts are listed.
Cashback debit cards
Our top pick
PayPal Debit Card
Customer rating
4.7/5
- Cashback1% cashback
- Use abroadFree to use abroad
- Payment methodConnect and pay with existing bank accounts
- Fees No sign up or subscription fees
- Points value Blue members: 10,000 points gives you £100 off; Gold members: 10,000 points gives you £120 off; Black members: 10,000 points gives you £130 off
- PayPal+ You need a PayPal+ membership to get the debit card. The rewards scheme alone gets you 1 point for every £10 you spend. If you get the PayPal debit card, you'll get 1 point per £1 spent instead.
- Membership tiers There are three membership tiers, which determine the redemption value of your points. You start at Blue, then, once you've earned 25,000 points, you'll be a Gold member. At 50,000 points, you'll become a Black member
Customer rating
4.9/5
- FreebieMonthly Caffé Nero
- Cashback3% on bills or eating out
- Interestup to 2.75% on balance
- Fees None
- Interest paid 1%, unless you opt to get the extra 1.75% boost on your interest
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Cashback You can choose to either get a boosted interest rate on your balance of 2.75%, 3% cashback on your bills or 3% cashback on eating out
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Cashback2% cashback on select spending
- Linked savings4.75% AER variable for 12 months
- Offer endsUnknown
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Important details 18+, UK residents. Eligibility applies. Chase current and saver accounts required. Exceptions, qualification criteria, and T&Cs apply (https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/legal/cashback-terms-and-conditions/). See important cashback information here (https://www.chase.co.uk/en/gb/product/2-percent-cashback).
- Boosted Saver Linked savings account for new Chase current account customers, available for your first 31 days. 4.75% AER variable for 12 months, including 2.25% AER 12-month bonus on top of the standard saver rate. Available to new current account customers for your first 31 days. May be withdrawn. Interest paid monthly. T&Cs: chase.co.uk
- Fees Fee-free current account. Zero fees from Chase when spending at home or abroad
- Account features Essential money management features
- Customer service Provides 24/7 customer support
- Cashback requirements Make 15+ card (debit or credit) or bill payments (direct debits) a month and hold £1,000+ in a savings account. You'll need to meet these requirements in the previous month to get the next month's cashback.
Which is the best cashback and rewards debit card?
The highest ongoing rate on debit cards is via the PayPal+ scheme, where there’s 1% up for grabs at home and abroad. It’s easy to use and there are ways to increase the value of the points you earn.
Up until now, Trading 212 has offered 1.5% cashback with its card, but cashback has now been pulled.
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Best cashback and rewards credit cards
Cashback and reward credit cards
Our top pick
American Express Nectar Credit Card
Customer rating
3.7/5
- Cashback1% back in Nectar points
- Offer£2,000 bonus nectar points*
- Annual fee£30 (£0 in your first year)
- Cashback Earn 2 Nectar points for every £1 spent
- Offer Get 20,000 Nectar points when you spend £2,000 in your first three months of card membership. Only for those who don’t currently have a personal American Express Card and haven’t had one in the last 24 months.
- Rate details Purchase Rate: 29.1% p.a. (variable). Representative APR: 35.8% APR variable
American Express Cashback Everyday Credit Card
Customer rating
3.7/5
- Cashbackup to 1% cashback
- Offer2% cashback for 3 months*
- Annual fee£0
- Cashback Earn 0.5% cashback on the first £10,000 and 1% cashback on amounts over £10,000. Minimum spend of £3,000 in your first year to earn cashback
- Offer Get 5% cashback on your purchases (up to £125) for the first three months of card membership. Only for those who don’t currently have a personal American Express Card and haven’t had one in the last 24 months. Offer ends 12 January 2027.
- Rate details Purchase Rate: 29.1% p.a. (variable). Representative APR: 34.6% APR variable
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Customer rating
3.7/5
- Cashbackup to 0.75% cashback
- Offer35,000 bonus points + a £100 Selfridges eGift Card*
- Annual fee£195 (£0 in your first year)
- Cashback Earn 1 Membership Rewards point for every £1 spent on purchases on your Card, 2 Membership Rewards points for every £1 spent directly with airlines or in a foreign currency and 3 Membership Rewards points for every £1 spent at American Express Travel
- Offer Get 35,000 bonus points + a £100 Selfridges eGift Card when you spend £3,000 in your first three months. Only for those who don’t currently have a personal American Express Card and haven’t had one in the last 24 months. Offer ends 12 January 2027.
- Rate details Purchase Rate: 29.1% p.a. (variable). Representative APR: 85.8% APR variable
- More details Read our review
Which is the best American Express card?
The highest-paying of all credit and debit cards without restrictions is the American Express Nectar, which earns you the equivalent of 1% back. This makes it a strong option to anyone searching for the best cashback credit card without spending caps. Of course, you are earning Nectar points, but as long as you sometimes shop at Sainsbury’s or Argos, that shouldn’t be an issue. It’s free in the first year.
If you want pure cash, then go for the American Express Cashback card. You will pay £25 a year for this, but you can wipe that out in the first year by applying via a referral link You’ll be earning 0.75% on spending up to £10,000, and then a higher 1.25% if you go beyond this. This resets every 12 months.
The American Express Everyday Cashback card is free, but it’s a lower-paying alternative, and you need to spend at least £3,000 a year to get any cashback on it.
Alternatively you could look at the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card. You’ll only earn one Amex point (worth 0.5% if you swap it to a gift card), though it’s boosted for every £2,500 you spend above £5,000, pushing potential earnings to 0.75%. This card is initially free, but very expensive from the second year onwards, so it’s certainly only for one year. I’d also wait for when the welcome bonus is increased.
Which non-Amex cashback cards are available?
For all spending types, the Lloyds Ultra card is a top paying 1% card for 12 months, and then a lower but hard to beat 0.25% afterwards for a non-Amex card. It’s also free to use abroad.
But for petrol, trains and eating out, the 3% in year one from Santander is going to earn you more than on any card.
Cashback credit card rules
A really important rule if you are using a cashback credit card is to always pay off the balance in full every month.
There’s no point using a cashback credit card if you’re going to get charged interest on your purchase. So make sure you set up a Direct Debit to clear the full balance.
If you can’t afford to do that, then a credit card probably isn’t your best option, except for emergencies.
It’s also worth doing an eligibility check before you apply if you can — this gives you a sense of whether you’ll be accepted, but it’s not a guarantee.
We have a full guide on credit card rules, if you want to learn more.
Extra Amex offers
Check out this article with details of boosted referral bonuses and other extra offers with your American Express card.
Featured deal
Customer rating
4.7/5
- Offerup to £300 in free shares*
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£0
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 4%
- Fractional shares No
- Flexible ISA Yes
- Foreign exchange fee 0.70%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 944492
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up.
- Offer Invest a minimum of £300 and get up to £300 in free shares when you use the code WELCOME300. T&Cs apply. Other fees may apply.
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 944492
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up.
- Offer Invest a minimum of £300 and get up to £300 in free shares. T&Cs apply. Other fees may apply.
How to choose between a cashback and a rewards credit card
Cashback and rewards cards suit different types of spender:
- Go with a cashback card if you want flexibility — the money lands as cash and can be spent, saved or used to offset your statement
- Rewards or points are good if you already have a retailer or airline you’re loyal to, since points can be worth more than their cash equivalent when redeemed well
- Choose the Amex Nectar card if you shop regularly at Sainsbury’s, Argos or Nectar partners, since Amex points there behave almost like cashback
- Visa or Mastercard cards are a great option if you want a fee-free backup for spending abroad, since Amex isn’t accepted everywhere
Expert thoughts on cashback and reward credit cards from Be Clever With Your Cash
For anyone wanting a single recommendation from this guide, the Amex Nectar card is the standout. It’s free in year one, has no spending restrictions unlike most cashback cards, and the points are easy to use for anyone who shops at Sainsbury’s or Argos even occasionally, which covers most households at least some of the time. It’s about as close to a “just get this one” answer as we can offer.
It’s also worth flagging that cashback and rewards credit cards only ever make financial sense when the balance is cleared in full every month. The 0.5–2% earned back is trivial next to the 20%+ APR most of these cards charge on any carried balance, so only get one if you know you have the discipline to treat it like a debit card that happens to pay you back.
Check out my list of the best credit card offers and promotions
It would be good to understand why cards from other providers which offer better rates aren’t featured? Is it because they’re not all FSCS protected, or something of that nature?
E.g. Algbra offered 1.5% cashback for quite some time. Trading 212 also offers 1.5% cashback until the end of October 2024, and Uphold recently had an offer of 5% cashback (paid in GBP, not in crypto) over June and July, and offers an ongoing 1% capped at £100 a month (loads more than Chase’s £15/month cap). I’ve never seen any of these featured and not having them here makes it looks like Chase’s offer is the best on the market when it arguably isn’t always the case.
When they’re short term offers we list them in our banking offers page
Think the .5% for over £4000 with Halifax is gone. At any rate it’s no longer in their literature. The Halifax cashback credit card also connects to Halifax Rewards. This gives higher rates plus the .25% on limited and changing offers. I’ve made £44 on Rewards, but over several years .
Algbra offers a debit card that gets you 1.5% cashback on all transactions made through Google Pay or Apple Pay. The payout can be a bit slow but it does come through!
Hi Andy
I’m wondering why the Co-op members credit card never gets mentioned. Has 0.3% cashback on all spend so better than Barclaycard (without free oversea spend though). I’m thinking of opening one due to more ethical credentials, but don’t see it mentioned much.
Hi Andy, Halifax and Lloyds don’t have the cashback credit card. Do you think the natwest platinium is a good alternative to this cards? I do spread my spending on several supermarkets, but most of them I use gift card websites (4-7% savings). It would be great to have another saving on top of those ones.
what are gift card websites? thx
Miguel, I might have read you wrong, but you can’t use both a gift card and a credit card for the same transaction.
If you’re talking about buying a gift card by credit card that might be difficult, as the company I use won’t accept credit cards and I doubt they’re alone. Plus credit card companies treat gift cards as cash and charge accordingly.
However, debit cards are a different story, in which case Chase is probably your best bet.
TopCashBack with the American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday Card is just a £5 bonus now, I’m afraid! Still going to give it a try:-)
Hi Andy,
Thank you for your useful articles. Amex is not working with Curve so I am looking for an all-round non-Amex credit card. Given that I’ve just opened Chase, cashback may not be the most important feature to me in a credit card. What is your thoughts on Santander all in on credit card?
I was looking forward for your May update regarding credit cards. Fantastic as always!
I’m curious about knowing your thoughts in regards to NatWest reward credit card ?
Thanks Yucando! I’ll take a proper look. It could be that with the Amex Platinum cuts it’s a good all-rounder if you go to multiple supermarkets, or ones that don’t offer their own card.
Re John Lewis and M&S cards: Can I pay them back in store at a till or do I have to do a direct debt? Just because it would be easier for me to go into the store and pay these cards back at a till in cash.
M&S cards can be paid in stores (when open). John Lewis is via bank transfer, DD or cheque
Sadly, Tandem is now closed. They have given their 3 months’ notice earlier this month and will cancel their card by Nov 2020.
Yes, I ditched my card earlier this year when they started charging a fee. But it’s a shame their leaving the market.
Re John Lewis Partnership Credit Card
Just received a letter stating that the cashback is going to be ‘updated’.
You will get 5 points with a £4 purchase at JLP and Waitrose – where you are getting 1 point for a £1 spend at the moment -, but spend in other shops is going down to 1 point for a £4 purchase. Not such a good deal any more then. This will come into effect on 4 September.
Thanks Dorit, really useful to know. I’ll update the guide. Andy
Yes with John Lewis you used to get a quite generous number of café vouchers for free tea or coffee and cake. Now it tends to be just one or two vouchers, and that about every four to five months it seems to me. Though of course that is suspended at the moment with Coronavirus lock down.
I think they have also tightened up on the credit period that you could wait for before paying the bill.
Also fully agree with paying the bill every month. Interest can certainly add up if you spend say five or six hundred pounds on the card for some capital item, and you pay it off over two or three instalments. Need to watch that.
Hi Andy,
I used your referral link and the voucher did not process so I emailed Tandem and they require your name and email before the voucher can be processed
How is a tandem card better than a partnership card?
If I spend £100 at Waitrose/John Lewis with a partnership card 1 get £1 cashback
If I spend £100 at Waitrose /John Lewis with a tandem card I get 50p cashback
Everywhere else they are exactly the same 0.5% cashback.
As for using the card abroad there are no fees for using the card but you still have to pay 18.0% to get 0.5% cashback.
Or am I missing something?
Hi Richard. It’s Amex that I think is better to use at John Lewis and Waitrose as you can also get the 1% or more at lots of other places. The Tandem is my back up for those that don’t use Amex. And as long as you pay off the balance you won’t get charged any interest. If you can’t clear the balance then best to avoid credit cards in all cases but emergency (or section 75 protection).
Forget cashback.Much better is to take out a succession of longterm 0% interest cards -pay only the minimum each month (by direct debit) and transfer the balances to 0% balance transfer cards that charge no transfer fee when the interest free period nears its end.Keep the amount owing in an instant access account earning 1.5% Marcus for example and the interest you earn will soon dwarf any cashback or reward scheme.I have been doing this for around three years and now have roughly £15000 “debt” earning £200+ pa. On an annual credit card spend of around £5000 that equates to an ongoing discount of around 4%
You could just put that £15,000 you have stored to cover your debt in a Santander Edge Up account and earn 3% interest/£450 per year less a fee of £60 per year leaving you with £390 pa plus you get 1% cashback on household bills paid by direct debit (up to £10/m) plus 1% cashback on supermarkets, trains, buses etc (max £15 per month).
So on average, you could be spending £200 on council tax, £50 on water, £25 on your phone, £25 on your broadband, £200 on energy and £100 on food. That’s a spend of £600/month or £6/month which means you could have a monthly spend of up to £1500 to get the £15 cash back.
But anyway, interest £450 + £60 cashback per year on ‘bills’ less £60 fees leaves you with £450 per year and no messing around finding 0% balance credit cards and transferring balances and chasing yourself. This way you earn more than double what you are getting now.
The only way yours works better is if that £15,000 is not your own money but I don’t see how a balance transfer card allows you to withdraw cash to its limit without a cash advance fee being charged.
With the American Express (Amex) Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card you must make purchases of at least £3000 / year “to be eligible to receive your cashback”!
I’ll struggle to do this – recently tried to use it to pay for car insurance – not accepted of course, same story for heating oil.
Hi Eric, oh that’s a shame. £3,000 a year works out as £58 a week. You should be able to use an Amex at the supermarket and most major petrol stations, which hopefully would account for the bulk of it.
Can we use to pay our rent, mobile monthly charge, iCloud, and restaurants and supermarkets?
We don’t get any fee for doing that with this one right?
If the merchant accepts the card then you won’t face any extra charges (the main exception is if the transaction is treated as a cash advance e.g. if used to buy currency or at an ATM). Most landlords won’t accept credit or debit cards though.
Hi Andy, Tandem say they need to know the email address used to set up your card to verify the £10 Amazon voucher referral. Can you help?