2% cash back credit cards with no annual fee: A good baseline for your credit card rewards

October 7, 2024: A 2% cash back card can be a good choice to use “everywhere else” when you’re not earning rewards in a bonus category. While many 2% rewards cards are light on additional benefits, this might not matter if you’re paying bills or buying things like household consumables.

Getting a 2% cash back card might fit into your personal credit card rewards strategy, but just knowing that you can get 2% cash back pretty much anywhere can help you make better decisions about which rewards credit cards to use.

In this article, we cover the 2% cash back credit cards with no annual fee.

The 2% cards: Rewards with no annual fee and no strings attached

These cards offer 2% cash back rewards with no annual fees and no strings attached.

	Wells Fargo Active Cash® Credit Card: Unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Cell phone protection, secondary auto rental collision damage waiver. No annual fee.
	Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card: Unlimited 2% cash back on purchases. Retail protection. No annual fee.
	Citi Double Cash® Card: 2% cash back on purchases, 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay: Awarded as ThankYou® Points. No annual fee.
	TD Double Up℠ Credit Card: 2% cash back on purchases. Visa Signature benefits, possibly including extended warranty. Not available everywhere. No annual fee.
	Synchrony Premier World Mastercard®: Unlimited 2% cash back. No annual fee.

How we picked: Our considerations and criteria

When we refreshed our list of 2% credit cards, we wanted to put together a list of cards that you could use as your baseline rewards card. Here’s how we put together our list:

• 2% everywhere with no caps. The cards on our list earn 2% everywhere, with no restrictions about where you can earn rewards or how much you can earn. It doesn’t matter if you spend $100 per month or $100,000—you’ll earn 2% cash back on all of it.
• Cash back rewards. All of the cards on our list earn cash back rewards or rewards points that can be redeemed for cash back. Some cards advertise 2% rewards or 2x rewards, but we only include cards that allow you to redeem your rewards for cash.
• No annual fee. We only included cards with no annual fee on this list.
• No requirement to use Apple Pay or mobile wallet. The Apple fans will point out that the Apple Card can earn 2% rewards—if you use Apple Pay. We’d rather get a card that earns 2% everywhere without any hoops to jump through.

How to use a 2% cash back card: A baseline for earning rewards

I recommend that everyone at least consider a 2% cash back card. It can make a handy backup card and a great card to use when you don’t have a compelling reason to use another card. Even if you don’t choose to pick up a 2% cash card, knowing that on any given purchase, you can always get 2% cash back can help you make more informed choices about how you use credit cards.

For example, a lot of people will use an airline card for everything and earn one mile per dollar on most of their purchases. Using Delta SkyMiles as an example (because I recently published an article about how much a SkyMile is worth), one Delta SkyMile is worth slightly more than a penny on average. Would I rather earn slightly more than a penny or 2% cash back. That choice is easy.

Sometimes getting less than 2% cash back makes sense

While you might be tempted to pledge yourself to never getting less than 2% cash back, there are times when it makes sense to accept fewer rewards. Here are some examples of when I choose to get less than 2% cash back on my purchase.

• Extended warranty. Getting an extra year of warranty coverage on items like electronics can be well worth. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® gets 1.5% cash back. I’m happy to sacrifice 50 cents of cash back per $100 to get an extra year of warranty coverage.
• Return protection. A return protection benefit means that I can get some great deals on clothing online, especially with final sale items that I think will work out, but that I’m not sure about. One $50 return protection claim on a Lululemon final sale item means I’ve more than made up for any cash back I’ve lost.
• Amex Offers. Card-linked merchant offers can give you some great deals that will give you more total rewards, even if the base cash back you get from your card is low. I find Amex Offers most useful, but most major banks have a similar program.
• Travel protections. Some cards may offer less rewards, but with great travel protections. And if you’re delayed overnight for weather, having your credit card pay for your hotel is pretty great.

About the cards: More on the best 2% cash back credit cards

Here’s a bit more about each of the 2% cash back cards on our list.

2% cash back with cell phone protection: Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is probably the best 2% cash back credit card on the market right now for those who don’t want to learn how to use transferable travel rewards points.

The card doesn’t offer much in the way of benefits—like most 2% cash back rewards cards—but it does offer a cell phone protection benefit with a low deductible that you might find useful. As for extended warranty benefits or purchase protection? This card doesn’t offer any of those benefits.

Learn more in our guide to the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card.

Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee

All information about the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers unlimited 2% cash back with no annual fee, with a limited set of benefits that includes cellular telephone protection.

Sign-up bonus

Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full

Learn how to apply.

This bonus is earned as additional cash rewards.

Rewards

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

Rewards are earned as cash back, but can be transferred to an Autograph Journey℠ card, where they become transferrable points.

Benefits

Consumer insurance benefits

• Cellular telephone protection.
  $600 of coverage, subject to a $25 deductible

Travel insurance benefits

• Auto rental collision damage waiver.
  Secondary coverage within the U.S.
• Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
• Roadside Dispatch®

The Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card: 2% cash back with Amex Offers and no foreign transaction fee

The Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card is the only consumer Amex card that offers 2% cash back on all purchases.

Like the other no-annual-fee 2% cash back cards, it doesn’t contain much in the way of benefits. But it does offer Amex purchase protection.

The card becomes interesting when you consider that the card can be targeted for Amex Offers. These targeted bonus offerings for American Express cardmembers can get you a few extra points on things you might otherwise spend, or a large—sometimes 30% or more—cash rebate on things you buy. Amex Offers are bonuses in addition to cash back, so you’ll earn 2% cash back rewards on top of any bonus you get from Amex Offers.

The Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card is issued by Comenity Bank.

Annual fee: $0
Foreign transaction fee: None

All information about the Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.

The Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card offers unlimited 2% cash back on an American Express card with Amex Purchase Protection.

Sign-up bonus

The Bread Cashback™ American Express® Credit Card does not offer a welcome bonus.

Learn how to apply.

Rewards

Earn unlimited 2% cash back on purchases when you use your card with no reward caps, opt-ins, or categories.

Rewards are earned as cash back.

Benefits

Consumer insurance benefits

• Purchase protection

Travel insurance benefits

• Car rental loss & damage insurance.

2% cash back rewards as ThankYou® Points: Citi Double Cash® Card

The Citi Double Cash® Card offers you 2% cash back, awarded as 1% when you purchase and 1% when you pay.

Because the card earns ThankYou® Points, you can increase the value of your rewards when you hold other cards in the ThankYou Rewards ecosystem.

If you also hold the Citi Premier® Card, you can move your ThankYou Points from your Double Cash to the Premier and then transfer them to travel partners. When you can find business or first class flight awards with Citi’s travel partners, this path is the key to getting elevated value from your points. Additionally, Citi Rewards+® Card cardholders get a 10% points back bonus on the first 100,000 points redeemed per year, giving you the opportunity to net slightly more than 2% cash back on all of your purchases.

We have a guide to the ThankYou Rewards program than can outlines how this card works with the other Citi ThankYou Points cards, plus an overview of the Citi Double Cash where you can learn more about the Double Cash card’s rewards and benefits.

Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee

All information about the Citi Double Cash® Card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.

The Citi Double Cash® Card is the card you want to use “everywhere else” if you’re collecting ThankYou® Points. Unfortunately, the card is light on benefits—it offers no extended warranty or purchase protection benefits like many competing cards.

Sign-up bonus

Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full

Learn how to apply.

This bonus is marketed as cash back, but earned as Citi ThankYou® Points.

Rewards

• 5% total cash back on hotel, car rental, and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal.
• 2% cash back on every purchase
  Earn 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay.

Rewards are earned as Citi ThankYou® Points.

Benefits

• Extended warranty

TD Double Up℠ Credit Card: 2% cash back rewards, possibly with extended warranty

The TD Double Up℠ Credit Card is potentially the best 2% cash back credit card offered with no annual fee, but information that TD Bank provides about benefits is inconsistently and you can’t get the card everywhere.

On our last visit to TD Bank’s website, we saw that the card offered cell phone protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection. But when we viewed the guide to benefits on the same website, we didn’t find a mention of the extended warranty benefits.

Not everyone can get a TD Bank credit card—you’ll need to be an existing customer or reside within the bank’s limited footprint. (I couldn’t get the card, since I live in Minnesota.)

Still, if you can get it, the TD Double Up card is a strong contender for the best 2% cash back credit card.

Annual fee: $0
Foreign transaction fee: 3%

All information about the TD Double Up℠ credit card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.

The TD Double Up℠ credit card is a great option for a 2% cash back credit card available with no annual fee. Unfortunately, you can only get the card if you live within TD Bank’s U.S. service area.

Sign-up bonus

Best sign-up bonus: Earn $150 Cash Back in the form of a statement credit when you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days after account opening

Learn how to apply.

This bonus is earned as a statement credit.

Rewards

Earn unlimited 2% cash back on all eligible purchases.

Rewards are earned as cash back rewards.

Benefits

Consumer insurance benefits

• Cell phone protection.
• Purchase security.

Travel insurance benefits

• Lost luggage reimbursement.
• Travel and emergency assistance services.
• Roadside dispatch.
• Travel accident insurance.

Synchrony Premier World Mastercard®: 2% cash back and not much else

The Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® isn’t a card we spent too much time investigating. When we looked it, we found that the card offers 2% cash back rewards and not much else.

The Guide to Benefits didn’t include any benefits of note, making most of the other cards on our list better. Synchrony’s business is heavily slanted toward in-store credit cards, so the card may be easier to get than the others on our list. But if you can get one of the other cards, do it.