My CIBC Dividend Platinum VISA advertises 2% cash back and I always thought that was pretty good. But in fact, it only gives 2% at the highest tier. I only earn 0.5% on the first $3000 I spend each year. It seems that most cash-back cards work like this, so I decided to get to the bottom of it and do a meaningful comparison between all the cards I could find.

Along the bottom of the chart is the amount you spend on the card in a year. The y-axis is the amount of cash you get back. Cards start at zero, or a negative value to reflect their fee, and then go up based on their cash-back rates. Some programs flatten off at a certain point because they hit a maximum. This data is accurate as of Nov 1, 2008.

The winners

It depends on how much you spend. The Citi Enrich Mastercard is the best if you spend less than $11k per year. The CostCo Platinum Cash American Express is the best if you spend between $11k and $31k. The CapitalOne Cash Back Plus Platinum Mastercard is the best if you spend more.

Of course there are other factors that I haven’t taken into account. Mastercard is probably accepted at a lot more places than AmEx, and each card comes with a different basket of random benefits like travel insurance and extended warranties. YMMV.

Million Dollar Journey has a great comparison too.

This radio show is the best explanation of the credit crisis of 2008.

And this presentation is possibly the funniest.