How do cash back credit cards work?
Andrew Campbell
Updated on February 17, 2026
Cashback credit cards offer you the chance to earn cash from the money you spend, by paying you back a percentage of what you spend or giving you reward points. They only make sense if you pay off the balance in full each month and never go over your limit. Otherwise, the interest you pay will outweigh the rewards.
What does it mean to earn cash back on a credit card?
Credit card cash back rewards are bonuses provided to credit card customers when they use their cards to make purchases. Cash back rewards operate on a percentage basis. An example: If you have a card with a purchase rewards rate of 1.5% and you make $100 in purchases, you would earn $1.50 in cash back.
Is cash back allowed on credit cards?
For example, even though you earn cash back at a flat rate, some credit cards may not offer cash back on certain transactions. Most credit cards don’t offer cash back on balance transfers. Additionally, credit cards typically don’t allow you to earn cash back if your account isn’t in good standing.
Is cash back good or bad?
Getting a credit card that offers cash back always sounds like a good idea. However, you need to keep in mind that they are not going to give you cash back on every purchase that you make. Even if they claim to give you cash back on every purchase, they will only give you up to a certain amount per transaction.
Where can I get the most cash back?
Many grocery stores, retail stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies offer cash back at the register, but some types of stores tend to have higher cash back limits than others. In our research, we found that grocery stores and large retail/department stores typically give the most cash back.
How do you calculate cash back on a credit card?
When a rewards program or credit card is offering 5% cash back, it means that for every $1 you spend you will earn 5 cents ($0.05) in the form of cash back. You can calculate 5% cash back multiplying 0.05 by the amount you plan on spending. So if you spend $1,000, it would be $1,000 x 0.05 which equals $50.
What is cash back and how does cash back work?
You are here. What is Cash Back and How Does Cash Back Work? Cash back is a perk many credit card companies offer on their rewards credit cards. It refers to earning back a percentage of the money you spend on your credit card.
What does it mean to get cash back on a credit card?
Most commonly, it’s a credit card benefit that refunds the cardholder a small percentage of the amount spent on each purchase, or purchases above a certain dollar threshold. Cash back also describes a debit card transaction in which cardholders literally receive cash at the time they make a purchase—generally, a small amount above the item cost.
How does cash back work on discover it card?
Discover It Card. Earn big‑time cash back that never expires. Cash back is a perk offered by many credit card companies on some of their rewards credit cards. Cash back refers to earning back a percentage of the money you spend on your credit card.