Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2025: Cash Back Credit Cards
The Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards celebrate the best products and services in personal finance.
Lisa Gerstner
About the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards 2025
The Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards aim to recognize and celebrate the best products and services in the personal finance arena. We asked you, our Kiplinger community, to help us name the products and services you think have delivered excellent value in the past year.
The survey results, which we’re sharing here in our second annual Readers’ Choice Awards, offer valuable insight into which providers shine when it comes to your everyday interactions and experiences with them. Our Awards recognize excellence in everything from credit cards, banks and brokers to insurers, tax software and financial apps. For each category, we’ve listed an overall winner that earned the highest score. We’ve also highlighted other products and services that earned above-average scores for various criteria we asked readers to assess.
By voting, our community has helped us form our guide to the very best financial products. These are the cash back credit cards that you think stand out from the crowd.
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards: Cash Back Rewards
Cash back cards usually offer simple terms and the opportunity to earn rewards on everyday purchases. We asked readers to rate cash back cards on the responsiveness of customer service, how likely they would be to recommend the card to others and their overall satisfaction with the card.
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OVERALL WINNER: Fidelity Rewards Visa
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
The Fidelity Rewards Visa reigns as readers’ favorite cash back credit card for the third year in a row, and it’s easy to see why. The card features 2% back on all purchases as long as you deposit rewards into qualifying Fidelity accounts, such as a brokerage account, health savings account, 529 college-savings plan or a donor-advised fund.
“Nothing could be simpler,” says one reader. Another expressed appreciation for the ease of reaching a human in the card’s customer service department: “I can always get live help, not just a robot.”
Costco Anywhere Visa
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
The Costco Anywhere Visa proved popular with readers. One remarked, “Best card in my wallet. No rotating categories to keep track of. Just simple rewards on everyday items we all use all the time.”
Cardholders earn 5% cash back on gas at Costco stations and 4% on other gas purchases and electric-vehicle charging; the 5% and 4% rewards apply to the first $7,000 charged each year, and you get 1% thereafter.
You’ll also earn 3% on restaurant and travel purchases, including Costco Travel; 2% back on other Costco purchases; and 1% back on everything else.
Citi Double Cash Mastercard
Outstanding for:
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
Citi Double Cash offers a total 2% cash back on all spending: 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% once you pay it off.
As one reader notes, “It's the easiest way to get straight cash back on every purchase as long as you pay it off every month. This is our everyday, go-to card for most purchases.”
USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
This card from USAA offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no category restrictions. If you have USAA car insurance, you can receive up to $200 reimbursement on your deductible paid for a covered loss.
To qualify for this perk, you need to have made at least eight purchases in the previous month with the card. To open a USAA credit card, you must be an active-duty military member, a veteran, or an eligible family member such as a spouse or child.
Discover It
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
Readers appreciate Discover It particularly for the responsiveness of its customer service team. One remarked, “I've had very few issues over the years, and whenever a fraudulent charge or any other issue came up, it was always solved quickly and to my satisfaction.”
Discover It offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in categories that change each quarter, such as grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations; other purchases earn 1% back.
U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa
Outstanding for:
- Overall satisfaction
The U.S. Bank Cash+ card lets you choose two categories that earn up to 5% back on up to $2,000 spent quarterly. The categories you can choose from include streaming services, utilities, department or electronics stores, and gyms, among other options.
Earn 2% back on one other category of your choice — including dining, groceries, and gas and EV-charging stations — and 1% back on all other purchases.
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards Categories
- Readers' Choice Full-Service Brokers
- Readers' Choice Wealth Management
- Readers' Choice Travel Rewards Credit Cards
- Readers' Choice Airline Credit Card Rewards Programs
- Readers' Choice Hotel Credit Card Rewards Programs
- Readers' Choice National Banks
- Readers' Choice Internet Banks
- Readers' Choice Auto Insurance Companies
- Readers' Choice Homeowners Insurance Companies
- Readers' Choice Annuity Providers
- Readers' Choice Tax Software
- Readers' Choice Peer-to-Peer Payment Services
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