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Credit card rewards
Earn cashback, points & more
Spend on one of these cards and it pays you – either in pure cashback or points that convert into vouchers for shops, airlines, hotels and more. If you're debt-free and pay off your card every month, you can earn goodies worth £100s each year. Plus our Reward Credit Card Eligibility Calculator will show cards you've the best odds of getting.

Who's this guide for? People who pay off their credit card balance in full every month who want to be rewarded for their spending.
Not what you want? If you're looking to cut debt costs or want other ways to get rewards, see...
Top airline credit cards | 0% balance transfers | Full credit cards section
How do reward credit cards work?

Essentially, they're quite simple. You just do your everyday spending on them and, in return, you get cashback or points which you can turn into vouchers, or money off at various shops. Reward cards can be a great way of earning £100s' worth of bonuses/cashback.
It sounds great – everyone loves something for nothing. But unless you're careful, cards will actually deliver nothing for something, as you'll likely get hit with interest if you don't pay them off IN FULL every month. Some cards even impose a minimum spend to get the rewards – so always read carefully before choosing a card and make sure it'll work for you.
What types of reward cards are there?
There are several types of reward credit cards available including...
- Cashback credit cards. Get a percentage of the amount you spend back, usually as credit added to your card balance annually or monthly. You may get a flat cashback rate across everything you pay for, or differing percentages depending on where you shop. The amount of cashback you can earn is often capped.
- General points credit cards. Collect points that can be exchanged for perks, vouchers, or goods and services.
- Supermarket / department store reward scheme cards. Earn points whenever you spend on your card which you can then use with your chosen store.
- Travel and airmile credit cards. Earn points you can exchange for flights or discounts on upgrades, hotels, and airport lounges. See our top airline credit cards picks.
See which reward credit cards you've the best chance of getting, in your own personal best-buy table.
Usually, applying for a new card is the only way to know if you'll be accepted for it or not. Yet that marks your credit file, affecting your ability to get future credit. To help, our tool uses a 'soft search' to find your chances of acceptance before applying.
Check your chance of acceptance
Amex offers the top-paying rewards cards

If you're looking for a cashback or reward card, your best bet is likely to be a card from American Express' range. We've selected our top picks below as they have big intro bonuses and/or give unbeatable ongoing rewards when compared with the rest of the market.
Though note a couple of important points:
- Amex isn't as widely accepted as Mastercard or Visa
- You won't get the intro bonuses below if you've had a personal (not business) Amex in the last two years
If this second point applies to you, or if you need a backup card for when Amex isn't accepted, check out the top non-Amex cards below.
Top fee-free cards. These cards have no ongoing fees and give decent cashback/rewards. | ||
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Get 5% cashback for the first three months, then ongoing cashback of up to 1% – though you must spend £3,000+ per year to get any cashback. After the first three months, you get 0.5% cashback on the first £10,000 spent each year and 1% back on all spend over £10,000.
However, if you'll spend £10,000+ per year, the Amex Platinum below will beat it. Alternatively, Chase's current account pays 1% cashback, though it's via a debit card rather than a credit card. |
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- 5% cashback for first 3mths (max £100) - 0.5% cashback on first £10,000 spend - 31% rep APR |
Check eligibility | |
Apply* | ||
Amex Rewards |
Get 10,000 bonus Amex points if you spend £2,000+ in the first three months – which can be converted into many different rewards. This card gives one Amex point per £1 spent.
Amex points can be used in a variety of ways – including converting them into Nectar points, which, via our trick, can be boosted beyond their usual value. Hit the £2,000 trigger and you'll have 12,000 points, which could get you £80 in Nectar points, £50 in vouchers (including Amazon and M&S), or 12,000 airline/hotel points (including BA and Virgin). |
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- 10,000 bonus pts on £2,000+ spend - 31% rep APR |
Check eligibility | |
Apply* | ||
Top cards with ongoing fees. These cards give bigger cashback/rewards than the cards above. | ||
![]() Amex Preferred Rewards Gold |
Get 25,000 bonus Amex points if you spend £3,000+ in the first three months – though there's a hefty £195 annual fee from year two. Plus, get a further 5,000 points if you spend on the card (even 1p) 15 months later. This is in addition to an ongoing one point per £1 spent and 2,500 points every time you spend £5,000 (max 12,500 bonus points per year). You also get four free visits to airport lounges each year and £5 cashback on two £5+ Deliveroo orders a month.
Amex points can be used in a variety of ways – including converting them into Nectar points, which, via our trick, can be boosted beyond their usual value. Hit the £3,000 trigger and you'll have 28,000 points, which could get you £185 in Nectar points, £140 in vouchers (including Amazon and M&S), or 28,000 airline/hotel points (including BA and Virgin). |
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- 25,000 bonus pts on £3,000+ spend - 88.8% rep APR |
Check eligibility | |
Apply* | ||
Amex Platinum Cashback |
Get 5% cashback for the first three months, plus up to 1.25% cashback after – though there's a £25 annual fee. If you'll spend over £10,000 a year and you want to earn cashback, this'll pay more than the Amex Everyday above, even after the fee, as the cashback rates are higher. | |
- 5% cashback for first 3mths (max £125) |
Check eligibility | |
Apply* | ||
Amex Nectar |
Get 20,000 bonus Nectar points if you spent £2,000 in the first three months – there's a £25 annual fee from year two. If you hit the £2,000 trigger you'd have 24,000 Nectar points, worth £120 at Nectar retailers such as Sainsbury's, Argos and eBay. Alternatively, they could be converted into 15,000 Avios. Plus you also get ongoing points. | |
- 20,000 bonus pts on £2,000+ spend - 37.8% rep APR |
Check eligibility | |
Apply* |
See all official APR examples.
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Best non-Amex cards
As we say above, the top-paying credit cards are all from American Express. But if you already have an Amex, can't get one, or need a backup for when it's not accepted, there are a couple of decent options – mostly from supermarket chains. We've selected these cards as they give the best returns when used at those stores, but do give some points if used elsewhere.
Important. The cards below sometimes offer 0% on new spending for a number of months. If you plan on using the card for everyday spending, it's best to ignore this and continue to pay it off IN FULL every month. However, if you NEED to borrow for a planned, affordable, one-off purchase, such as to replace a broken appliance, there's no cheaper borrowing – provided you borrow as little as possible and only an amount you can pay back during the 0% period.
Best non-Amex reward credit cards for new cardholders
Top retail cards. These cards are fee-free and give ongoing points. | ||
Asda Money Credit Card |
Get 1% cashback at Asda. Asda pounds can be converted into discount vouchers – you can then use these online or in store. Asda pounds expire after six months, so be sure to convert them in time (via the Asda Rewards app). | |
- 1% cashback at Asda - 25.9% rep APR |
Apply (not in our eligibility calc) |
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John Lewis Credit Card |
Get five points per £4 spent at John Lewis or Waitrose and one point per £4 spent elsewhere. Points are converted to vouchers three times per year and posted out to you (min 500 points needed to convert). | |
- Five points per £4 spent at John Lewis/Waitrose - One point per £4 spent elsewhere - 27.9% rep APR |
Apply (not in our eligibility calc) |
See all official APR examples.
Best reward debit card
A current account from Chase currently beats the Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday card above if you don't take into account Amex's intro bonus, or you won't meet the Amex's minimum spend. Unlike the other options in this guide, it's a debit card rather than a credit card, so you'll need to top up the account in advance to be able to spend.
Top reward debit card for new cardholders
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Get a 1% cashback for at least a year with Chase's app-only current account. You get 1% cashback on most debit card spending (max £15/month), though there are some exclusions. There's no minimum pay-in required in the first year, but you'll have to pay in £500+/month after that to continue getting cashback. To use Chase, you'll need a device with at least iOS 14.1 or Android 8.1.
Its debit card is also a top pick for overseas use, giving near-perfect rates, and you can also open a linked easy-access saver paying 4.1% AER interest on up to £500,000 – a decent rate, though it can be beaten. |
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- 1% cashback on most debit card spend - Fee-free overseas spending & ATM withdrawals |
Apply* |
Cashback sites may pay you for signing up
As an extra boon, members of specialist cashback websites can be paid when they sign up to some financial products. Do check that it's exactly the same deal though, as terms can be different. And remember the cashback is never 100% guaranteed until it's in your account.
For full help to take advantage of this and the pros and cons, see our Top cashback sites guide.
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