all of those have pretty big caveats. Citi seems the closest to straight 2% assuming you pay off your balance all the time, I didn't notice any limits on how you get your 2%. But they do have late payment fees.

PenFed you have to be active duty military to qualify for 2%... Fidelity you have to put your 2% (not going to call it "cash") into a Fidelity product, no balance credits.

I use Citi and there are no limits. I pay my balance in full every month and it's actually better IMO because it incentives payments. PenFed you don't have to be military, you can be a member as well and it's a pretty good bank anyways. Fidelity you can use their checking account, so it's as good as cash.

Apple requires you to use Apply Pay to earn 2%, so it comes with it's own caveats.

Citi has late fees (but yeah, it looks pretty good) Looks like non-active duty PenFed members get 1.5% Fidelity Checking account sounds alright, but why not just balance credit?

Until apple pay is much more widely accepted that's a caveat for them. Probably stick around with Capital One 1.5% for now.

That's fair, but with caveats you can also get more than 2% back on every purchase and 4-5% on many purchases. For many people, that's easily worth it and I wouldn't settle for a 2% back card.

Which card gives you 4-5% cash back?

Well if you want to maximize rewards you could use:

- Chase Freedom / Discover It (Quarterly 5% categories (examples: Wholesale, Gas, Grocery, Department Stores, Mobile Pay, Home Improvement, etc.))

- Uber Visa (4% Dining, 3% Travel, 2% Online Purchases, 1% everything else)

- American Express Blue Cash Everyday (3% Grocery, 2% Gas/Department Stores, 1% everything else)

- Citi Doublecash (2% everything)

- Costco Visa (4% Gas, 3% Travel/Dining, 2% Costco, 1% everything else)

- Amazon Prime Visa (5% Amazon, 2% Dining, Grocery, Pharmacy, 1% everything else)

These are just the cards I use right now. There are no annual fees, although some require membership like Costco and Amazon. Pay your balance in full every month and it's a much better option than debit. There's a bunch of different ways to maximize rewards. See /r/churning [1] for more info.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/churning

what card do you have?

Well if you want to maximize rewards you could use:

- Chase Freedom / Discover It (Quarterly 5% categories (examples: Wholesale, Gas, Grocery, Department Stores, Mobile Pay, Home Improvement, etc.))

- Uber Visa (4% Dining, 3% Travel, 2% Online Purchases, 1% everything else)

- American Express Blue Cash Everyday (3% Grocery, 2% Gas/Department Stores, 1% everything else)

- Citi Doublecash (2% everything)

- Costco Visa (4% Gas, 3% Travel/Dining, 2% Costco, 1% everything else)

- Amazon Prime Visa (5% Amazon, 2% Dining, Grocery, Pharmacy, 1% everything else)

These are just the cards I use right now. There are no annual fees, although some require membership like Costco and Amazon. Pay your balance in full every month and it's a much better option than debit. There's a bunch of different ways to maximize rewards. See /r/churning [1] for more info.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/churning

That American Express one looks nice, though reading about the points feels like a shell game. I think I could use it simply enough just for gas and groceries. The site was really trying to push me towards one of the $95/yr upgrades though.

If you spend roughly $3000 annually on groceries and gas the preferred ($95/yr) card is good. If you're interested in grocery and gas rewards then you may like the Pen Fed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature more.