Last Updated on 25 August 2025 by Dan Wilderness
Hello everyone! This article continues our series looking at the best credit cards available in the UK by looking at the option of the Cashback Credit Card.
A cashback credit card is an option I’ve carried myself – it’s absolutely great to get easy money back on any purchases made, and as simple as it comes in terms of reward redemption.
The cashback credit cards have the same notes of caution as the rewards credit cards:
A cashback credit is not for you if you cannot pay these off in full each month, as they tend to attract higher interest payments than other cards.
You also generally need to have a good credit history for these cards as restrictions are tighter – you should always complete a free eligibility check on the issuers website before applying so as not to dent your credit history if you get rejected.
You can find out the factors that influence credit score at this article, and how to improve your credit score within this one.
If you don’t meet either of these two buckets, I recommend having a look at our article on what type of credit cards you should go for and match your profile.
How UK Cashback Credit Cards work
A cashback credit card is quite simple really – every time you spend a £ on your credit card, the card issuer gives a small percentage of your spend back to you. Fundamentally, they’re taking some of the fees and charges that would be passed on to the merchant and giving it to you instead.
As a result a cashback credit card is a great way of getting a little something back on spending you’re carrying anyhow. If you simply care about minimising your costs, these cards are great options – if you’re after something more tangible for your spending you might want to look at our recent article on the best UK rewards credit cards.
One distinction that needs to be made on the American Express cashback credit cards is that your cashback is not paid as you go, but rather appears at the end of each membership year. Therefore you may need to go beyond a year to claim it, which is a concern with the American Express Cashback card as you have to carry on to actually get your cashback.
Best UK Cashback Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
Many of the cards below are American Express, and offer a very significant welcome bonus on signing up. Generally speaking these involve hitting a spending target in the first three months of card ownership, and vary depending on the card you pick.
There are some restrictions, in that you cannot have had an American Express issued card (it’s fine if you’ve had an Amex card from other provider) in the past two years. You can still get the card, just not the signup bonus.
How to get the Best UK American Express signup bonus
The best way to sign up for an American Express card is through their refer a friend/family member scheme, because you’ll get an even larger signup bonus than if you did it direct – plus your friend or family member will get something as well! Please note that the 2 year restriction on receiving a signup bonuses does still apply.
If you have a family or friend with an American Express card that can do this then you should ask them if you can do it via them.
Otherwise the Wilderness is very happy to refer you by clicking my link here to get a signup bonus.
What is the best Cashback Credit Card in the UK?
We previously had cited the Chase Debit Card as being the best UK Cashback Credit Card, but unfortunately Chase cut back the cashback rewards to specific items and whilst it’s a good card, it’s no longer a clear winner.
Right now we’d suggest getting an American Express and a Chase, using the American Express where you can and the Chase where eligible and you can’t (or taking a look at our UK Rewards Credit Cards).
In respect of the credit cards, with only two best in class options on offer it’s pretty clear cut – the American Express Cashback Card is likely to offer the best rewards rate for those spending over £10,000.
For those spending under £10,000 the lack of an annual fee means the American Express Cashback Everyday Card is likely to be more rewarding, as you’d be spending more in the fee on the Cashback card than you’d receive in benefit.
Finally if you’re a big spender at Amazon (especially during Prime Day type events) the Amazon Barclaycard is very much worth a look and also has a good cashback rate.
More details on all cards are below.
Our pick of the best UK Cashback Credit Cards:
All information is correct as of last update on 14.04.2025. We’ll do our best to keep our information up to date, but details can change all the time so you should double check this yourself.
The Financial Wilderness may also receive a small payout if you make a purchase through a link on this site. It won’t affect the service you receive and we recommend only what we honestly believe to be the best available, not what gives us commission. You can read more about our affiliate policy on our disclaimers page.
American Express Cashback Card
Representative APR: 36% APR Variable
Annual Fee: £25
Signup Bonus: 5% cashback on every £ spent on the card for the first three months, up until the point of racking up £125 of cashback (I.E spending £2,500)
Earnings Rate: 0.75% cashback on all spending up until £10,000, and 1.25% cashback on spend over £10,000.
Positives
- Best rate of cashback available once over £10k spend
- Generous signup bonus
Negatives
- Under £10k cashback just an ok rate.
- Need to spend £10k to justify fee
- Amex isn’t taken everywhere
Review of the American Express Cashback Card
American Express hanged the cashback value of their UK Cashback Reward Credit Cards, slashing the under £10,000 rate from 1% to 0.75%. Whilst this doesn’t sound like much it does hurt the card a little – moving it from a clear best option to instead being very similar to the American Express Gold Card we feature in the rewards credit cards article.
Cashback isn’t as fun as getting a reward, but during that initial 3 month period the 5% cashback return gives you a very healthy initial bonus – fundamentally you’re being paid £125 for an amount of spending for a spend which isn’t ridiculous if you’re able to put every bit of spending through the card.
I’ve listed this card as being best for those earning above £10,000 as that’s where the benefits from the extra bits of cashback exceed the £25 you pay as the card fee.
If you’re going to fall beneath this, the American Express Cashback Everyday Card below is a better option if you’re dead set on wanting a cashback credit card.
We can refer you by clicking my link here to get a signup bonus.
American Express Cashback Everyday Card
Representative APR: 30.4% APR Variable
Annual Fee: None
Signup Bonus: 5% cashback on every £ spent on the card for the first five months, up until the point of racking up £125 of cashback (I.E spending £2,500)
Earnings Rate: 0.5% cashback on all spending up until £10,000, and 1% cashback on spend over £10,000.
Positives
- No annual fee
- Good signup bonus effectively a free £125.
- Decent cashback rate
Negatives
- Amex can’t be used everywhere
- Cashback relatively small under £10,000
Review of the American Express Cashback Everyday Card
The American Express Cashback Everyday Card is to all intents and purposes exactly the same card as the one above – it has slightly reduced earnings rates but still very rewarding.
The signup bonus remains extremely generous considering this is a free card, and is effectively a free £125.
Where the American Express Cashback Everyday Card is a little more challenging is the ongoing rewards – the rate of return after American Express’s recent changes to raise where you earn the higher rate of cashback is now slightly less than some of the UK Rewards Credit cards.
We can refer you by clicking my link here to get a signup bonus.
Barclaycard Amazon Credit Card
Representative APR: 28.9% APR Variable
Annual Fee: £0
Signup Bonus: £20 Amazon voucher signup bonus
Earnings Rate: 1% cashback on all spending at Amazon, doubled to 2% for Prime members on special sales events like Prime Day. 0.5% on all other spending.
Positives
- Good cashback rate at Amazon
- Unbeatable cashback during Prime Day events
- Free £20 voucher on signup
- Free card
- Visa so can be spent most places
Negatives
- Can be beaten by Amex for non-Amazon spend.
Review of the Barclaycard Amazon Credit Card
If you’re a frequent shopped at Amazon, the Barclaycard Amazon Credit Card is one of the best around for spending there.
The cashback rate at Amazon matches the best available elsewhere at best of times, but during Prime Day type shopping events the 2% rate is the best pure cashback approach that we’ve been able to find on the market.
For outside Amazon the 0.5% rate isn’t bad at all, especially considering the card is free. If you’re a bigger spender you may do better going for one of the American Express cards above.
Having this card for Amazon and another one for shopping elsewhere isn’t a bad option though!
You can find the Barclaycard Amazon Credit Card here.
Best Cashback Rewards Debit Card
Chase Bank UK Debit Card (with Cashback bonus)
Representative APR: N/A – Debit Card
Annual Fee: None
Signup Bonus: N/A
Earnings Rate: 1% cashback on UK Groceries, transport and fuel, up to £15 a month.
Positives
- 1% Cashback where available is helpful.
- Amongst the most competitive cards for FX when used abroad.
- Good app and linked savings account
- Visa allows flexibility
Negatives
- Need to pay in £1,500 per month
- Cashback limited to £15 per month and restricted to specific spends
- Not a credit card so no Section 75 protection
Review of the Chase Bank UK Debit Card
Chase used to be our best pick overall in Cashback credit cards, but unfortunately a series of changes were made in 2025 which limited what you could earn cashback on and stopped you being able to earn cashback abroad.
We still think it’s worth featuring because the 1% is on essentials, but whereas before we were saying this was the best choice in the cashback space, it’s not anymore.
To earn the cashback have to pay in a fairly steep £1,500 a month into your Chase current or savings account to qualify, however remove this again immediately afterwards (so it’s entirely possible to set up to pay in after your salary to qualify, and then remove to cover bills if you need to).
The 1% cashback has now been capped at £15 a month (in practice however this is only likely to affect you where making a particularly large monthly spend).
The Chase Bank UK Debit Card also holds the extra advantage of being a Visa rather than an American Express, meaning it can be used at more places – maximising your cashback reward.
Be aware this is a debit card not a credit card – that means you’ll need to signup for a Chase UK current account and fund the account for any spending on the card, and don’t get Section 75 protection for any purchases.
You can sign up for a Chase UK Account through the Chase App – details on Chase UK’s website here.
Other UK Cashback Credit Card Options:
It’s basically American Express or nothing in this space at the moment. There’s a Barclaycard Rewards and Lloyds Bank one as well, but it offers a pretty paltry 0.25% cashback so I haven’t recommended it here. (It does have the advantage of being a Visa though, so if you’re in an area that doesn’t generally take American Express…)
Other articles in the Credit Card series:
Any questions?
There’s lots to consider with credit cards, and there’s often no true best option as it simply depends how you’ll use the card.
If you have any further questions on these best Cashback Credit Cards or any others, please just leave a comment below!
And that’s it!
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