Could A Co-brand Card Be A Top Cash Back Credit Card? It Depends

Cash back is Americans’ favorite credit card feature by a wide margin, yet rewards enthusiasts often emphasize travel redemptions instead. If you ask an influencer for a best credit card recommendation, you’ll probably hear about a fancy travel card with a hefty annual fee. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as it fits your lifestyle. If you avoid overspending and pay in full to avoid interest, all rewards represent free money. And while I personally favor cash back credit cards, I’ll concede that travel rewards can be more lucrative, provided you put in the work.

But travel credit cards are getting more complicated (and expensive, too). For starters, we see a lot of devaluations. It’s common for hotels and airlines to require, say, 25,000 points for a free stay or flight one year and then bump it up to 30,000 points the next year. We’re also seeing annual fees on the rise, particularly for high-end offerings such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and The Platinum Card® from American Express. Some people get great benefits from those cards. Increasingly, however, these higher-end offerings are out of reach for the majority of Americans.

Cash back, though, has always been and continues to be a great fit for the masses. It’s hard to beat the simplicity, and who couldn’t use more cash, right? As travel cards get more expensive and complicated, certain cash back cards are angling to poach their business.

Truly unique and niche cards could be just right for one person and a complete miss for another. But issuers are keen to meet the needs of all these various customers. One such example aims to appeal to people with loyalty to a rather iconic American brand — and it’s offer just might be better than you’d think.

Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at [email protected] and I’d be happy to help.

GM Rewards Mastercard

The GM Rewards™ Mastercard® fits right into this trend. At first glance, it probably wouldn’t make many “best credit card” lists. But maybe it should. If you own or lease a General Motors vehicle, or if you’re open to doing so in the future, it’s hard to beat the possibility of getting at least 3 percent back on every dollar you spend.

GM Rewards Mastercard customers earn 7X points per dollar on eligible GM purchases. Being a member of the company’s free GM Rewards program adds another 3X points per dollar, so cardholders who are also GM Rewards members get a total of 10X points per dollar on eligible GM purchases.

Here’s the kicker, though: All other purchases earn 3X points per dollar. That’s significant as it represents a 3 percent rebate on most spending. The catch — and it’s quite the catch for non-GM loyalists — is that GM Rewards are only redeemable for GM vehicles, parts, service or accessories as well as some “exclusive experiences” GM curates. It’s not the same as getting 3 percent of your spending deposited back into your bank account, but for some people it represents something quite similar.

Keep in mind that car dealers typically don’t let you buy a car with a credit card, although I have sometimes heard of them allowing it for at least some of the purchase price (it doesn’t hurt to ask, just make sure you can pay off your charges before interest hits — and make sure you’re not assessed a credit card surcharge which would wipe away the value of your points). Earning up to 10X points per dollar on GM purchases is more likely to apply to repairs, parts and accessories rather than a vehicle purchase. Using your points to lower the cost of a new vehicle is still a great option (along with offsetting repairs, parts and accessories).

A broader look at the cash back landscape

The high end of the mainstream cash back credit card market is 2 percent back on every purchase. Cards such as the Citi Double Cash® Card* and the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card play in this space. There’s some legalese (for instance, the Double Cash technically gives 1 percent back when you make a purchase and another 1 percent when you pay it off, while the Active Cash phrases its rewards program as “unlimited 2 percent cash rewards”). These cards essentially give you 2 cents back for every dollar you spend, typically as a statement credit or as a deposit into your bank account.

The GM Rewards Mastercard can bump that up to a minimum of 3 percent back on every purchase, again assuming that you put the rewards toward eligible GM purchases. That can really add up over the course of a year (or two or three). Let’s say you spend $2,000 a month on your credit cards. Over the course of a year, getting 2 percent back equates to $480 in rewards and 3 percent back is $720. Over three years, 2 percent adds up to $1,440 and 3 percent in rewards totals $2,160. As long as you’re avoiding interest and this is money you would have spent anyway, that’s a solid return that you can put toward a vehicle purchase (or maintenance, etc.).

It’s also possible to get more than 2 percent cash back on every purchase if you meet requirements on some cards. Examples include:

Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card*: Earn 2.5 percent cash back on every purchase (up to $10,000 in qualifying purchases each monthly billing cycle, then 1.5 percent) if you have an Alliant High-Rate Checking account, accept e-statements, make at least one electronic deposit each month and maintain an average daily balance of at least $1,000. Cardholders who don’t meet all the requirements earn unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on purchases.

U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card*: Earn 2 percent cash back on every purchase, which can go as high as 4 percent back on everything (up to $10,000 in eligible net purchases each billing cycle) if cardholders have $100,000 or more in a U.S. Bank Smartly Checking and/or Safe Debit account.

Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card: Earn 1.5 percent cash back on every purchase, which goes up to 2.625 percent if cardholders have at least $100,000 in eligible Bank of America or Merrill Lynch deposit or investment accounts.

As you can see, these cards have various requirements to earn the top cash back rates, some of which are quite hefty. For example, most cardholders don’t have a spare $100,000 lying around. In comparison, the GM card looks like a bargain. Its requirement to earn at least 3 percent back on every purchase is to put those rewards toward GM purchases. That’s a much easier lift than socking away 100 grand, especially considering that GM has the largest customer base of any U.S. automaker. Its popular brands include Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

The GM Rewards Mastercard is a unique credit card. Other automakers (such as Toyota, Subaru and BMW) have co-branded credit cards, but none of those come close to delivering this much everyday value. Most purchases on those cards earn far less than 3 percent cash back.

Waiting in the wings

I’m watching a couple upcoming card launches that could match or exceed this lofty rewards payout.

The Robinhood Gold Card, which is currently in the wait-list stage, will offer 5 percent cash back on travel booked via Robinhood and 3 percent cash back on other purchases. Similar to the aforementioned cards, this won’t charge an annual fee — although it will require a Robinhood Gold membership (which costs $5 per month or $50 per year).

This fall, Coinbase will launch a credit card that offers up to 4 percent back (in Bitcoin) on every purchase. Full details are not yet available, but the company has indicated that the 4 percent payout will be for customers who hold more assets at Coinbase.

The bottom line

Loyalty is king in the credit card world. If you frequently fly the same airline or stay at the same hotel chain or shop at the same retailer, you’ll probably benefit from signing up for their credit card. If you’re not as brand loyal, you should keep your options open with general-purpose credit cards. The latter strategy might involve using a cash back card with a solid all-around return as your foundation, and then layering in another card or two or three focused on areas where you spend a lot of money (groceries, gas, restaurants, etc.).

What’s so unique about the GM Rewards Mastercard is that it can potentially be a one-stop shop. If you’re a GM vehicle owner (or might become one soon), ask yourself if you can earn more than a 3 percent return from your total spending on any other combination of credit cards. It’s hard to do. There’s a strong case to be made that the GM Rewards Mastercard is the best credit card on the market for current and prospective GM vehicle owners.

The information about the GM Rewards™ Mastercard®, U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card, Citi Double Cash® Card, Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card and Robinhood Gold Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

Information about the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card was last updated on 6/27/25.