Bonus vs. cash back calculator

Does the bonus actually beat a simple cash-back card?

A big welcome bonus front-loads value into year one. Pick a bonus card and a cash-back card and we'll show the real dollar picture year by year — including whether the cash-back card's ongoing rate ever catches up.

Your comparison

Bonus card you're considering

American Express Gold Card

21 verified bonus cards to compare

Cash-back card to compare against

Citi Strata Premier Card

Auto-picked: best ongoing value for your spend. Change it above.

Estimated monthly spend on this card

Compare over

Citi Strata Premier Card catches up

$2,043

Citi Strata Premier Card pulls ahead by 3 years despite American Express Gold Card's $600 bonus — the crossover happens around year 2, because its ongoing rate is worse for this spend.

Year 1

American Express Gold Card$515

Citi Strata Premier Card$1,196

Year 2

American Express Gold Card$430

Citi Strata Premier Card$1,792

Year 3

American Express Gold Card$345

Citi Strata Premier Card$2,388

American Express Gold Card fee

$325/yr

Citi Strata Premier Card fee

$95/yr

See American Express Gold Card See all ranked cards

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Year one includes the welcome bonus plus a year of estimated rewards, minus the annual fee; years after that are ongoing rewards minus the fee, using the same methodology as our card rankings. This only compares cards with a verified bonus, ongoing rate, and fee on file — more cards are added as we verify additional issuers. Actual value depends on your real spending categories, redemption choices, meeting the bonus's minimum spend requirement, and issuer terms.