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

Chase Freedom Unlimited

2 verified bonus cards to compare

Cash-back card to compare against

Citi Double Cash

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

Estimated monthly spend on this card

Compare over

Chase Freedom Unlimited wins

ahead of Citi Double Cash over 3 years, bonus included. Citi Double Cash starts catching up around year 2 — the bonus lead narrows.

Year 1

Chase Freedom Unlimited$440

Citi Double Cash$440

Year 2

Chase Freedom Unlimited$680

Citi Double Cash$680

Year 3

Chase Freedom Unlimited$920

Citi Double Cash$920

Chase Freedom Unlimited fee

$0/yr

Citi Double Cash fee

$0/yr

See Chase Freedom Unlimited 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.