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 Blue Cash Everyday Card

32 verified bonus cards to compare

Cash-back card to compare against

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard

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

Estimated monthly spend on this card

Compare over

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard catches up

$538

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard pulls ahead by 3 years despite American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card's $200 bonus — the crossover happens around year 2, because its ongoing rate is worse for this spend.

Year 1

American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card$440

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard$486

Year 2

American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card$680

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard$972

Year 3

American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card$920

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard$1,458

American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card fee

$0/yr

Bilt Rewards Bilt Mastercard fee

$0/yr

See American Express Blue Cash Everyday 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.