Best credit cards for earning points rewards and cashback in 2025

If you pay off your balance in full every month, a credit card can be an easy way to manage your outgoings, with little or no cost involved. Better yet, some allow you to earn as you spend, by collecting points, cashback or airmiles.

However, some offers are little more than clever marketing. With certain cards, you could pay more in monthly fees than you’ll earn in points or cashback.

So, if you’d like to be rewarded for using your credit card, first review our top picks of those currently available.

Credit cards differ not only in terms of the level of reward on offer, but also in interest rates, monthly or annual fees and other benefits.

Our top picks are those with low or no fees, since fees could easily erode any cashback earnings or points value.

We’ve also disregarded other benefits, such as airport lounge access or insurance provision, as they are specific to whether individuals would utilise them. Remember to always check to see what benefits cards can offer you to determine if they suit your lifestyle.

We’ve assumed that you’ll be paying off your balance in full each month as you should if at all possible. If this is not the case, you’re better off choosing the card with the lowest APR, rather than the rewards it offers, but always seek to lower your credit card debt or look for improved repayment terms.

With cashback credit cards, you’ll get a small percentage of your total spending returned to you. Its usually credited to your card as a lump sum once a year.

In early 2025, the highest cashback rate available is from American Express (Amex).

Their Cashback Everyday Card offers 5 per cent cashback for the first five months, up to a maximum of £125, for new customers only. After this, you can still earn 0.5 per cent cashback on spending up to £10,000, and 1 per cent cashback on spending over £10,000.

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Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.

Terms and conditions apply.

Go to website

Most cashback cards offer a rate of 0.25 per cent, meaning that if you spend £1,000 per month, you’ll earn £30 in cashback over one year. These cards include:

With points credit cards, you’ll earn points for every £1 you spend. You can later trade in these points, usually for gift cards to spend with partner retailers. It’s important to compare not just the points earned per £1 spent, but the trade-in value of these points and where you can spend them.

In early 2025, the best deals are again with Amex. With the Amex Rewards Credit Card (30.4 per cent APR, no account fee), you’ll get one point per £1, and 10,000 points if you spend £2,000 in the first three months. Points are worth up to 0.5p when exchanged for gift vouchers.

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With the Amex Nectar Credit Card (37.1 per cent APR, no fee in the first year, then £30 annually), you can earn a minimum of three Nectar points per £1 spent with Nectar partners. Points are worth 0.5p when spent at Sainsbury’s but check as sometimes this rate can alter, depending on how you spend.

Frequent flyers might prefer to earn airline points to spend on flight upgrades and travel extras.

Before opting for an airline points card, note that Amex points and Nectar points can be exchanged for various different airline points, but also offer the flexibility to spend in other stores. So, you may be better off choosing one of the points cards above.

If you’re only interested in airline points, our top picks are:

There’s one reward card that stands out when comparing all the deals available in early 2025, and that’s the Amex Preferred Reward Gold Credit Card (87.8 per cent APR, £0 fees in the first year).

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You’ll earn 1 Amex point per £1 spent, or more points for airline travel and American Express travel. You’ll get a 20,000-point bonus if you spend £3,000 in the first three months, and up to 12,500 bonus points per year based on spending. There are other benefits around lounges, Deliveroo spend and cashback offers associated with the card and your account.

Points can be redeemed at 0.5p per point for gift cards to spend with Amazon, M&S, Selfridges and others. Or they can be traded for Nectar points or Avios points at a rate of 1:1.

However, the £195 annual fee that kicks in from year two will significantly erode the rewards you earn. So, we’d suggest that if you take up the card, you set a reminder for yourself of the date and return a year from now to explore the best rewards and cashback cards available then.

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