Upgrade Cash Rewards Card — Full Review

Great Card If

• You want to build your credit and earn cash-back rewards.
• You want a card with no annual fee.

Don’t Get If

• Your credit score is high enough to get approved for a 2% cash-back card.
• You prefer a card that earns travel rewards.

Upgrade Cash Rewards Card: Is It Worth It?

The Upgrade Cash Rewards card is a good option to consider if you’re looking to build your credit score and earn cash-back rewards while you do so.

Not only does the card earn 1.5% cash-back on all purchases with a $0 annual fee, it also lets you see if you have an approval offer with no impact to your credit score if you don’t. Plus, you also have access to the Upgrade shopping portal, where you can earn up to 10% cash-back with over 1,000 select merchants.

Upgrade Cash Rewards Card Top Benefits

The Upgrade Cash Rewards card is a Visa Signature card and comes with all eligible Visa Signature benefits, including:

• Extended Warranty Protection: The card extends eligible the manufacturer’s U.S. warranty up to 1 additional year on eligible warranties of 3 years or less.
• Price Protection: If an item that you purchased with your card appears in a print advertisement at a lower price, you can be reimbursed for the difference.
• Roadside Dispatch: Receive 24/7 roadside assistance for items like a flat tire, jump-start, and more.
• Travel and Emergency Assistance Services: Helps connect you to emergency resource services 24/7 when traveling abroad.

Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your Cash-Back

Easily the best ways to earn more cash-back with your Upgrade Cash Rewards card is to use your card for as many purchases as you can to earn 1.5% cash-back, provided that you pay your full balance on time. You can also use the Upgrade shopping portal to earn additional cash-back with select merchants.

Once you are ready to redeem your cash-back, you can do so in the form of a statement credit to offset previous purchases you’ve made with the card.

Alternative Cards to the Upgrade Cash Rewards Card

Citi Double Cash^® Card

If you’re trying to earn as much cash-back as possible, the Citi Double Cash card would likely be better for you thanks to its uncapped 2% cash-back on all purchases with a $0 annual fee (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay). Plus, you’re not just limited to cash-back, as cardholders can transfer their ThankYou Points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1.5 ratio and Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue at a 1:0.8 ratio.

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

Not only does the Freedom Unlimited card earn at least 1.5% cash-back on all purchases, but it also earns 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 5% back on Lyft purchases, and 3% back on dining and drugstores.

Further, despite it being a $0-annual-fee card, it comes with great perks like purchase protection, auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, the ability to pool rewards with other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, and more.