Cashback is the simplest way to earn rewards on your day-to-day spending: you pay for your purchases using a cashback debit or credit card and automatically get a small percentage of payment back. How much you get exactly depends on the card you have, that’s why today we’re looking at the best cashback credit (and 1 debit!) cards in the UK.

See bottom of the page for an interactive cashshback calculator. It shows you how much you can earn from each card depending on your spending level.

Best welcome bonus: Amex Cashback Everyday

29.7% APR variable

American Express are known for generous welcome bonuses and their free cashback card is no exception. Amex Cashback Everyday card gives you:

• 5% back on purchases in the first 5 months (but only up to £125 of cashback)
• After 5 months (or once you've accumulated £125 of rewards - whichever comes first) the rate drops to modest 0.5%
• If you spend over £10,000 on your card within the membership year, all spending above £10,000 will attract cashback at a higher rate of 1%.

To put all of this in content, someone spending £1,000 per month on this credit card would earn a little over £180 of cashback:

• 5% back on the first £2,500 - as per the welcome bonus - £125
• 0.5% back on the following £7,500 - £37.5
• 1% back on the final £2,500 - £25

If you’re a higher spender though, there’s a paid version of this card as well (£25 / year) that offers slightly higher cashback rates (0.75% on up to £10,000 and 1.25% on anything over £10,000). Check out the cashback calculator below to see how these cards compare.

Best debit card: Trading 212

Getting decent cashback on a debit card is rare but the Trading 212 card seems like an exception. The card offers:

• 0.5% back on all purchases
• Cashback rate jumps to 1.5% if you opt to auto invest the cashback using Trading 212. This is a limited time promotion, so please check the card website for the latest info.
• No fees on foreign currency transactions, meaning the card is good to use abroad and still earn cashback.

Best co-branded card: Amex Nectar

36.5% APR variable

In my opinion, getting cashback is not the best use of the Nectar credit card from American Express but it is certainly possible and the savings rate you get will beat many of the pure cashback cards:

• The card earns 2 Nectar points per £ spent.
• Nectar points are redeemable at Sainsbury's, Argos, Eurostar and other partners at the rate of £5 per 1000 points. This means the card earns the equivalent of 1% cashback with the caveat that the cashback is only redeemable with Nectar partners.
• There's a welcome bonus of 20,000 Nectar points (worth £100) if you spend £2,000 in the first 3 months.
• The card is free in year 1 but costs £30 / year after that.

Best for travel: Lloyds Ultra

12.9% APR variable

While the Trading 212 debit card already offers fee-free spending abroad (aka no FX fees), Lloyds Ultra has the same feature, while being a credit card (so you get Section 75 protection) and a higher rate of cashback. Specifically:

• 1% back on purchases for 12 months. After that the cashback rate drops to just 0.25%.
• No fees on foreign transactions - good card to use abroad.
• Slightly annoying: the cashback is paid once a year - in January.