Which credit card earns more cash back overall?
Based on identical spending inputs, you’ll earn $180.00 cash back per year with Sallie Mae Accelerate and $180.00 with Upgrade Cash Rewards. For context, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $181.73.
The annual rewards payout assumes you charge $1,000 each month spread across the following spending categories: Dining ($145), Entertainment ($134), Gas ($140), Groceries ($198), Travel ($128), Pharmacy ($15), and Other ($240). The dollar amounts for each category are based on consumer spending data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (i.e., how much the average American spends proportionally across the major credit card rewards categories). But you can — and absolutely should! — customize the inputs based on your actual monthly spending habits, using our rewards calculator.
To ensure the most accurate results possible, the rewards calculations for Sallie Mae Accelerate and Upgrade Cash Rewards incorporate bonus rewards rates, spending caps, default rewards rates and annual fees, where applicable.
Is the Sallie Mae Accelerate good?
If paying down your student loans is a priority, this cashback card from Sallie Mae offers an incentive — a 33 1/3% rewards rate booster (turning a 1.5% cashback rate to 2% cashback) to direct the money towards any federal or private loan.
thumb_up Likes
- Earn 2% cashback when redeemed to help pay down a student loan
- No annual fee
- $200 bonus for spending $1K in first three months
- No cap or expiration on rewards
- Secondary cell phone coverage and other Mastercard bennies
thumb_down Dislikes
- Limited redemption options (which is kinda the point, but still)
- The 1.5% base cashback rate is pretty basic
- $25 reward redemption minimum
- No welcome bonus or 0% intro APR on transfers or purchases
- The 3% foreign transaction and 5% cash advance fees will leave a mark
- Not really worth it if you don’t have student loan debt
| Category |
Default Rate |
Bonus Rate |
Bonus Spend Cap |
Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Travel |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Dining |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Entertainment |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Pharmacy |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Groceries |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Other Purchases |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
Is the Upgrade Cash Rewards good?
Calling this a “cashback credit card” is a loose interpretation of the genre. It’s basically a personal loan packaged in plastic, offering cash back that can only be used for one thing — paying down your balance.
thumb_up Likes
- 1.5% rewards rate on purchases as they’re paid off
- No security deposit required
- Predictable monthly payments and fixed payoff date
- Offers prequalification (won't ding your credit unless you apply for real)
- Option to take out a personal loan
- Balances subject to fixed-rate APR
- No annual, late, or foreign transaction fees
thumb_down Dislikes
- Just one cashback redemption option — applying rewards to your outstanding balance
- $200 cash bonus requires opening a checking account
- No 0% intro APR in sight
- No grace period on purchases or transfers
- Loans ineligible for cashback rewards
- No extra benefits
- No authorized users allowed
| Category |
Default Rate |
Bonus Rate |
Bonus Spend Cap |
Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Travel |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Dining |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Entertainment |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Pharmacy |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Groceries |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
| Other Purchases |
1.50% |
- |
- |
- |
sports_kabaddi Credit card cage match
Compare all the credit cards in our database head to head to see which offers the most bang for your buck.
Methodology
The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.
To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:
- Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
- Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
- Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
- Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
- Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.
What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)
