Truthfully, unless you plan to charge thousands of dollars every single month and pay off every penny every month, the cash-back card is unlikely to be a good choice. They usually will pay something in the neighborhood of .25% for the first $1000 each month. Only after a few thousand will you top out at 1.5%, but you won't see any of that if you let a balance carry at 10 or 12 or 18%. Instead, get the lowest rate, no annual fee card you can get, pay it off, and enjoy the savings.