A 3%/1% card beats a flat 2% card only when half your spending lands in its categories. Three households, the break-even formula, and how caps change it.
Grocery bonuses follow the merchant, not the food. How supermarket, superstore, warehouse, and online grocery rules change what your card actually earns.
An annual fee is worth it when extra rewards and benefits you will use beat the fee versus your real alternative. A break-even method with worked examples.
A 3% card can earn less than a 2% card. Compare annual cash back on your real spending, apply caps and merchant rules, then subtract fees.
· 6 min read
Editorial disclosure: CardRewards.ai is an independent comparison service. Card data comes from issuers' published terms; catalog last published November 13, 2026, and each card page shows when its terms were last checked. Card issuers do not influence our rankings or content.