Calculate your annual cashback earnings from credit card spending
Updated October 2026Built and checked by MaverickHow it's calculatedReport an error
Net annual
$440
after $100 fee
Gross cashback
$540
1.50% effective rate
Worth it?
Yes
cashback covers fee
Cap lost
None
no cap
Cards that pay more in some categories, such as groceries or fuel, pay off most when those are where you spend.
A high-fee premium card only wins if its bonus rates / earn rate justifies the extra cost.
At what annual fee does this card stop being worth it? The crossover point is where the bar touches zero.
A cashback card gives you a slice of what you spend back as cash. Whether that beats a card with no annual fee depends on how much you spend, which is what this works out.
As of 7 November 2026, the lowest credit card purchase rate is 7.49%, from Unity Bank's Low Rate Visa Credit Card, while the typical best across 51 institutions is 12.49%.
$3,000 a month of spending: $600 on groceries at 3%, $300 on fuel at 2% and the rest at 1%. $100 annual fee.
Groceries earn $216 a year, fuel $72 and everything else $252: $540 in all, or $440 after the fee - an effective 1.5% back.