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How to Calculate Cash Back on a Credit Card contents
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How to Calculate Cash Back on a Credit Card

5 min read
Last Updated: January 8, 2026
Credit card rewards

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Key Takeaways

  1. You may use a credit card cash back calculator to determine the rewards you may earn on a cash back credit card.

  2. If you want to calculate cash back earnings yourself, you’ll need to know the cash back rate on your card and the amount you spend.

  3. Some credit cards offer higher rewards in certain categories, which may change throughout the year.

A cash back credit card is a type of rewards card that gives you a percentage of your eligible spending back as cash. You may redeem cash back rewards in several ways, such as a statement credit, donation, or bank deposit. With certain cards, you may earn cash back on multiple purchases from a new dining room table to a flight across the country. The amount of cash back you earn depends on the rewards rate.

You may use a cash back reward calculator or follow a few simple steps to calculate your cash back on your own. 

1. Determine the cash back rate for your purchase

You’ll need to know the rewards rates on your cash back credit card to determine how much cash back you may receive when you make a purchase. The rewards rate is the percentage of each eligible purchase that you receive as cash back. You may find your card’s cash back rates on your credit card issuer’s website, credit card statement, your cardmember agreement, or paperwork you received alongside your credit card.

Credit card rewards may be a flat rate, with the same rewards rate across all eligible purchases, or tiered, with a higher rate for purchases in certain categories or from specific retailers. If your card has tiered rewards, you may have to determine which cash back rate applies to each purchase.

Some credit cards, like the Discover it® Cash Back Card, have bonus reward categories that rotate throughout the year. When calculating cash back on a rotating rewards card, it’s important to confirm which categories currently have a higher rate.

Learn More

With the Discover it® Cash Back Card, you can earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Refer to the Discover Cashback Bonus® Calendar for up-to-date bonus categories.

2. Determine the purchase amount

The amount of cash back you earn depends on your spending. To calculate cash back for a specific purchase, like a dishwasher, you’ll have to check your receipt, credit card statement, or mobile banking app to determine how much money you spent.

 

Or maybe you don’t have a rewards credit card yet, and you’d like to determine how much cash back you may earn with a particular card over time. In that case, you might take a closer look at your most frequent purchases.

Say you spend a lot of time on the road for work. You may want to see how much cash back you might earn on fuel costs each month if you switch to a gas rewards credit card. 

 

Check your budget or review your bank statements to determine how much money you typically spend on gas within a particular timeframe, like three months. Calculating the cash back you would earn for those transactions may help you determine whether a gas rewards card is worthwhile.

3. Calculate your cash back

Once you know your cash back rate and purchase amount, calculating your cash back is simple. You just multiply the purchase amount by your card’s cash back rate (which you’ll have to convert to a decimal).

 

For example, here’s how you’d find the cash back amount for a $650 dishwasher with a Discover it® Cash Back card if the store was part of the 5% cash back promotional offer:

 

.05 x 650 = 32.5

You may earn $32.50 in cash back for the dishwasher.

 

You may use the same formula to determine how much cash back you might get when you regularly buy gas with the Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurant Credit Card. With the Chrome Card, you may earn 2% Cashback Bonus® at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically.1

If you spend $1,000 at gas stations in three months, you would multiply .02 by 1,000 to estimate your potential rewards. So, in three months, you might earn about $20 cash back for filling up your tank.

 

The same formula may work for most purchases on cash back credit cards. However, you can’t necessarily apply this calculation to credit card points. Travel credit cards and other rewards cards that offer points may have more complicated rewards structures.

Did you know?

You may be able to make your cash back go even further on new cards by taking advantage of welcome offers. With Cashback Match from Discover, you get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year.2

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The bottom line

Cash back doesn’t have to be mysterious. You may use a simple calculation or a cash back calculator to determine the rewards you might receive for a big purchase. If you’re looking for a new rewards credit card, you may want to compare your potential cash back earnings for a few everyday purchases across several credit card options.

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