Rewards programmes are advertised as a return on spending, and arithmetically they are: one to two percent back on purchases is real money. The part that gets skipped is that the return only exists if nothing else about your behaviour changes, and the programmes are designed on the assumption that something will.
Start with the interest comparison. A card paying two percent cashback while carrying a balance at twenty-plus percent annual interest is not paying you anything; it is selling you a discount with borrowed money. Rewards are only rewards on balances paid in full, every month, without exception.
Then look at the spending nudge. Minimum spends to unlock a bonus, category multipliers and expiring points all push purchases forward in time or up in size. If a bonus requires you to spend four thousand in three months and you would have spent two thousand, the bonus cost you two thousand to obtain.
Points are harder to value than cash because their worth depends on how you redeem them, and the redemption rate is set by the issuer, not by you. Cash and statement credits are predictable; travel redemptions can be worth more and can also quietly devalue overnight. If you want the simple version: take the cashback card, pay the balance in full, and ignore the leaderboard.
