Key Cashback Credit Card

Rewards by category

Our take

The Key Cashback Credit Card is advertised at 2% on everything, and that number comes with a condition you have to read before you apply. The 2% requires a qualifying KeyBank consumer checking account with at least five qualifying transactions in that month. Without the account, or in any month you fall short of five transactions, the card pays a flat 1%. SwipeCaddy ranks it at 1%, because we do not rank a rate that depends on holding a second product from the same bank.

The arithmetic makes the condition easy to price. On $12,000 of annual spending, 1% is $120 and 2% is $240, so the checking relationship is worth about $120 a year — and only if you hit five qualifying transactions in all twelve months. Miss it in a month and that month falls back to 1% with no makeup later. Meanwhile there are no-annual-fee cards that pay a flat 2% to anyone approved, with no checking account and no monthly transaction quota, so the honest comparison is not 2% versus 1% — it is a conditional 2% versus an unconditional one.

Two more things narrow the audience. KeyBank lends in roughly 15 states and tells non-clients to apply in a branch, so this is effectively a card for people who already bank there. And it charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, which means a $1,000 purchase abroad costs $30 and earns $10 back at the base rate — a $20 net loss on every foreign swipe. Carry it if you keep a KeyBank checking account, live in the footprint, and will genuinely run five transactions a month; if you do not, an unconditional flat-rate card pays more with far less to remember.

Key benefits

• No annual fee
• 2% for cardholders who keep a qualifying KeyBank checking relationship

Common questions

Does Key Cashback Credit Card have an annual fee?

No — Key Cashback Credit Card has no annual fee.

What rewards does Key Cashback Credit Card earn on everything else?

1% on all other purchases, in Cash Back.

How do I actually earn 2% with the Key Cashback Credit Card?

You need a qualifying KeyBank consumer checking account and at least five qualifying transactions in the same month. Meet both and that month earns 2%; miss either and the month pays the flat 1% base rate. The requirement resets monthly, so it is an ongoing chore rather than a one-time setup.

Why does SwipeCaddy rank this card at 1% instead of 2%?

Because the 2% is conditional on holding a separate KeyBank checking account and clearing a monthly transaction count, and we do not rank a rate that depends on a second product. The 1% is what the card pays on its own, so that is the number we compare against other cards in your wallet.