Best cards at CVS
AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card earns the most at CVS right now at 3%.
Rankings use issuer rates verified as of October 2, 2026.
In store
#13%3%AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card
Bread Financial · Visa · No annual fee
#23%3%Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
Bank of America · Visa · No annual fee · Choose this category · up to $2,500/qtr (combined) · Lower rate after the cap
#33x3xChase Freedom Flex
Chase · Mastercard · No annual fee
#43x3xChase Freedom Unlimited
Chase · Visa · No annual fee
#53x3xRobinhood Gold Card
Coastal Community Bank · Visa · No annual fee
#62%2%Apple Card
Goldman Sachs · Mastercard · No annual fee · Pay with the mobile wallet
#72%2%Blue Business Cash Card from American Express
American Express · Amex · Business · No annual fee · up to $50,000/yr
#82x2xThe Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express
American Express · Amex · Business · No annual fee · up to $50,000/yr
#92%2%Citi Double Cash Card
Citi · Mastercard · No annual fee
#102%2%Coinbase One Card
Cardless · Amex · No annual fee
Online
- #13%3%
AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card
Bread Financial · Visa · No annual fee
- #23%3%
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
Bank of America · Visa · No annual fee · Choose this category · up to $2,500/qtr (combined) · Lower rate after the cap
- #33x3x
Chase Freedom Flex
Chase · Mastercard · No annual fee
- #43x3x
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase · Visa · No annual fee
#53%3%PayPal Cashback Mastercard
Synchrony · Mastercard · No annual fee
- #63x3x
Robinhood Gold Card
Coastal Community Bank · Visa · No annual fee
- #72%2%
Apple Card
Goldman Sachs · Mastercard · No annual fee · Pay with the mobile wallet
- #82%2%
Blue Business Cash Card from American Express
American Express · Amex · Business · No annual fee · up to $50,000/yr
- #92x2x
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express
American Express · Amex · Business · No annual fee · up to $50,000/yr
- #102%2%
Citi Double Cash Card
Citi · Mastercard · No annual fee
Good to know at CVS
CVS accepts cards on every major network, in store and online, so acceptance is not the question here — the order of the table is. Four no-annual-fee cards tie at the top: the AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card and Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards pay 3% cash back, and Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited pay 3x points, which we value the same. The AAA card is listed first on that tie, and it leads both the in-store and the online table.
What separates the four is the fine print. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards earns 3% only if you choose drugstores as its single 3% category, and that 3% shares a $2,500 quarterly cap with its grocery and wholesale-club spending before dropping to 1%. The AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card pays its 3% at pharmacies outside the $500-a-year cash-back cap on its grocery, wholesale-club and gas rates, and Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited both earn 3x with no activation step and no cap in our data.
If none of the leaders is in your wallet, the 2% floor is easy to reach. Blue Business Cash Card from American Express pays 2% and The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express pays 2x, each on up to $50,000 a year, and Apple Card pays 2% when you pay with the mobile wallet. Online the leader does not change, but the PayPal Cashback Mastercard joins the 3% group on purchases checked out through your PayPal account.
The math
Spend $100 a month at CVS and AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card returns about $36 a year at our valuations — a flat 2% card returns $24.
Common questions
- What is the best credit card at CVS?
- AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card earns the most at CVS right now at 3%.
- How does SwipeCaddy pick the best card at CVS?
- We rank each card by its reward rate times a conservative cash value of its points or miles — no inflated transfer valuations — and apply CVS's card-acceptance rules, so the "best" card is one you can actually use at the register.
- Is the myWalgreens Mastercard worth using at CVS?
- No. Walgreens names the places outside its own stores where the card earns 3x — grocery stores, spa and salon, pet stores, medical bills, sporting goods and gyms — and competing drugstores are not on that list. At CVS it earns 1x, paid in Walgreens Cash that can be spent only at Walgreens, so the 3% cards above are the better swipe here, with Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards counting only if drugstores is your chosen category.
- Is there a 5% card for CVS this quarter (Oct–Dec 2026)?
- Not among the cards we track. Discover it Cash Back paid 5% at drugstores from July through September 2026, with activation required and a $1,500 combined quarterly cap; that quarter ended September 30, 2026, and its October–December categories do not include drugstores. Chase Freedom Flex's 5% categories for the quarter skip drugstores too, so the best steady rate at CVS in our data is 3%, with no activation needed on the AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature Card, Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Rates reflect each card's best case at this merchant and can change; check the issuer's terms before applying.