re: Which is the best cash back credit card to have?

There's no 'best.' The true 'churners' have tons of cards that they rotate to bank in on bonuses and spend rewards. Even if you don't go that hardcore, you should still have a variety because there's nothing stopping them from using strategically.

Chase Freedom has the 5% rotating categories. If a particular quarter is not for grocery stores, then you can use the Chase Freedom Unlimited if you got it at its currently offered promo of 3% for a year. Or, as others have suggested, you can use an AMEX Blue Cash or Blue Cash Preferred if your cash back/benefits outweigh the annual fee.

The mainline AMEX cards give membership rewards points and AMEX Gold is the best for groceries and dining at 4x points. Again, you'll have to make sure the benefits are worth the annual fee and you will actually make effective use out of MR points. IMO, unless you travel a lot then MR points aren't particularly valuable.

Chase Sapphire is for dining/travel but currently the Chase Freedom Unlimited (with the 3% promo) is better than using either unless you want some of the perks that come with the Sapphire cards. Note with Chase (unlike with AMEX) the 'cashback' you get with Freedom and Freedom Unlimited are counted as Ultimate Reward points that can be converted for travel/hotel use if you have a Sapphire Card. AMEX pure cashback cards can never be converted to MR Points.

There's other issuers like Citi, and individual store/merchant cards that potentially have better bonuses but it might be worth more to you to consolidate your cashback/points into one or two card issuers at most. Also, I believe Citi has recently removed a lot of perks associated with its cards but I'm not sure off the top of my head.

Anyway, the current 3% offer on the Freedom Unlimited > Citi Doublecash.

I used a zero interest Chase Visa for 15 months. Purchased my new AC system with it. The AC dealer said I could pay in full $8500 when installed, or I could finance it on a Wells Fargo account at $9200 at zero % interest.

Instead, I applied for and got this Chase card with a $250 bonus, plus 3 points for every dollar, so I got 25,500 points. So, it was free use of their money for 15 months. I made 15 equal payments and at the end cashed in the points for $255 + $250 bonus for $505 in free money.

Now, that's how you USE a credit card/

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Pay everything possible cash.

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Pay everything possible with a 2% back credit card and pay the balance every month. Citi card is the only one I have found that has no limit on cash back. I can use it with my business expenses and get cash back with no limit. If you are self employed it is a no brainer for business expenses. My suppliers charge no credit card fee to me and do not give me a cash discount so it is the only way to go.

For anyone that lives in NYC, hands down the Sapphire Reserve, especially if you like to travel.