ToolsCard Scores1.67% Cash/Back Card
Is the Fifth Third Cash/Back card worth it?
MoneyRoom Card Score
7.0/ 10
It's a good card wearing a strange number: a flat 1.7% on everything with no fee — better than the lower flat tier, short of the higher one. The asterisk is a stack of small partner promos whose monthly clocks now cost the effort pillar real points.
Data: MoneyRoom card catalog (pending verification noted) · scores recompute daily · card terms last checked 2026-04-30 · How we verify
The rate is the conversation piece: a flat 1.7% on every purchase, an oddly specific number that exists to out-market the common lower tier while stopping short of the benchmark above it. Our engine doesn't care about marketing psychology — it prices the rate on the basket, takes the no-fee ceiling on value, and prints 7.0.
What moved the score is the promo stack: Lyft, Peacock, and Instacart partner credits now ride the card, each small, each enrollment-gated, each on its own expiring clock. They add a little usable value and a lot of upkeep — the effort pillar reads 4.5 for three monthly resets — and a holder who ignores them entirely gets the old frictionless card at the old flat rate. Cell phone protection remains the unpriced tiebreaker against the flat-rate crowd immediately above and below it.
The ledger
No fee — the ledger starts at zero.
The 1.67% Cash/Back Card lists $216 in yearly credits and benefits at face value; our estimate of what a modeled holder might recover under our published assumptions is $109. Typical value applies our published realization factors: the discount for expiry windows, spending restrictions, enrollments, and reimbursement delays a real cardholder faces.
| Credit / benefit | Resets | Face value / yr | Typical value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyft ride creditRideshare | Monthly | $60 | $31 |
| Peacock statement creditStreaming | Monthly | $36 | $19 |
| Instacart second-order creditGrocery · enrollment required | MonthlyEnrollment required | $120 | $59 |
| Yearly total | $216 | $109 | |
Net at face value, after the fee:+$216 / yr
Net at typical usage, after the fee:+$109 / yr
The fine print that matters
Why is typical value less than face value?
The flat rate itself is still clean: no categories, no caps at everyday scale, and redemption through Fifth Third's banking rails — smoothest if you already keep an account there. The fine print now lives in the promo stack — the Lyft credit wants qualifying rides each month before it pays, the Peacock credit only offsets that subscription, and all three partner promos carry sunset dates — which is why our realization math discounts them hard rather than quoting stickers. The strange-number strategy still has one practical consequence: every comparison you'll make is against the round-number tiers, and the honest answer is unchanged — it beats one, loses to the other, and the cell phone protection is the tiebreak.
Lyft ride credit — $31 typical of $60 face
Rideshare
- Resets monthly × 0.65
- Restricted where it spends × 0.80
Peacock statement credit — $19 typical of $36 face
Streaming
- Resets monthly × 0.65
- Restricted where it spends × 0.80
Instacart second-order credit — $59 typical of $120 face
Grocery · enrollment required
- Resets monthly × 0.65
- Restricted where it spends × 0.80
- Enrollment required × 0.95
Earning
What does everyday spending actually earn?
Rewards post as cash back, worth exactly face value. On our published reference basket the effective rate is 1.7%.
| Category | Rate | Effective after caps | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | 1.67% | 1.67% | Base rate |
| Groceries | 1.67% | 1.67% | Base rate |
| Gas | 1.67% | 1.67% | Base rate |
| Flights booked direct | 1.67% | 1.67% | Base rate |
| Hotels booked direct | 1.67% | 1.67% | Base rate |
| Everything else | 1.67% | 1.67% |
Honest gaps
What does the score leave out?
- Cell phone protection. Pay the phone bill with the card and coverage applies — real, insurance-shaped, and never priced by our engine on any page.
- The banking relationship. Redemption and servicing assume Fifth Third's footprint; fine inside it, friction outside.
- The welcome offer. One-time, excluded as always.
Listed on the card, never priced:
- Cell phone protection
Your numbers, not the model
See if it pays for itself with your usage.
The score models a typical cardholder. The free Annual Fee Calculator loads this card's real credits and fee and lets you set what you'd actually use — no account needed.
Keep comparing
More card scores.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- The Platinum Card from American Express
- Capital One Venture X Rewards
- Active Cash
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
- Ink Business Preferred
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- American Express Gold Card
- Freedom Unlimited
- Double Cash
- Apple Card
- Prime Visa
- Discover it Cash Back
- Freedom Flex
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
- Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card
- United Explorer
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority
- Costco Anywhere Visa
- Costco Anywhere Business Visa
- Ink Business Cash
- Ink Business Unlimited
- Ink Business Premier
- American Express Business Gold
- Blue Cash Everyday
- Blue Business Plus
- AAA Travel Advantage Visa Signature
- Summit World Mastercard
- Blue Business Cash
- Cash Rewards Visa
- Prestige Visa Signature
- SoFi Everyday Cash Rewards
- Business Triple Cash Rewards
- Instacart Mastercard
- Customized Cash Rewards
- Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards
- Discover it Chrome
- AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature
- TD Cash
- Cash+ Visa Signature
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business
- Summit Reserve World Elite Mastercard
Questions
Asked before applying.
Why the odd rate?
Positioning: high enough to beat the common flat tier below it, cheap enough for the issuer to sustain. Our engine just prices it — 1.7% effective, earning pillar 5.6.
Should I pick it over a stronger flat card?
Only for the phone protection or an existing Fifth Third relationship. On pure rate the stronger tier wins, and both are equally effortless.
What does it score?
7.0 out of 10 — perfect value, effort 4.5 for the partner-promo upkeep, earning 5.6. Still a solid middle; just no longer a zero-maintenance one.
When do the 1.67% Cash/Back Card credits reset?
Each credit keeps its own clock: 3 credits reset monthly. Calendar-based credits reset at the start of their month, quarter, half, or year. Unused calendar and cardmember windows do not roll over. See every card's reset calendar.