Wells Fargo Active Cash

The Active Cash is about as simple as cash back gets: a flat 2% on every purchase with no annual fee and no categories to track. That makes it a natural default card for anyone who wants one card to cover everything, and it ranks #6 on our Best Cash Back Credit Cards list. The welcome offer is weaker than it was, recently cut from $200 to $100 cash back after $500 in spending in the first 3 months, so don't open it for the bonus alone. You also get 12 months of 0% intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers, which is useful but shorter than dedicated balance-transfer cards. The real catch is the foreign transaction fee, so leave it at home when you travel abroad. Cell phone protection of up to $600 per claim when you pay your phone bill with the card is a nice ongoing extra.