Cash-back credit cards pay you cash - up to 5 percent back - on purchases. But these cards aren’t a good deal for everyone. Consider a cash-back card:

■  If you pay your bills in full each month.
If you carry balances, your cash-back rewards can be erased by finance charges. That’s because reward cards charge a higher APR than most standard cards, making carrying a balance more expensive.

■  If you shop at stores with high rebates.
Before you sign up for a cash-back card, check the list of the card’s participating stores to see if you’ll maximize the cash-back benefit.

■  If you’re willing to dump your mileage reward card.
Unless you travel frequently, cash-back cards are a better bet than mileage-reward cards. For one, mileage reward card fees tend to be high, partly erasing the benefit of such cards over time when miles aren’t used. Plus, you reap the benefits more quickly from a cash-back card rather than the infrequent times when you travel.