Today Capital One announced the introduction of a new cash back credit card that rebates a flat 1.5% on all purchases. The Capital One Cash credit card works like this: Customers will immediately get 1% cash back on all purchases from day one and a 50 percent anniversary bonus on cash earned on purchases in the previous year. In addition, new cardholders will earn a one-time signup bonus of $100 after spending at least $500 within the first three months.

What are the card’s benefits?
The new card has no annual fee, no spending minimums or redemption tiers and rewards do not expire. In addition, reward redemption is extremely flexible. You can redeem your rewards at any time, even if you’ve earned only $1. Customers can choose from a variety of redemption options such as a check, statement credits or gift cards. Customers can also even elect to set up automatic redemptions, specifying when and how they want their rewards redeemed.

As with all Capital One cards, one of the better benefits is its lack of foreign transaction fees, making it a good card to carry when traveling overseas.

How does it compare to the competition?
How does it stack up to existing cash back cards? Does it deserve a place among the best cash back credit cards? Based on its features, I would say it fares quite well. Of course, nothing currently on the market compares to the now-unavailable 2% Schwab card. There are a few cards that can pay a bit higher rebate than the Cap One Cash card, such as the 2% Fidelity Amex or 1.75% PNC Visa, but they require having a relationship with a specific financial institution. And there are of course cash back cards that pay more in specific spending categories. But for many, the simplicity and flexibility of this card’s reward structure will be appealing.

If you’re an existing No Hassle cardholder, you can upgrade your card to the new version by calling Capital One at the number on the back of your card.

To apply for a new card or for more info, see http://www.capitalone.com/cash/.