jeffkurn, thanks for the detailed message, but it still does not answer my basic question.

My take on the crafty wording is that:
- One has to pay interest charges to get the (upto 2%). If one does't pay interest charges it is lower.
- The 2% and 1.5% numbers are smoke and mirror numbers, i.e. if I charge to the card there is no way that I can get a 2% or 1.5% cash back return on my annual charges on the card. The actual return will be much smaller, and the actual cash back percentage depends on the amount I have charged - unlike the mileage cards which guarantee 1 mile per dollar. As I said this is one reason why I prefer other cards where I know in advance what rebate I am getting.

Even though my preference is for cash, I still avoid the cash back cards, and prefer cards like the Sheraton Optima and the Freeride Visa (which I use for paying my ISP dues - this actually gives me back a guaranteed 2% in my situation).