Category Archives: Cash Back Cards

NASA Federal Visa Platinum with cashRewards: Up to 2% Cash Back

Cash Back Cards

NASA Federal Credit Union has a credit card offering a tiered cash-back plan:

Earn 1% of each dollar of new net purchases from $0 to $1,000; earn 1.25% of each dollar of new net purchases from $1,001 to $2,000; earn 2% of each dollar of new net purchases from $2,001 and above. There is no limit to how much cash back you can earn. The rebate credit amount will appear on your monthly statement and will be applied to your account annually in your November Statement.

You must be a member of the credit union to apply for the card, but membership is relatively easy to come by. You are automatically eligible for membership as a NASA employee or an employee of one of many selected businesses. Otherwise, you can be approved by joining the National Space Society for $18.

Link (via FW)

Leave a comment

Save $500 on Sony HDTVs with Sony Visa Signup

Cash Back Cards, Citibank

Sony now has a promotion where you’ll earn 50,000 Sony Rewards points ($500 credit) when you apply for a Sony Visa. The Sony Rewards points must be used to purchase a select Sony HDTV from Sony Rewards. The selected models primarily are 40″-52″ BRAVIA models and 60″-70″ SXRD Real Projection TVs, the full list of which can be found at the link below.

Note that this promotion is available for new Sony Card account holders only; existing Sony Card holders are not eligible.

Link (via FW).

Leave a comment

Chase Freedom Makes Dynamic Rewards the Default

Cash Back Cards, Chase

Chase announced today changes to its Freedom card that should make it even more attractive to customers. Now, by default, the card comes enabled with the dynamic rewards program. Previously, Chase Freedom cardholders would get triple points only on gas, supermarket and fast food purchases. Now, cardholders will automatically receive triple points in the three categories where they spend the most in a given month out of a total of 15 categories. The other spending categories include department stores, drug stores, movie theaters, movie rentals, dry cleaners, health clubs & gym memberships, beauty salons and spas, pet supply stores and veterinarians, mass transit and local commuter expenses, telecommunications, utilities, and cable/satellite TV and Internet bills.

Leave a comment

Amex Introduces the Plum Card for Small Businesses

American Express, Business Cards, Cash Back Cards

American Express is launching a new, innovative credit card for small businesses. It is designed to allow cash flow management with maximum flexibility, featuring two unique options:

Pay Early Discount
Pay your balance in full within 10 days of your billing cycle date and get a 2% discount when your month’s total spending is above $5,000 and 1% when it’s $5,000 or below. The discount is applied to all new eligible charges in that month, and will appear as a credit on your following month’s statement.

Defer Pay Option
Take up to two months from the closing date on your monthly statement to pay your new balance in full–all without interest or finance charges. Just make an initial payment of 10% by the Please Pay By date on your billing statement and you can extend payment on the rest until the next month’s Please Pay By date.

The card does have an annual fee of $185, which is waived the first year.

To add a bit of drama, Amex is limiting the number of cards initially issued to 10,000. You can find more information on the card, as well as request an application at this link.

Before you consider applying, though, consider this: unlike personal credit cards, the rebate on business cash back credit cards is taxable. In contrast, miles are not. That’s why, if you do any traveling, I would recommend instead a business credit card that earns miles like the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex.

One comment

Citi CashReturns Mastercard: 5% CashBack for 3 Months with No Cap

Cash Back Cards, Citibank, MasterCard

For a big spender, this deal seems a bit too good to be true. The Citi CashReturns MasterCard is offering 5% cash back on everything for 3 months, apparently with no cap:

Automatic cash back on purchases.2 Who wouldn’t like that? With the Citi CashReturnsSM MasterCard®, you’ll earn 5% cash back on all purchases for 3 months and 1% thereafter.2 It’s smart, it’s simple, it’s automatic. Receive your cash back redemption check automatically after you earn 50 CitiDollarsSM. Plus, there’s no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn.2

If you can funnel a lot of spending onto this card, as long as you can get a large credit line, or can reallocate your existing Citi lines, this could mean a large short-term bonus. The card also does offer an intro 0% balance transfer for 12 months, but it is basically an afterthought, because it has a 3% fee, $5 min and no cap. Since you have up to 12 months from opening the account to use the balance transfer, you should at least wait until the intro 5% period is over before considering using the balance transfer offer.

Link (via FW)

2 comments

Chase Freedom Dynamic Cash Rewards

Cash Back Cards, Chase

If you have a Chase Freedom card, then Chase Freedom Dynamic Cash Rewards is a program you’ll want to join. And if you don’t have the card, this program may be a compelling enough reason to get one.

Instead of earning 3% of your spending at grocery stores, gas stations and quick payment service fast food restaurants, in this program you earn 3% for the 3 categories (out of a pre-defined set of 15) where you spent the most each month. Like the standard program, you’ll earn only 1% for each $1 in purchases once you’ve reached $600 in spending on your top categories for the month. Both programs earn 1% on everything else, with no cap.

The categories for the Dynamic Cash Rewards program are defined as:

  • grocery stores (that are not affiliated with or departments of superstores, warehouse clubs or discount stores)
  • gas & convenience stores
  • quick service payment/fast food restaurants
  • telecommunications
  • cable/satellite TV/Internet Service Providers
  • video rentals
  • department stores
  • dry cleaners
  • drugstores
  • movie theatres
  • local and suburban commuter passenger transportation (including ferries, bridges, tolls, parking garages, taxis/limos)
  • pet supply stores and veterinary services
  • utilities
  • beauty shops (salons and spas)
  • gym/recreation memberships

If you already have a Freedom card, you’ll have to contact Chase in order to convert your card. People from FW and BS have reported mixed results, as not all customer service reps appear to be familiar with the program. There appear to be at least two routes to convert:

  1. Upgrade to the Chase Freedom Visa Signature version of the card. The Dynamic Rewards program appears to come with the Visa Signature. You’ll need a credit limit of $5,000 on your card as a prerequisite.
  2. Convert to the Chase Freedom Points Visa. Some have reported being automatically converted to this program after their Cash card was converted to earn points.

This program makes the Freedom card even more suitable as a general purpose card, especially among lighter spenders. The $600 monthly cap on 3% doesn’t make it the first choice for big spenders, but as a backup card, it could still work well.

One comment

Washington Mutual MasterCard: Up to 10% Rebate on Gas for 6 Months

Balance Transfer Offers, Cash Back Cards

Benefits include:

  • 0% FIXED APR for 12 months on Balances Transferred now (not on Purchases or Cash Advances)*
  • Up to 10% Cash Back on Gas Purchases for 6 Months*
  • Up to 5% Cash Back on “Everyday Purchases” and 1% on Other Purchases*
  • No annual fee!

The most impressive aspect of this card is that it turns into a 5% rebate card at grocery stores, gas stations, drugstores, and dry cleaners (exluding purchases made at superstores and warehouse clubs) after $4,000 in spending:

Total Net New Purchases to Date During Rebate Period Rebate on Everyday Purchases (Except Gasoline for First 6 Months of Account) Rebate on Purchases of Gasoline for First 6 Months of Account Rebate on Other Purchases
$0–$1,000 0.5% 5.5% 0.25%
$1,001–$2,000 1% 6% 0.5%
$2,001–$4,000 3% 8% 0.75%
$4,001+ 5% 10% 1%

For anyone who spends a lot annually on “everyday purchases,” this becomes an attractive card. You would have to “suffer” through the first $4,000 in spending, which, if you charged only on EDP, would earn an effective rebate of 1.875%. That’s considerably better than the Amex Blue Cash, which earns only 1% on EDP for the first $6,500 of annual spending. The one advantage that Blue Cash has over this Wamu card is that once $6,500 is reached, the base rebate becomes 1.5%, as opposed to Wamu’s 1%.

Link (via FW)

Leave a comment

Phillips 66-Conoco 76 MasterCard: Earn 15% Rebates for 60 Days

Balance Transfer Offers, Cash Back Cards, Citibank

If you apply between now and August 31, 2007, you can earn 15% rebates on Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 purchases. The other benefits of the card include:

  • After the promo period, earn 4% rebates on Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 station purchases
  • For Non-Phillips 66, Conoco or 76 purchases:
    • Annual spend in this category totaling less than $5,000 will earn a 0.5% rebate
    • Annual spend totalling $5,000 or more will earn a 1% rebate
  • 0% APR on balance transfers for 6 months with no fee, as long as the first balance transfer is completed within 6 months from the date of account opening
  • No annual fee
  • In any given month, your rebates are capped at $50

To apply, you can either stop by a participating station, visit www.fuelngo.net (use offer code 1560) or call 1-866-FUEL-N-GO.

2 comments

Kinecta Federal Credit Union Credit Card – 1.66% Cash Back

Cash Back Cards

A poster on FW has spotted what appears to be a credit card offered by his local credit union that effectively gives 1.66% cash back. He describes it in this thread.

The noteworthy feature of the credit card is that it earns points in the credit union’s reward program at the rate of 1 point per $1 spent. The points can be redeemed at the rate of 6000 points for a $100 gift certificate–essentially, a 1 2/3% return. There are gift cards available from numerous merchants, but the most flexible redemption option is where 6000 points can be redeemed for a “$100 Visa Dreamfunds Gift Card.” As described:

The Visa prepaid gift card can be used virtually anywhere. There are no limits on what you can do with your DreamMiles Funds card. Please note that the card will have the name of the person who orders it embossed on the card. All cards will be sent to the address on the order. Accepted wherever Visa cards are accepted. Delivered as 2 x $50.00 cards. Cards expire 6 months from date of issue. Valid for use in the United States only, cannot be shipped outside of the U.S.

The membership requirements for the credit union are lax, as one option to assure eligibility is to pay a one-time fee of $10 to join a local co-op. Kinecta only has locations in southern California, however, and if you aren’t local, it may be too much hassle to join solely for a rewards program, the longevity of which is not guaranteed. In addition, the gift certificate redemption options, while flexible, are not as convenient as a statement credit or a check.

Still, some may want to consider this option, as it does offer one of the highest rates of cash back available.

More details on Kinecta’s credit cards can be found here.

Leave a comment
1 … 7 8 9 10 11 12