Two Cards Worth 2% - And More
When I write about using credit cards to earn miles/points with airlines and hotel s, aka What's in YOUR wallet?, I always compare the value I get from points cards to what I could earn from a no-annual fee, 2% cash-back card. That's not just a theoretical comparison. I actually own- and use- a no-fee, 2% cash-back card. In fact I have two of them. They've just hit a pair of anniversaries, so let's check what they've been worth.
Citibank DoubleCash
The Citibank DoubleCash card is the oldest in my credit card portfolio. I've had it, and the the predecessor I converted it from, for over 10 years now. Citi DC, as I call it for short, comes with a fairly simple proposition: it pays 1% on purchases charged plus another 1% on balances are paid. The dividend earned can be taken in the form of a bank transfer or applied as a statement to help pay off the balance. Though if you choose the latter method you loose out on the second 1% of that amount, so it nets out as 1.98%.
Over the past 12 months this card has actually paid me more than 2%. That's because Citibank has this thing called Merchant Offers. They're little bonuses for spending with particular merchants, co-sponsored by the businesses. I've netted about $36 with these. It's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but earning little bits extra on stuff I'd generally buy anyway is a fun little activity to pursue.
Fidelity Rewards Visa
My other 2% card is the Fidelity Rewards Visa. I added this card 5 years ago after I already had the Citi DoubleCash card.
At the time it offered slightly better redemption terms; Fidelity would auto-deposit cashback to my Fidelity account every time the cashback balance passed $25. Citi made me wait 'til $50 for a check. Citi's now better with no minimum for a transfer, but I continue to use the Fidelity card way more because the auto-deposit to my Fidelity account is so convenient. That's a big part of why I've cycled over $22,000 of charges through it in the past 12 months, versus less than $500 on the Citi DC.
There are more reasons that just auto-redemption for why the Fidelity card is one of my top cards by usage. One not to be overlooked is that because it is a Visa I can use it at Costco. 😅 We spend at least a few thousand a year at Costco. In addition Fidelity, like Citi, has offered spending incentives on their card. Unlike Citi they're not "Get 5% back on spending $20 at Merchant X" offers but "Spend at least $X,000 in the next 2 months for 20% more points." I've hit those for about $50 over the past 12 months. Again, that's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but it's a nice little bonus, in cash, for changing anything to this card.
Citibank DoubleCash
The Citibank DoubleCash card is the oldest in my credit card portfolio. I've had it, and the the predecessor I converted it from, for over 10 years now. Citi DC, as I call it for short, comes with a fairly simple proposition: it pays 1% on purchases charged plus another 1% on balances are paid. The dividend earned can be taken in the form of a bank transfer or applied as a statement to help pay off the balance. Though if you choose the latter method you loose out on the second 1% of that amount, so it nets out as 1.98%.
Over the past 12 months this card has actually paid me more than 2%. That's because Citibank has this thing called Merchant Offers. They're little bonuses for spending with particular merchants, co-sponsored by the businesses. I've netted about $36 with these. It's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but earning little bits extra on stuff I'd generally buy anyway is a fun little activity to pursue.
Fidelity Rewards Visa
My other 2% card is the Fidelity Rewards Visa. I added this card 5 years ago after I already had the Citi DoubleCash card.
At the time it offered slightly better redemption terms; Fidelity would auto-deposit cashback to my Fidelity account every time the cashback balance passed $25. Citi made me wait 'til $50 for a check. Citi's now better with no minimum for a transfer, but I continue to use the Fidelity card way more because the auto-deposit to my Fidelity account is so convenient. That's a big part of why I've cycled over $22,000 of charges through it in the past 12 months, versus less than $500 on the Citi DC.
There are more reasons that just auto-redemption for why the Fidelity card is one of my top cards by usage. One not to be overlooked is that because it is a Visa I can use it at Costco. 😅 We spend at least a few thousand a year at Costco. In addition Fidelity, like Citi, has offered spending incentives on their card. Unlike Citi they're not "Get 5% back on spending $20 at Merchant X" offers but "Spend at least $X,000 in the next 2 months for 20% more points." I've hit those for about $50 over the past 12 months. Again, that's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but it's a nice little bonus, in cash, for changing anything to this card.