topic Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms in Credit Cards

Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 02:36:50 GMT

Alliant is updating their Visa Signature card’s reward’s terms, effective July 2021.

Previous Terms:
• 2.5% cash back on up to $10,000 of spend each month, no cash back on spend over $10,000
• $99 annual fee

New Terms:
• No more $99 annual fee
• Rewards are now split into 2 tiers:

• Tier One earns 2.5% cash back on up to $10,000 of spend each month, 1.5% cash back on spend over $10,000
• Tier Two earns 1.5% cash back on everything

• To qualify for Tier One rewards, you’ll need to open an Alliant High-Rate checking account and:

• Have an average daily balance of $1,000
• Have at least one deposit each month
• Opt-in to e-statements

• Rewards tier eligibility is determined on a quarterly basis

Full details here:
https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/images/uploads/files/CashbackVisaSignatureProgramTermsConditions-Transition.pdf

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

minski — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 02:54:30 GMT

If it weren't for the AOD card, I'd be all over this card now.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

MrDisco99 — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 02:55:53 GMT

Do they HP when you app for membership just for checking and savings?

I've been pondering switching my checking and savings over to them for a while now. The one annoyance that gives me pause is there's only one ATM in my city that takes deposits for most CUs and there's ALWAYS a line. I seem to need to make manual deposits less and less often though.

The terms of this card make the idea of signing up more attactive. 2.5% for no AF and no FTF is a very nice perk. Of course I'd expect a HP for that.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 03:05:59 GMT

@MrDisco99 wrote:
Do they HP when you app for membership just for checking and savings?

I've been pondering switching my checking and savings over to them for a while now. The one annoyance that gives me pause is there's only one ATM in my city that takes deposits for most CUs and there's ALWAYS a line. I seem to need to make manual deposits less and less often though.

The terms of this card make the idea of signing up more attactive. 2.5% for no AF and no FTF is a very nice perk. Of course I'd expect a HP for that.

Don't believe they do HPs for membership. When I applied for the card a couple years ago, I opened a savings account as part of the application and they stated the HP was only for the card app. I also just opened a checking account and there was no HP.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 03:10:40 GMT

Wow this card is a lot more attractive now! I am sure many will go for it. I will be honest, when I saw the start of the thread title, I thought for sure it was going to say something like "Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card's reward program to 2%" 😂

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

FinStar — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 03:28:24 GMT

I'm glad I kept mine despite some of the negative press that has circulated about Alliant in general. The AF going away is definitely a step in the right direction, and even with the AF, it has been a good performer for me.

Thanks for posting those deets @Anonymous.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

simplynoir — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 03:38:42 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
I'm glad I kept mine despite some of the negative press that has circulated about Alliant in general. The AF going away is definitely a step in the right direction, and even with the AF, it has been a good performer for me.

Thanks for posting those deets @Anonymous.

Any reason not to get this as a backup for general spend card, @FinStar? Seems like the requirements are more than fair and now with no AF to boot. Just don't know if there are any quirks Alliant has that would give someone pause

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

FinStar — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 03:55:41 GMT

@simplynoir wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
I'm glad I kept mine despite some of the negative press that has circulated about Alliant in general. The AF going away is definitely a step in the right direction, and even with the AF, it has been a good performer for me.

Thanks for posting those deets @Anonymous.
Any reason not to get this as a backup for general spend card, @FinStar? Seems like the requirements are more than fair and now with no AF to boot. Just don't know if there are any quirks Alliant has that would give someone pause

One of the few quirks that I can recall, is they tend to be somewhat conservative. So, if there's a fair amount of inquirires and/or new accounts, they're usually dead in the water for some folks. Likewise, if there's too much available credit, but I don't know for sure what their internal guidance is on that these days. Definitely not like FirstTech, though.

I joined in 2015 and this particular card originated as Platinum Rewards before it was upgraded to the Cash Rewards circa ~2017. Never had any issues with the deposit side of things (external <-> internal ACH settlement). As far as C/S, although I haven't had to call them in a while, they tend to use a third-party CC servicer during after hours. IME, I've been fairly happy with them overall.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 04:18:14 GMT

@simplynoir wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
I'm glad I kept mine despite some of the negative press that has circulated about Alliant in general. The AF going away is definitely a step in the right direction, and even with the AF, it has been a good performer for me.

Thanks for posting those deets @Anonymous.
Any reason not to get this as a backup for general spend card, @FinStar? Seems like the requirements are more than fair and now with no AF to boot. Just don't know if there are any quirks Alliant has that would give someone pause

Few things to keep in mind:

1. There is a $50 rewards redemption minimum so you'll need to spend at least $2,000 before you can redeem.

2. Alliant has changed the terms of this card a few times in the last couple years. At one point, it offered 3% cash back for the first year, followed by 2.5% with a $59 AF in subsequent years. Then they bumped the AF up to $99. Then they got rid of the 3% promotion in year 1. Then they instituted a $10,000/month spend cap on rewards. And now this. I wouldn't be surprised if they continue tweaking the terms in an effort to meet their profitability goals so something to keep in mind.

3. Alliant had a bit of a cluster with one of their other cards recently, the Platinum Rewards card. That card earns 2 points/$1, with 1 point originally equaling 1 cent. Then one day, with no notice, Alliant devalued the points so 1 point only equaled something like 0.8 cents. People started to notice and there was a lot of hubbub about it so Alliant caved shortly thereafter and reinstated the 1 point = 1 cent valuation. That, coupled with my second statement above, left many people with a sour taste towards Alliant (although the Visa Signature does earn straight up cash back).

4. I had an issue one time redeeming cash back from Alliant's rewards site where the redemption simply disappeared and there was no record of it on the site, yet my rewards were gone. While I got my rewards eventually, it took some effort as I had to contact Alliant several times across various channels before an executive eventually reached out to help me. That made me lose some confidence in their wonky, third party rewards site.

I wouldn't say these things are necessarily dealbreakers but, again, something to keep in mind and be aware of if you apply for / use this card or any of Alliant's products.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

simplynoir — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 04:19:32 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@simplynoir wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
I'm glad I kept mine despite some of the negative press that has circulated about Alliant in general. The AF going away is definitely a step in the right direction, and even with the AF, it has been a good performer for me.

Thanks for posting those deets @Anonymous.
Any reason not to get this as a backup for general spend card, @FinStar? Seems like the requirements are more than fair and now with no AF to boot. Just don't know if there are any quirks Alliant has that would give someone pause
One of the few quirks that I can recall, is they tend to be somewhat conservative. So, if there's a fair amount of inquirires and/or new accounts, they're usually dead in the water for some folks. Likewise, if there's too much available credit, but I don't know for sure what their internal guidance is on that these days. Definitely not like FirstTech, though.

I joined in 2015 and this particular card originated as Platinum Rewards before it was upgraded to the Cash Rewards circa ~2017. Never had any issues with the deposit side of things (external <-> internal ACH settlement). As far as C/S, although I haven't had to call them in a while, they tend to use a third-party CC servicer during after hours. IME, I've been fairly happy with them overall.

Sounds good. I'll bookmark this card for possible future app down the line. Have a house to get first and already got the Connect last month to middle the waters if UW asks

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Beast26 — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 09:40:07 GMT

This card's terms change too much for me. One or two years from now the terms will change again.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 09:52:15 GMT

@Beast26 wrote:
This card's terms change too much for me. One or two years from now the terms will change again.

Too much? So.....them making the card MORE valuable/rewarding/profitable for YOU is too much? Just for maintaining an avg daily balance of $1000, they drop the annual fee and still give you the same 2.5% CB. Unless I'm missing something, this is an awesome change.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Beast26 — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 10:12:29 GMT

Like the poster stated above me, they started with 3% for first year, then annual fee for the second year, then they changed it to an even bigger annual fee. Now it looks good but I don't trust it to stay this good is all I'm saying especially as often as they seem to change the terms of the card.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

coldfusion — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:34:07 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@simplynoir wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
I'm glad I kept mine despite some of the negative press that has circulated about Alliant in general. The AF going away is definitely a step in the right direction, and even with the AF, it has been a good performer for me.

Thanks for posting those deets @Anonymous.
Any reason not to get this as a backup for general spend card, @FinStar? Seems like the requirements are more than fair and now with no AF to boot. Just don't know if there are any quirks Alliant has that would give someone pause
One of the few quirks that I can recall, is they tend to be somewhat conservative. So, if there's a fair amount of inquirires and/or new accounts, they're usually dead in the water for some folks. Likewise, if there's too much available credit, but I don't know for sure what their internal guidance is on that these days. Definitely not like FirstTech, though.

I joined in 2015 and this particular card originated as Platinum Rewards before it was upgraded to the Cash Rewards circa ~2017. Never had any issues with the deposit side of things (external <-> internal ACH settlement). As far as C/S, although I haven't had to call them in a while, they tend to use a third-party CC servicer during after hours. IME, I've been fairly happy with them overall.

They do not like recent inquiries/new accounts. Not at USBank-level fanatacism but if you've been relatively active seeking credit recently it might be a bumpy ride.

If I remember right this card also has, or at least had, an elevated mininum SL - $15K comes to mind - but that needs to be fact-checked.

I'll toss out a random fact as I'm pretty sure it would come up at some point that they have been reliable TU-pullers for the last 3+ years.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

JNA1 — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:47:58 GMT

This is not a bad upgrade. I have been sent prequals for this card several times, but since I got the AOD card, it kinda fell off my radar.

I have the bulk of my cash savings in a high rate savings account through Alliant, and I have to say, I love the them as a FI. I just don't have any of their credit cards.

I would think for somebody that didn't want the hassle of jumping through the hoops of joining AOD, this would be now the be the best general spend card out there. The majority of people are going run more than $10K per month through one card.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:08:04 GMT

Another question is what counts as a deposit? Does it have to be dirext deposit payroll or merely an addition, such as ACH in or depositing a check or cash

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:23:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Another question is what counts as a deposit? Does it have to be dirext deposit payroll or merely an addition, such as ACH in or depositing a check or cash

Per the T&Cs, "An electronic deposit is defined as a direct deposit, payroll deposit, ATM deposit, mobile check deposit or transfer from another financial institution."

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Beast26 — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:36:21 GMT

I would like to know too @Anonymous.. I just looked at their auto loan rates and they have a really low APR. IF I were to get this card the actual credit union would be just as useful as the credit card itself. Atleast I can't say the same about AOD. I wouldn't care as much about the credit union side of things besides putting in a couple dollars to keep some activity showing.

But on the other hand one thing that gets me is you have to have an average daily balance of $1,000 in the checking account. That basically ties up $1k to keep up the 2.5% rewards if I am looking at it correctly.

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

coldfusion — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:44:37 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:

If I remember right this card also has, or at least had, an elevated mininum SL - $15K comes to mind - but that needs to be fact-checked.

I remembered right. Should still be confirmed if this is still the case before annointing the card as a FOTM candidate.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Alliant-Credit-Union-Visa-Signature/m-p/5321858/highlight/true#M206364

Re: Alliant is changing their 2.5% cash back card’s rewards terms

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:35:32 GMT

@Beast26 wrote:

But on the other hand one thing that gets me is you have to have an average daily balance of $1,000 in the checking account. That basically ties up $1k to keep up the 2.5% rewards if I am looking at it correctly.

As long as you actually have the $1K, this isn't a big cost. As in the comments on DoC, it earns 0.25% and even if you can earn 2% elsewhere (and 1% is pushing it!) that's only $17.50 a year cost, which needs only $3500 spend to beat a 2% card.