Fidelity Amex 2% Cash Back Card

[Anonymous]

Interesting, there's a surprising lack of information out there on this card.

I do see a couple red flags though. First, it says "earn 2 points for every $1 spent on everyday purchases" and in the T&C the word "everyday" is replaced with "qualifying." Does this mean there are specific categories? Secondly, does the cash back have to go into paying off a Sallie Mae student loan? I have plenty of those! 

It seems kind of weird for a student loan company to get into the credit card business. I can't find a link to this product at all from their main website.

[TM82]

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@Anonymous wrote:

tsquad - do you know if this card has extended warranty, car rental insurance coverage, etc. the typical benefits with cards directly issued by Amex?

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All the benefits are through FIA and not through Amex so while it does have extended warranty it's not as easy to file a claim as it is through Amex. The reason that I think that this card has a chance of survival is that its an Amex with higher interchange fees. One of the reasons why the Schwab card failed was it was a Visa. You'll see the Visa version of Fidelity card only offers 1.5% for the first 15,000 then you reach 2%. If the Schwab card had something similar to the old Blue Cash where it was 1% on the first $6,500 spent or something then I could see it still being around today.

[Anonymous]

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@TM82 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

tsquad - do you know if this card has extended warranty, car rental insurance coverage, etc. the typical benefits with cards directly issued by Amex?

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All the benefits are through FIA and not through Amex so while it does have extended warranty it's not as easy to file a claim as it is through Amex. The reason that I think that this card has a chance of survival is that its an Amex with higher interchange fees. One of the reasons why the Schwab card failed was it was a Visa. You'll see the Visa version of Fidelity card only offers 1.5% for the first 15,000 then you reach 2%. If the Schwab card had something similar to the old Blue Cash where it was 1% on the first $6,500 spent or something then I could see it still being around today.

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I see, thanks for looking that up! Hopefully after some inquiries drop off I will be in a better position to apply.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Interesting, there's a surprising lack of information out there on this card.

I do see a couple red flags though. First, it says "earn 2 points for every $1 spent on everyday purchases" and in the T&C the word "everyday" is replaced with "qualifying." Does this mean there are specific categories? Secondly, does the cash back have to go into paying off a Sallie Mae student loan? I have plenty of those! 

It seems kind of weird for a student loan company to get into the credit card business. I can't find a link to this product at all from their main website.

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It's my understanding that qualifying purchases = net purchases for the Sallie Mae card.

FYI -- Sallie Mae is/was also offering a card with 5% cash back on gas, groceries and books (I can't find a like, so I think it is now was).

As far as a student loan company entering the CC business, Sallie Mae now offers savings accounts, money market accounts and CDs with competitive rates. Also, the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) changed the way that federal student loans work going forward -- banks like Sallie Mae will no longer issue federal student loans. Sallie Mae (and similar companies like Nelnet) will have to diversify their finacial offerings to survivie.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@TM82 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

tsquad - do you know if this card has extended warranty, car rental insurance coverage, etc. the typical benefits with cards directly issued by Amex?

---

All the benefits are through FIA and not through Amex so while it does have extended warranty it's not as easy to file a claim as it is through Amex. The reason that I think that this card has a chance of survival is that its an Amex with higher interchange fees. One of the reasons why the Schwab card failed was it was a Visa. You'll see the Visa version of Fidelity card only offers 1.5% for the first 15,000 then you reach 2%. If the Schwab card had something similar to the old Blue Cash where it was 1% on the first $6,500 spent or something then I could see it still being around today.

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I see, thanks for looking that up! Hopefully after some inquiries drop off I will be in a better position to apply.

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The bank interchange rates for Visa Signature and MasterCard World cards are a lot closer to Amex interchange rates than normal CCs. THat's why almost every really good rewards card with a Visa or Mastercard name plate is issued as a Visa Signature or MasterCard World card.

[Repo-ed]

Depsite my 401 being managed through Fidelity, I'm quite certain they would give me the ol' decline.

[Anonymous]

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@Repo-ed wrote:

Depsite my 401 being managed through Fidelity, I'm quite certain they would give me the ol' decline.

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Fidelity has nothing to do with the management of the card. It's FIA (aka Bank of America) that is responsible for all credit decisions.

[Repo-ed]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Repo-ed wrote:

Depsite my 401 being managed through Fidelity, I'm quite certain they would give me the ol' decline.

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Fidelity has nothing to do with the management of the card. It's FIA (aka Bank of America) that is responsible for all credit decisions.

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Depsite having banked with BoA for the past 20 years, I'm quite certain they would give me the ol' decline

[Anonymous]

I have been looking into the Fidelity AMEX, but searched the forum and found this post with the suggestion of the Sallie Mae 2% card. However, I try this link and the others I found on google and it comes up with a page moved error. So has the Sallie Mae card beend discontinued? 

Also for anyone that has the Fidelity AMEX for awhile, what is their opinion on it?

[Anonymous]

The Fidelity card is a good card if you do a lot of general spending (at places that take Amex, like Costco!). There are definitely better cards if you're looking for rewards in a particular category. And with the 5% rotating categories you really end up only being able to use the extra 1% for three quarters.

If you decide you still want it, the benefits are similar to some lower end cards, like only $100,000 in travel accident insurance, does NOT have price protections, etc. But the normal stuff like extended warranty, purchase protection, collision damage waivers, etc. are all there. You redeem either through FIA or through Fidelity. With FIA, you have to accumulate 30,000 points to be able to get the full 2% CB. If you get some sort of checking or investment account with Fidelity, you can redeem at 2% once you hit 5,000 points. Their mysmartcash account or something reimburses you for ATM fee, gives you free checks, etc. Points expire after five years.