@disdreamin wrote:I currently have Chase Disney and FU, Barclay (forget which products but in the process of being closed since I SD'd them quite a while ago and don't like anything Barclay currently offers enough to stay with them), and the aforementioned AmEx BCP and Citi DC. I should probably check the CL on the CFU and just go with that for the time being. I am frustrated with Citi's handling of some issues with the DC card over the past couple months, which is why I want to switch my spend over. Having to repeatedly make phone calls to use my card is not something I have a lot of patience for.
As far as banking, we have accounts with Key, USAA, Chase and a small local CU that doesn't have any tempting products. I really don't want any more checking or savings accounts to keep track of, I'm lazy!
That was easy. Here's your card!
Key Bank Cashback Mastercard.
Pays 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Pays 2.0% cash back on all purchases if you have
$1K monthly direct deposit and maintain $1K
balance in savings or investments.
Of course, if you want to add the CSP like we discussed in my last posting, you could use CFU for most of spend and then redeem for up to 1.875% in travel by transferring rewards to CSP UR portal. Simple to do.
Or USAA has a basic 1.5% cash back card as well (Preferred Cash Rewards), so you would also not need to set up additional accounts. However, there's no option with it to earn 2% like there is with the Key Bank card.
@MoneyBurns wrote:... because to me .2 is not enough to bank there as a main bank and I also don't want to waste $500 dollars that i could be putting into a high yield savings. So to me if I can put that $500 in say a 4% account the annual fee for that card is around $15 dollars. Not worth it if I have a 2% that costs me nothing.
I understand this argument but remember that OP wanted to simplify things and was not interested in opening additional bank accounts. So yes, your suggestion of PenFed ... or one of his existing banking relationships ... is a better option under the circumstances.
And for anyone reading this who is enticed by a 4% yield, it's not as easy as it sounds! I know there are options out there earning this type of high interest on checking accounts, but anything earning over about 2% has strings attached and hoops to jump through monthly. Whether it's a cap on the amount that earns the high rate (called a "velocity limit"), or a direct deposit of a certain amount, or a minumum daily balance, or a certain number of debit card transactions, or e-statements only ... or all of the above, they all have stipulations to trip you up so that they don't have to pay. Some may not only pay much less interest but also charge a fee if you fail to meet certain requirements. Plus a lot of the lenders providing these accounts may be geofenced or would require someone to do their primary banking with a distant financial institution instead of at a local branch where they can walk in to do business if they so choose. So while the higher rewards are there if you do the work, it's a matter if someone is willing to do all that.
Meanwhile, true high-yield money market savings accounts (where you can simply deposit your money to grow and not have to accomplish other requirements to avoid fees or earn the highest yields) are only earning between about 1% and 2% right now. That substantially reduces the "effective AF" margin rate in the example if you don't want the hassles.
Comparing credit union or bank checking accounts where there is either much less (or no) standards to maintain to earn interest, getting 0.20% return on a minimal $500 balance is actually exceptional. Many checking accounts don't pay interest at all or else it's pathetically low (0.01 or 0.02%.) Navy Federal requires $1500 ADB to avoid $10 monthly fee and earn 0.35% APR. (And not that I would ever purchase one, but that 0.20% rate on the PenFed checking is the same rate Chase Bank currently pays on a minimum $10K CD with 18-month term.)
As Doctor of Credit puts it in their listing of these 'Mega-High Interest' accounts, "You’ll never be netting more than $1,000 in annual interest from any of these accounts, and it’s usually much less than that. Someone who is impatient or doesn’t have spare time would best use a standard high-interest savings account options and forget about the velocity-limited accounts."
@Anonymous wrote:No Apple Card love? 2% when using Apple Pay which is basically everywhere these days, and the redemption process couldn't be easier.
While Apple Pay is accepted many places, I was often disappointed at not being able to use the Apple Pay feature. Many more locations do not have Apple Pay than have it, from my experience. True, I got 3% at Walgreens with it but I don't buy a lot from Apple (at 3% also.) The 2% with Apple Pay only matched my PenFed Cash Rewards at 2% and falls behind the 3% uncategorized on my new AOD Visa card. In particular, the 1% back with the physical card is lackluster when there are tons of 1.5% or better cards out there. My Chase Freedom Unlimited and Capital One Quicksilver both beat that. I won't cancel mine and will continue to use it some but it probably won't ever be a daily driver for me unless they enhance the program benefits or until Apple Pay becomes truly universally accepted.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:No Apple Card love? 2% when using Apple Pay which is basically everywhere these days, and the redemption process couldn't be easier.
While Apple Pay is accepted many places, I was often disappointed at not being able to use the Apple Pay feature. Many more locations do not have Apple Pay than have it, from my experience. True, I got 3% at Walgreens with it but I don't buy a lot from Apple (at 3% also.) The 2% with Apple Pay only matched my PenFed Cash Rewards at 2% and falls behind the 3% uncategorized on my new AOD Visa card. In particular, the 1% back with the physical card is lackluster when there are tons of 1.5% or better cards out there. My Chase Freedom Unlimited and Capital One Quicksilver both beat that. I won't cancel mine and will continue to use it some but it probably won't ever be a daily driver for me unless they enhance the program benefits or until Apple Pay becomes truly universally accepted.
It's sad that Apple gives members a metal card, but the 2% is only with Apple Pay.
I want to whip out the card and hear that metal goodness.
Yes, the card is nice and upscale. It needs to give (at least) 1.5% back as a base, though. They could maintain the selected 2%/3% rewards and still afford to give a basic 1.5% back.
Another irritation I forgot to mention is how they designed it to be all electronic and tied to your iPhone. Personally, I like my paper statements and don't want to have to go print them monthly if I want them. But the real frustration is not having a separate app and website to manage the account. It all has to be done through iPhone mobile wallet. I've only had an iPhone for less than a year. What if I decide I want to go back to Android or another platform? It's just another hook Apple puts in its' users to keep them engaged, and I don't like being manipulated like that.