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Review: American Express Gold (2024)

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The American Express Gold Card was refreshed in August 2024 with a few changes. It remains a mid-to-high tier card centered around restaurants and groceries. It may not be the best option for most people, but the card is flexible enough to be worth looking into, particularly for high spenders. The annual fee has been raised by $75 in exchange for up to $184 in new credits. Whether this is a great value depends on each person.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $325 annual fee (previously $250)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 4x points on dining (restaurants, takeout, and delivery including UberEats) (up to $50,000 spent annually, then 1x)
  • 4x points on groceries (up to $25,000 spent at U.S. grocery stores each year, then 1x)
  • 3x points on flights
  • 2x points on hotels booked through AmexTravel.com (with potential bonus perks for booking something from The Hotel Collection)
  • 1x points on everything else
  • Metal card (choose from 3 color options: Gold, Rose Gold, or limited-edition White Gold)

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Review: Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite

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The Chase Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite has been unavailable for new sign-ups since 2018. You can, however, contact Chase to upgrade an existing Marriott Bonvoy card. Unfortunately, there isn’t any sign-up bonus available for the Ritz-Carlton card, but its strong suite of benefits may still be of interest. AwardWallet calls it “Bonvoy’s best-kept secret.”

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $450 annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 6x points at the Ritz-Carlton & other Marriott hotels (4.8%) (not including points earned as a Bonvoy member; Chase’s site says you can earn up to 18.5x points on hotel stays as a Gold Elite member)
  • 3x points for airline tickets, car rentals, and restaurants (2.4%)
  • 2x points on everything else (equivalent to 1.6% cash back)

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Review: United Explorer Visa Signature

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Credit cards for United Airlines are issued by Chase Bank. In this review, we’ll focus on the United Explorer Card, which has a small annual fee. Although a wide range of benefits are attached to the card, it should only be considered by travelers who fly United often enough to use those benefits. Infrequent fliers won’t want to keep this card longer than one or two years.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee (waived the first year)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 2x points on United purchases (including tickets, in-flight food/drinks, and events)
  • 2x points on dining (including delivery)
  • 2x points on hotel stays (when booked directly with the hotel)
  • 1x points on everything else

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Review: Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature

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The Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature is a straightforward card for earning cash back on everyday purchases. It gets an unlimited 2% back on everything, without category restrictions or fees. The card is offered in partnership with Elan Financial Services. As of September 2023, the card no longer has a foreign transaction fee (previously 1%).

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 2% cash back on everything

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Review: SoFi Mastercard

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The SoFi Credit Card is a straightforward card for everyday purchases. There are zero fees, and you can get 2.2% cash back on everything, which makes it an attractive general-use card.

In early 2023, they added an extra 1% back for certain travel-related purchases. And as of 4/1/24, customers can get a 10% bonus on points earned, giving 2.2% or 3.3% cash back on everything (previously 2% or 3%). Note that Direct Deposit is required for the best rates.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3x points for trips booked through SoFi Travel (powered by Expedia)
  • 2x points on everything else
  • 10% points bonus with Direct Deposit enabled

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Review: Elan Everyday Rewards+ Visa Signature

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The Everyday Rewards+ Visa Signature credit card is a trimmed-down version of the U.S. Bank Altitude Go card for regional banks. It’s good for restaurant-related expenses.

In general, the Altitude Go is much better. The Everyday Rewards+ is only an alternative for people outside of U.S. Bank’s footprint. Because of U.S. Bank’s regional restrictions on applications, not everyone can get their credit cards. Elan cards function as a workaround. Many credit unions and other small banks carry Elan-issued cards. For example: A+ Federal Credit Union, Kearny Bank, Trustco Bank, and Webster Bank. Check your local area to see what’s available.

Also see: the Max Cash Preferred, which is an alternative to the U.S. Bank Cash+ card.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • 4x points on dining (including delivery and takeout)
  • 2x points on groceries (including delivery)
  • 2x points on streaming
  • 2x points on gas (and electric vehicle charging stations)
  • 1x points on everything else

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Review: NIH Federal Credit Union Cash Rewards

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The Cash Rewards Visa from NIH Federal Credit Union is a no-fee card aimed at covering everyday home expenses. It has fair cash back rates for groceries, gas, streaming, and more. It isn’t a go-to option for some people, but it’s definitely worth a look. It covers multiple useful categories.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 1% foreign transaction fee
  • 3% cash back for groceries and wholesale clubs
  • 3% cash back on utilities and streaming
  • 3% cash back on gas ($6,000 annual spending limit), EV charging, and rideshare/taxis
  • 1% cash back on everything else

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Review: NIH Federal Credit Union Travel Rewards

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The Travel Rewards Visa Signature from NIH Federal Credit Union is a no-fee card which earns decent cash back rates for travel and restaurants. It’s good for both domestic and international trips. The only big quirk is a spending limit on gas purchases, so you may want to consider other cards for that category.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3% cash back on travel (airlines, hotels, trains, buses, car or boat rentals, tours, tolls, rideshare, taxis, etc)
  • 3% cash back on gas ($6,000 annual spending limit) and EV charging
  • 3% cash back on dining
  • 1% cash back on everything else

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Review: U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Card

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In late October 2022, U.S. Bank released a new credit card, the Shopper Cash Rewards Visa Signature. It has a small annual fee and potentially high cash back for shoppers. The flexibility of the card to choose your own categories is both a pro and a con. Is the card for you? Let’s examine the features and benefits.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee (waived the first year)
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • 6% cash back on your choice of 2 retailers ($1,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 5.5% cash back on hotel and car rental reservations booked through U.S. Bank’s website
  • 3% cash back on your choice of an “everyday” category ($1,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 1.5% cash back on everything else

Eligible retailers for the 6% cash back category:

  • Ace Hardware
  • Apple
  • Amazon.com
  • Anthropologie
  • Bed, Bath, & Beyond
  • Best Buy
  • Chewy.com
  • Crate & Barrel
  • Disney
  • Home Depot
  • Ikea
  • Kohl’s
  • Lowe’s
  • Lululemon
  • Macy’s
  • Menards
  • Nordstrom
  • Pottery Barn
  • QVC
  • Restoration Hardware
  • Target
  • Walmart
  • Wayfair.com
  • Williams Sonoma

List of retailers is subject to change.

Eligible “everyday” categories for 3% cash back:

  • Bills and home utilities
  • Gas and EV charging stations
  • Wholesale clubs (including Costco and Sam’s Club)

This list is also subject to change.

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Review: Affinity Federal Credit Union Cash Rewards

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The Affinity Federal Credit Union Cash Rewards is a high-earning Visa Signature credit card. It gets 5% cash back at bookstores, and on non-digital Amazon purchases. The card also has rotating categories where you can earn up to 7% cash back for 3 months at a time. If you’re considering something like the Barnes & Noble credit card, or an Amazon-specific card, Affinity FCU could be the superior choice.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 5% cash back on rotating categories
  • 5% cash back with Amazon and bookstores
  • 2% cash back on groceries, dining, gas, rideshare, and streaming
  • 1% cash back on everything else

2022 categories:

  • Q1: Gas, Cellular/Wireless, Cable/Satellite
  • Q2: Gas, Gardening, Supermarkets
  • Q3: Gas, Wholesale Clubs, Fast Food
  • Q4: Unknown

Note: for 2023, Affinity may have discontinued rotating categories. TBD.

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