Credit Card Reviews

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: American Express Blue Cash Everyday

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In July 2022, AMEX updated its Blue Cash Everyday (BCE) credit card to become more competitive. Previously, the only point to the card was a downgrade option (to avoid multiple annual fees on the Blue Cash Preferred). Now that the BCE is potentially useful, let’s take a closer look.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 2.7% foreign transaction fee
  • 3% cash back on groceries (up to $6,000 spent per year)
  • 3% cash back on gas (up to $6,000 spent per year)
  • 3% cash back on online retail purchases (up to $6,000 spent per year)
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Previously, the card earned 3% back on groceries, 2% back on gas and retail, and 1% on everything else.

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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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Review: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa

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The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature credit card is issued by Chase Bank. Although it’s a store card with limited usage, it has decent benefits, and it’s good at what it does. The sign-up bonus is also easy to get, since it doesn’t have a minimum spending requirement like other cards.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 5% cash back at Chase Travel for booking flights, hotels, or car rentals (3% instead if you’re not a Prime member) (new benefit as of May 2023)
  • 5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods (3% instead if you’re not a Prime member)
  • 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations
  • 2% cash back on transit and rideshare (as of May 2023, replacing the former “drugstore” category)
  • 1% cash back for everything else

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Review: World of Hyatt Visa

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The World of Hyatt Visa Signature is a travel card for certain hotel loyalists. It earns points in multiple categories and can be a good generalist card. It’s issued by Chase Bank, and in 2018, the card was relaunched with increased value. Hyatt isn’t the most prolific hotel brand in terms of locations though. Whether this card is useful depends on how often you’ll use Hyatt or Hyatt-linked hotels.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 4x points on Hyatt stays (+5x for World of Hyatt members for a total of 9x)
  • 2x points on dining
  • 2x points on flights
  • 2x points on fitness clubs and gym memberships
  • 2x points on transit (taxis, buses, trains, tolls, rideshare, etc.)
  • 1x points on everything else

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Review: Provident Credit Union World+ Travel Visa Signature

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The Provident Credit Union World+ Travel Visa Signature is an obscure travel-related credit card. It’s notable for including Priority Pass and Global Entry reimbursements for an unusually low annual fee. It also has perks which rival Visa Infinite cards.

Provident is a California-based credit union with semi-limited membership. They launched this card in 2018.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $45 annual fee (waived the first year)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 2x points on travel (including hotels, rideshare, and public transportation)
  • 2x points on dining (including restaurants and coffee shops)
  • 1x points on everything else
  • $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)

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Review: Abound Credit Union Visa Platinum

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The Abound Credit Union Visa Platinum is a rotating-category credit card which also earns 5% cash back on gas purchases. Abound Credit Union, formerly Fort Knox Federal Credit Union, is a Kentucky-based banking cooperative which allows for out-of-state applications. In general, this uncommon choice of a card is the absolute best option for paying at the pump. It’s worth a look for anyone who has a car.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 1% foreign transaction fee
  • 5% cash back on gas
  • 5% cash back on rotating categories ($2,000-2,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Rotating categories for 2022:

  • Q1 – Health and Fitness
  • Q2 – Travel
  • Q3 – Streaming, Phone, Cable & Internet Services
  • Q4 – Amazon.com

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Review: Langley FCU Signature Cash Back Visa

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The Langley FCU Signature Cash Back Visa credit card is an obscure Visa Signature with rotating categories. You can choose one option to earn 5% cash back for one month. This is a little more complicated than most other cards, but has the potential to earn high cash back rates. Langley FCU is a Virginia-based credit union which should be open to everyone.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 1% foreign transaction fee
  • 5% cash back on a rotating category of your choice (changes monthly; $2,000 spending limit)
  • 3% cash back on gas (if not chosen as the 5% category)
  • 2% cash back on groceries and wholesale clubs (if not chosen as the 5% category)
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Select categories for 2024:

  • January: Groceries, Select Airlines, Drugstores
  • February: Dining, Gas and EV Charging, Department Stores
  • March: Groceries, Drugstores, Home Improvement
  • April: Dining, Gas and EV Charging, Home Depot and Lowe’s
  • May: Target, Gas and EV Charging, Streaming Services

Select categories for 2023:

  • March: Groceries, Drugstores, or Home Improvement
  • April: Wholesale Clubs, Dining, or Gas
  • May: Wholesale Clubs, Dining, or Home Improvement
  • June: Gas, Grocery, or Wholesale Clubs
  • July: Gas, EV, Rideshare, Dining, or Amusement Parks & Aquariums
  • August: Streaming Services, Internet & Cable, School Supplies, or Gas
  • September: Streaming Services, Internet & Cable, Grocery, or Department Stores
  • October: Streaming Services, Internet & Cable, Home Improvement, or Gas
  • November: Streaming Services, Internet & Cable, Groceries & Wholesale Clubs, or Electronic Stores
  • December: Streaming Services, Internet & Cable, Groceries & Wholesale Clubs, or Department Stores

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