Review: Affinity Federal Credit Union Cash Rewards

⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

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

⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

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

⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

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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Review: U.S. Bank Altitude Connect

⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect is a travel-focused Visa Signature credit card with a low annual fee. It earns a relatively high cash back rate on travel and gas expenses. It’s also good for streaming-related expenses. However, most people will be better off with the Altitude Go (no fee) or Altitude Reserve (high fee).

Update, March 2024: U.S. Bank announced that a number of changes are coming to this card on September 9th, 2024. Changes include: removing the $95 annual fee, lowering the value of points by 20% when not redeemed for travel, removing cell phone insurance, and removing the $30 annual streaming credit. The card will still earn 4x points on travel and gas, which actually makes things interesting despite the negative changes. The Altitude Connect will become roughly equivalent to the best no-fee travel card, the Penfed Pathfinder Rewards, if not better (since it keeps Priority Pass and Global Entry). We’ll update our review of the Altitude Connect when its changes take effect, and re-evaluate its value.

Our review from 2022 remains below:

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee (waived for the first year, and will be eliminated on 9/9/24)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 5x points on hotels and car rentals (booked through U.S. Bank)
  • 4x points on all other travel
  • 4x points on gas (and electric vehicle charging stations) (will become limited to your first $1,000 each quarter)
  • 2x points on grocery (including delivery)
  • 2x points on dining
  • 2x points on streaming
  • 1x points on everything else
  • $30 annual streaming credit
  • $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)

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Several Ways To Immediately Get Interest Free Capital

Personal Finance /

Sometimes you need extra cash and don’t want to have a loan. Here are nearly a dozen ways to get immediate access to interest-free capital and/or earn easy money from banks. If you have a high risk tolerance, some of these might work in lieu of an emergency fund. It’s hard to keep cash around in a high-inflation environment like we’re currently in.

 

1. Open a new bank account

Banks offer sign-up bonuses to try and gain new customers. Some offers are aggressive and can exceed $1,000. There’s generally a direct deposit requirement (checking accounts) or cash deposit requirement (savings or brokerage accounts). This is still a low-effort way to get some extra money. Especially if you have a large cash balance in an existing checking/savings account. The size of your bonus is likely to exceed whatever you’re earning in interest (generally 1% APY at most, as of early 2022).

Opening new bank accounts doesn’t impact your credit score either. There is a pseudo-credit system (ChexSystems) which may flag you if you open several bank accounts each year. It doesn’t however affect your ability to get loans or credit cards.

Many banks don’t have minimum balance requirements or significant fees. These are ideal considerations when looking for a new account.

 

2. Open a new credit card account

Like the above option, banks have aggressive offers for credit cards too. If you’re able to get a 0% APR deal on top of that, it’s even better. There are 15+ credit cards with long interest-free periods. Although there are minimum spending requirements, it’s generally not a high bar to clear, especially if you have a large purchase coming up. Different cards have different requirements.

Imagine being paid a couple hundred dollars to get an interest-free loan for 12+ months, plus earning ongoing cash back rewards. If you have a high enough credit score to qualify for a 0% APR card, it can be a better deal than a personal loan.

For “free debt” you can “float” your balances. Open a 0% APR card, earn its bonuses, and put your living expenses on that card until you’re near the limit. Then, before the 0% APR period expires, open another 0% APR card and repeat. This may affect your credit score, so this isn’t a solution for everyone. If it works for you though, you can repeat this infinitely to enjoy a large amount of “free” money. The main downside is that this isn’t immediate, when it comes to personal expenses. The card is likely to fill up over time. Still useful, but not the fastest injection of cash into your life.

 

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Review: U.S. Bank Altitude Go

⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The U.S. Bank Altitude Go is a Visa Signature credit card best used for dining and streaming purchases. It’s arguably the best no-fee card for both categories, and unquestionably in the top 5. If you don’t live near a bank location, there’s also a close yet slightly worse alternative: the Elan Everyday Rewards+ Visa Signature.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 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
  • $15 annual streaming credit

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Review: Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature

⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The Penfed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature credit card is primarily for gas and electric vehicle charging. It can be alright for other categories, but isn’t the best option outside of gas. If you want to maximize your cash back, other credit cards are needed to supplement the Platinum Rewards. Its sign-up bonus is also lower than some competing cards.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 5x points on gas and/or electric vehicle charging
  • 3x points on groceries (may include Target and Walmart)
  • 3x points on restaurants/dining
  • 3x points on TV, radio, cable, and streaming services
  • 1x points on everything else

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